So uh, short bit of original writing below, fair warning it's extremely different from what y'all have seen from me before.
(She/her but not necessarily female Old God talks to non-gendered protagonist with body horror? Also this is open ended and I don't have current plans to continue it, it was just an experiment.)
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“I have need” She says, and the skin of Her face blisters and slides. I step forward, pressing my lips as the sting of burning flesh washes over me.
“I am at your side.”
She nods, Her skin stilling, then gathering up as it breaths.
“I have expired,” Her hand comes to rest upon my back, spanning the length of me and sprouting new fingers to brush across the nape of my neck. “It is time to make myself new”
I keep my eyes trained on Her throat where the blood move thick, occasionally seeping from a pore to bead on Her skin.
“Do not make that face” She tuts and Her hand blackens, growing claws to scratch deep welts down my spine. I feel the muscle pull apart and my own blood soaks the back of my robes before it all knits back together around the shredded cloth. It is not the first time I’ve become one with my clothing.
I don’t dare speak, I don’t need to. The silence in this room is only true on the face of it. A false bed of leaves hiding a grave for imprudent bones.
“You are young.” She sighs, Her voice shifting and sliding over itself with the groan of tectonic plates. “I am old, and I will be old when you die.” I suppose that’s enough.
“Tiny thing” She laughs and my bone rattle violently.
I clench my jaw to keep my teeth from cracking; only Her hand at my back to stop my knees from buckling. Her palm stretches behind me, sliding under my feet and scooping me up. She lifts me, up and up, the space between us stretching taught and snapping back as I struggle to perceive the near-fareness of it. The planes of Her face that blur with distance one moment and fall into perfect focus the next. And back again.
Her eye rolls down to meet me, sclera vast as an ocean with a pin-prick pupil jittering across it. Sometimes Her eye is a hole, deep and black. Sometimes I sleep in it. Sometimes, the iris becomes milky and it fills with salt water, spilling over and rushing down in great torrents. I would drown in it finally if She didn’t pluck me from the tide and squeeze it all from my lungs.
“You will help me to prepare.” Stern and heavy Her voice weighs upon on my shoulders. I know She thinks me foolish for the way I fret, but I cannot help what pulls around my ribs when She speaks of Her journey. “You will go into the world, and you will bring me a maiden.”
I shudder at that and She laughs again, but I know not of the world and I know not of maidens. I am lost in this when one of Her hands- now the size of my own and bearing seven thumbs- cups my cheek gently. The hand strokes up and She pushes a digit dotingly into my eye socket.
“How will I know who to chose?” I ask, weeping aqueous humor until my skin closes around Her. I welcome Her in and She wriggles obsenely inside me, tickling at the gyri of my brain. Her thumb pushes deeper and like a snake it constricts around inside my skull. I can barely think but still I understand when She replies:
“Your judgment is trusted.”
Her thumb pushes out the back of my head and then She is slithering through me, the whole unfathomable mass of Her impossibly threading through the tiny hole of my eye to spill out the other side.
So I will go into the world, and I will bring her a maiden.
Can i get a comfort fic of MC who's on their monthly and is having a really hard time, and Mammon cares for MC throughout? Im in need of some comfort T^T
Thankieww - artist anon♡
Absolutely! I hope that your time of the month gets a little easier. I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope it's every bit as fun for you to read!
Warnings:
AFAB MC
Detailed and graphic descriptions of menstrual cycle experiences
Gender-Neutral MC
Slightly dramatic beginning, because ✨I live for the drama.✨
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You pause in your step, feeling a very familiar clawing in your gut. You reach out and grasp around, catching Mammon's worried forearm as he realizes you're lagging behind by more than a few steps. His blue-gold eyes look to you with concern as he sees your brow furrow. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?? What's goin' on??" He asks, stopping everything for you.
"A demon is trying to claw its way out of my uterus and it's trying to use my spine as a set of double doors" You gasp the vivid imagery to him and he's instantly concerned. He checks your back, but he's not seeing anything. He reaches to touch it, nervous, and when he does, you can feel the way his fingers gently massage into your lower back. Your shoulders relax to his touch.
"Issit a curse?? Are you dying?? I don't feel anythin' back here." The grip you have on his forearm relaxes as you get used to the cramping. It came on so suddenly. You thought you'd be fine for school, but obviously this just isn't going to work.
".. I need to go back home. Help me..?"
"Don't hafta ask me twice!" He goes to hoist you up and you groan, causing him to realize he needs to be more delicate with your midsection. He instead moves to gently ease you into his arms, your back against his right arm, your knees slung over his left. Your face is resting against his chest as he carries you, more worried for you than anything.
The shame is, today, you guys were the first to actually leave the house. You were going to be on-track to beat even Lucifer to school, but things didn't pan out in your favor.
Which also means, as he's carrying you back, the brothers each spot you two, and you end up collecting a worried entourage as Mammon gets you home.
"Why can't they walk?" Satan is more than a little worried, considering how much he's read on human ailments.
You groan. "Pain."
"Why are they in pain??" Asmodeus pouts, sad that you're having to deal with something so unpleasant.
"Dunno." Mammon doesn't care what the cause is - You asked him to take you home, so that's what he's going to do.
"Are you gonna be okay, ___?" Beelzebub is visibly concerned for you, Belphegor quietly following after the group as he takes note of every answer.
"Yeah. I think. Just. Can't do school. Not today."
Lucifer steps out of the house, locking up, only to turn to see a commotion at the gate. His brothers, not going to school, crowding around you, crumpled in Mammon's arms. ". . ."
Mammon calls out to him "Open the damn door! They gotta get inside!"
Lucifer opens the door, but he does take the lead of the brothers following after Mammon so he can get to the bottom of this problem.
Mammon sets you down on the couch in the main area and you miss the comforting security of his arms as he pulls away- But being able to curl up on your side is making you feel significantly better.
"Was something wrong with breakfast? What's happening?"
"It's my monthly." You tiredly hiss as you soothe yourself, hugging a pillow to your chest.
A few lightbulbs go off in the heads of the demons around you. Some, however, stay dim.
"Monthly what? Monthly bitch? Monthly pest? Monthly pain in the ass that's gonna get fucked up??" Mammon's pretty much ready to fight anything. "You said a demon was tryin'a claw its way outta yer spine, where are they?!"
Satan puts a hand on his shoulder. "Mammon. They're shedding their uterine lining. It's a painful process, but they'll ultimately be okay."
"Is it gonna be this painful the whole time?!" He looks to you, worried.
You've finally gotten a handle on the pain. You slump against the couch, shaking your head tiredly. "No.. But I'm not fit for school.." You look up to Mammon, his concern flooding through you as he worries about you.
"I'll have Levi set you up for distanced learning." Lucifer is already working on contingencies. "Is there anything we can get you to make the day easier?"
".. Can someone stay with me..?" You're shy as you ask. You can take care of yourself, but, it'd really make you feel loved if someone else could help you instead. "… I just.. don't want to be alone.. … And my needs might change throughout the day."
Lucifer can't even give his input when Mammon declares himself as your protector and caretaker for the day. "I'm the one you put in charge of 'em, ain't I?!" He almost looks like he's ready to fight Lucifer if he's about to say anything in protest. Lucifer exhales with a soft smile. He loves seeing how soft you've made his family.
"Alright. Everyone else; To school. Mammon will take care of ___ from here."
"Take care~" Asmodeus leans over the back of the couch, tugging you into a hug, giving you a gentle squeeze. "Mammon's lucky, getting to share all day with you ~"
Satan yoinks Asmodeus away from you, handing you your D.D.D, which fell earlier. "Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."
"Or to use the HoL Akuzon account to get yourself the things you need for your monthly." Lucifer adds, giving you a nod of his approval.
Belphegor scowls at Mammon. "Do you even know how to take care of a human on their period?"
"I know how to kick yer ass, how's that?"
Mammon shoots him a scowl in return and Belphegor motions to his D.D.D as he looks past Mammon to you. "Seriously, don't hesitate to ask for help. Don't cover for this dumbass if he fucks something up."
You gently grasp the back of Mammon's shirt, preventing him from getting angry at Belphegor as he softens to your touch. "I'll be okay. Mammon's a good caretaker."
Mammon's face heats up as he looks away from you at his brothers. "That's right!! ___'s number one! No one's gonna be a better caretaker!"
You chuckle softly, which causes his heart to pitter away in his chest. When his brothers have left, he kneels beside your couch, holding your hand. He softly grips your hand, giving it a squeeze, flustered. You speak softly; "Thank you for helping me. Can you get a bath run for me? A hot bath always makes my cramps better. 100°-105° fahrenheit." You always have to specify specific temperatures, otherwise most of the demon brothers will accidentally almost boil you alive.
Mammon nods, gently caressing your head with his free hand. He was so worried earlier. Seeing you crumple against him made him glad he was able to be there for you, but it didn't make it any less scary.. He catches himself looking to you tenderly and gets flustered, quickly escaping to the nearest bathroom to prepare it for you.
He's no Barbatos or Asmodeus when it comes to setting up baths, but he does bring you a robe and a towel when he comes to get you. As you walk together, he explains what he did. "I stole some of Asmo's bath salts - There was a basket in his room with yer name on it, I just assumed it was stuff he set aside for ya'. Also I took a bubble bath from that basket too. I didn't wanna overwhelm ya' in case scents nausiate ya', so I didn't go addin' any of those bath melts or bath bombs?? But I put some on the counter if y'want them. There's also a bucket beside the bathtub if y'need to hurl."
"Scents nausiating me? Needing to hurl?" You're confused. What does he think you're going through?
"Yeah, don't humans on their monthly get super sensitive to foods and cravings, and have pain and sometimes puke?"
".. While there is some overlap, I think you're mistaking this for pregnancy. I'm not pregnant, Mammon."
"…" Mammon digests this new information. "What exactly's gonna happen to you?"
"Well, I'm going to have cravings, I sometimes get some intense emotions, and I experience pain. I get bloating, my body feels gross, everything's going to feel gross, and I'm going to be knocked on my ass with fatigue. That's all pretty normal considering I have an open internal wound right now."
"WAIT WHAT" Mammon's shocked. That's what a monthly is? An open wound internally every month?!
You can't help but laugh a little. "Yeah, my body has an organ that just rips its own inner lining out once a month. It's kind of like if your colon shed its inner skin once a month."
"WHAT THE FUCK" Mammon's visibly upset at the sheer idea, and his asshole clenches at the thought. He couldn't imagine that kind of pain, let alone every single month. He will not be getting over this any time soon.
You're looking around as he's grappling with the mortifying ordeal of having a uterus, and you ask "Mammon, did you bring any tampons for this bath? Or a menstrual cup or something?"
"Huh?"
"To soak up or catch the blood"
"WHAT"
"Yeah, the blood comes out. I don't want to be soaking in it in the bath."
Mammon shakes his head. Okay, so there's a lot more to this than he realized - But that doesn't mean you have to hold his hand through this. He's going to be the best protector/caretaker you ever had. "Okay, where do I find 'em?"
"I keep a drawer of them in my bathroom upstairs. The tampons are these little insertion type things in plastic wrapping, and the cup is in a box labeled appropriately."
"Got it."
He rushes upstairs and comes down to bring you the entire damn drawer and its contents. When you laugh, he feels embarrassed, but in a good way. It made you smile. You shoo him out of the bathroom so you can take a long soak and get the muscles in your lower back to stop spasming.
As you do, Mammon asks from outside the door "Hey, is there anythin' you're craving right now?"
"Oh man, that super greasy food from Hell's Burger sounds amazing.. but the sweetbread from Madame Scream's sounds really good too.. And Godevil Chocolatier's fudge? Mmm.. Oh, and that thing you made for dinner last week was amazing, but I don't think we have anymore leftovers.." You list off all the foods that sound good to you, that you can feel your body craving. "Mmm.. I can't choose. Anything I've listed would be awesome."
"Gotcha." Mammon heads off, leaving you to soak in your tub in peace.
Beside the tub, you see your favorite cold drink that Mammon forgot to tell you he grabbed for you. Popping it open, you rest back against the back of the tub, letting your body soak in the heat and the comfort. Mammon's very good at complimenting scents - He wears enough colognes and body products to know how to use products that compliment each other and don't overwhelm the person. Even as he was scrambling to figure everything out on the fly, he was focused enough to get the important details right.
You had a good choice of bath additives, and you were able to add whatever you wanted to the bath which made it comfy and soothing, but also fun and an experience. You almost forget about your situation as you get out of the tub and apply your moisturizers, then don your robe, putting on some slippers. The robe is fluffy and comfy and fits you perfectly. Asmodeus got it for you because it reminded him of when you were in your sheep form.
You're hungry, so when you step out of the bathroom and smell some amazing food down the hall, you almost miss the pjs and underwear he left sitting, neatly folded on a small stepstool in the hall for you. You grab them, put them on, and then meander into the kitchen to find Mammon cooking the food he made last week for dinner. …. Surrounded by bags from various restaurants and stores of every other thing you rattled off the top of your head.
Mammon grins to you as you enter. "Eat up! You can have whatever you like! An' anything you don't wanna eat now, we can save for later. An' if you don't want it later, we'll let Beelzebub eat it."
You're a little overwhelmed at his generosity and kindness, shyly unwrapping some of the greasier food as he cooks and you sit at the kitchen island. "… thank you." Your voice is quiet. Mammon grins even bigger as he sets another of your favorite drinks that he knows goes well with the food you're eating in front of you.
"You'll never want for a thing while I'm around. You got that?"
You nod, smiling warmly to him as you rest against the counter. The way you look at him so warmly gets him flustered, so he turns away.
"… I was, uh, readin' up on these monthly things. I read massages are good for them?"
"Yeah, they can be. My body's feeling okay right now, I just wanna lay down and be cuddled for a while though.."
"Well I can do that too!" He quickly adds, as though you were going to go upstairs and ask Levi to snuggle with you instead or something. When he's done cooking, you grab a plate of the food he cooked, some fries from Hell's Burger, some chocolates, and two of your favorite drinks, and you head into the living room with him. Here, you find that he has a whole collection of blankets and pillows for you, which you quickly make a nest in with Mammon as the center. He hugs you as you rest atop him, the both of you laying on the couch as you watch tv and you snack on anything you crave in the moment.
Any moment that you shift to get up, or you want something, Mammon's quick to take it on his shoulders if he can instead, each moment just loving on you through his attentive service. But, you don't end up needing much because he's already met every need. His hands massage into your back as he holds you, and you hug him close, your head resting on his chest. You're buried in a mound of comfy blankets in the cool HoL air. It's warm, and Mammon's your key source of heat, enveloping you in comfort as he wouldn't let you go for anything.
It's easy for you to fall asleep in his arms like this.
You wake up a few hours later, and he's still awake, just gently caressing your back, affectionately looking to you. When he realizes you're awake again though, he quickly looks away in embarrassment. ".. mornin'."
".. Mornin'." You smile against him, stretching out against him, and then hugging him close. ".. thank you. I feel a lot better than I did this morning."
"Well of course y'do. Yer first and best man ain't about to let you down."
"I knew you wouldn't." You can feel the way his skin warms against yours with your praise. He hugs you close. The way you trust in him, and the way you come to him when you need someone, it never fails to make him feel proud of himself.
You never fail to make him feel on top of the world. He wonders if you realize just how wonderful you are to him, and how much you mean to him. Looking at you like this, he almost wants to say something and tell you exactly how he feels, but the sound of Levi entering the room causes him to chicken out. Levi brings in a laptop set up for you to do distanced learning, so you can catch up on the classes you missed today, as well as attend the remaining ones on your roster. Mammon almost sighs at just how bad Levi's timing is as you start to sit up.
Maybe for now, this moment here is good enough with you.
After all, it means the absolute world to him.
Even as you do your learning, Mammon hugs you from behind, resting his head anywhere from the top of your head to your shoulder, depending on how much you sink down.
He's here beside you every step of the way, until you tell him otherwise.
You did, after all, choose him to ask for help.
And Mammon will never let you down if he can help it.
Satan's one of your partners for Seduction Speechcraft Midterms.
Notes:
Content Warning:
- Romantic themes (Non-sexual)
- Flirting
- Cheesy seduction
Fandom(s): Shall We Date: Obey Me!
First Chapter
Chapter 2: Satan’s Seduction
You move to grab a new prop from your bag, deciding to take a character prompt from the bowl of prompts before sitting yourself back at the table. Your character for this scene is designed to have an illness they can't cure, which modern medicine couldn't help with. This time, you're reading a medical textbook. You open the page to a random one and motion to the teacher that they can beep in the next student.
Whoever it is, they're taking their time to assess you from afar. They haven't stepped past the door. You begin reading your book, and you have to stop yourself from snickering as you realize you opened to a page on liver disease. This will be a fun scene if they try to ask about what you're reading like the last one. You're in a pretty great mood as you hear footsteps come up alongside you.
"Mmnh, the Merck Manual of Medical Information. That's a curious read. Are you a doctor?" The smooth voice is familiar and you look up to see the familiar lime-blue eyes of Satan.
You smirk and turn your head back to your book. "No, I just love a good medical textbook." Leaving it up to him to interpret whether you're joking or not.
"Sounds like you've got quite the hunger for knowledge." He smiles warmly, moving to take a seat at your table.
"Actually, it's more about how it's written. This particular edition was written to be read by folks of all walks of life, attempting to make medicine an accessible study to the common folk." You push the subject of the book. You want to see how well he can engage you in something you know he's not as well-versed in. It's a human realm book, and he's shown a lot of interest in learning about human texts before. It also pushes your character's narrative in an interesting way.
Curious surprise paints his face as he processes the challenge you're throwing his way. His smile returns once again, this time much more sure of himself as he playfully pretends to muse in thought, stroking his chin. "Hmn.. Would you say you're particularly passionate about making knowledge accessible~?"
"Oh yes, absolutely." You slightly put your book down, keeping your thumb inside it to keep your page, but now he has some of your attention. You begin studying him, now taking a moment to take him in. Your calculating eyes actually fluster him a little as he feels embarrassed, realizing that he's got a foot in the door. "... You don't seem like you're here to ask about my thoughts on this book, however. Out with it. What're you lookin' to get from me?" You've got a playful demeanor, despite your hard pivot into the subject matter of his approach.
Satan lightly taps your book cover, eyes locked on yours. "If you're looking to expand your horizons of knowledge, I've got access to libraries you've never even dreamed of." You can feel his magic tugging at your mind. The sense of ease. The comfort. The intrigue. The way it makes you want to ask more. The way it makes you feel like he's telling the truth.
You watch him for a moment, visibly curious. He knows he's got you, but before he can continue, you finally break eye contact. You scoff, opening your book once again, leaning back on your stool to read. "Something tells me that what you want to teach me is a little less studious, and a little more dubious." He's losing some ground, but that's fine.
He loves the challenge you're posing. He loves the way you side-step him. It makes him have to use his mind to think of ways to intrigue you. The demon can't help but to grin a little as he leans back, watching you, getting comfortable. "Dubious, certainly. I am a demon, after all. Though if medicine delights you, you're only scratching the surface with what that book can tell you.
"You glance to him and look him over, which earns him a skeptical chuckle from you. "Funny. I've actually heard that one before. I'm certain some might call you a 'demon', but I'm not interested in playing fantasy." You choose to ignore his comment about the medicine. It'll be easier to resist if he has to prove himself to you.
"I assure you, every word I'm saying is the truth. Would you like me to prove it to you?" He's keeping smooth, his voice is like that soft, gentle tone he usually only uses when it's just the two of you sharing late-night chats over books, which is to say he's very relaxed and in his element in this moment.
You raise an eyebrow, setting your book on the table, your thumb still propped inside to keep your place. Your other hand rests atop the one in the book and you give him the majority of your attention now. "Well now I'm curious. How does one go about proving they're a demon?"
He stands up and looks around before shifting into his demonic form for you to see. You feign surprise, now letting your hand forget your place in your book as he has your full attention. He smiles warmly to you, waiting to gauge your possibly scripted reaction. You lean against the table, the hand that was in your book now supporting your head as your eyes narrow in visible calculation.
".. Alright then. So you're a demon. What's got you interested in me, hmn?"
Satan shifts back into his humanlike form, once again seating himself at the table. "You've got one of the brightest souls I've ever seen. No doubt, it's honed from time well-spent studying and improving yourself. I want to strike up a deal with you for it." He's very straightforward in this portion of the conversation, which suits him well. It helps that as he speaks, his eyes are warm and gentle, his smile challenging you to find a flaw in his approach.
It makes him seem trustworthy and approachable, which is very dangerous. You can feel him layering in his magical influence as he speaks, helping you to feel safe, to feel light-hearted. As though this were a conversation about favorite music instead of the fate of your soul.
Once again, you feel yourself having to tear yourself to breaking eye contact. You unconsciously touch your face as you look away from him. ".. Sounds a bit too good to be true. I thank you for your offer, but you're just going to have to find someone else to sucker outta their soul.”
The smile once again spreads through Satan's lips. It's hard to contain his excitement. He knows he's got you. He's keeping a cool head though, and even when you steal glances at him, you aren't be able to tell how delighted he is to finally give chase.
"I hope it's not too presumptuous of me, but..." He begins, lacing every word with a glaze of honeyed allure. His magic is much harder to resist this time. You can feel as your senses are awash with the comforting influence. Your heart relaxes. Every word he says feels like a truth that you can and should trust. That he'd never hurt you. "You're passionate about medicine being an accessible study, you read with such fervency that I feel almost jealous of your book for getting so much of your attention.. I just can't help but wonder if it's all because you're searching for an answer yourself."
"..." Your silence and the way you stare at him speaks volumes.
"You've got the drive, I've got the tools, we can make that dream of yours a reality."
You give his offer serious consideration. Your job is to find the reason your character would say no to such a deal. "... You've got the tools, but your price is a bit too steep. I may spend the rest of my life working towards it, but I could also pave the way for others to expand medicine as we know it in the process." It takes a significant amount of energy for you to deny his sweetened offer.
He loves getting to play off of you. You're so different from the usual actors for these kinds of tests. This feels so real. So organic. He can't help but admire your dedication to the part. "If you're looking to pave the way for humans to grow in medicine, whatever you do with the information you learn through our deal is all your own. You can teach as many people as you like. Pass on ages and ages of medicine untapped by humans." Every word from his mouth feels like it's a brush stroke building a bigger scene in your mind. One of grandeur. Of greatness. Of answered questions. It feels like you're standing on the precipice of a legend in the making.
All you have to do is say yes."..." You begin to bubble with soft laughter. It diffuses the building tension of his magical influence building inside of you as you stand up. ".. Something tells me that if I don't go now, I'll find myself lost in those hopeful eyes of yours. ... You can consider me painted with intrigue, but I can't allow myself to make a judgement so rashly."
"Certainly. I'd never want you to regret this kind of deal." His warm smile melts your heart, making you really believe he's going to let you walk away. "How's this- Take however long you'd like to for thinking things over, and when you're ready to talk with me about it, you can use this." He places a page with his pact sigil on the table. "Draw this sigil in a circle of candles and speak my name out-loud. We'll pick this up where we've left things off."".. And what's that name of yours?"
"Satan."
"..." You feel a warmth in your chest. You've definitely fallen under his influence. It's intense. Unlike Asmodeus' charm, this is a type of magic that just makes you more suggestable. It can't control you, it's just capable of bringing your desires to the surface. Dangerous magic indeed. You knew he was talented in this class, you just didn't expect it to feel so... real. ".. Thank you then, Satan. I'll consider your offer."
You take your D.D.D out to take a picture of the sigil and turn to leave the 'stage' of the front of the room and your teacher begins applauding. You sheepishly return to the front of the class, the effects of Satan's speechcraft magic still tugging at your mind and heart.
"Ooh, top marks all around! Satan! You were perfect. You took it slow, you took it careful, you were deliberate. You took care to earn their trust before sharing how much they gave away about themselves. If that were a real moment on earth, there's a very good chance you'd have gotten that soul. You were smooth, you were warm, you knew exactly where to lace your influence so that it felt natural. ___? Did it feel as though he was just a very emphatic speaker?"
"Oh god yeah. That was intense. I had to expend a significant amount of energy to tear myself away from the scene, because it felt like infatuation bubbling to the surface, making me want to hear him out." You can't help but laugh. Satan's cheeks warm up as he hears your praise. He does think he's particularly good, but hearing that directly from you adds a certain layer of excitement from what would otherwise be normal marks for him in this test.
"And you, ___!" The teacher motions to you. "The way you chose to separate yourself when you realized you were outmatched by the strength of his magic, and that you couldn't fight it head-on, that was a brilliant display of your cleverness. In instances where your opponent is particularly strong or well-versed in Speechcraft, sometimes the only winning move is not to play. I'm also particularly proud that you didn't pick up the paper on the table. Any number of objects can be cursed to make you more susceptible or agreeable to demonic influence."
Satan raises his hand. "Is there anything I can improve on?"
"Yes yes- Improvements. Satan, I don't have anything to share in terms of ways you could improve your performance. You hit every note that you needed to, and then some. ___, you need to work on making little-to-no eye-contact. Though you may not be susceptible to charm spells at this time, there's no telling if that'll ever change in your future, and you should be particularly careful to cultivate healthy practices in magic resistance." You nod, taking in the feedback, and Satan smiles, watching how determined you are to get things right and improve.
The teacher motions that Satan can leave now, and you two give each other a warm hug before he goes.
After such an intense session, you end up needing to take a break, putting the midterms on hold for the other students assigned to work with you. It's no wonder, though, given that Satan's one of the seven avatars of sin. The fact that you could resist him nearly as well as you did was nothing short of amazing on your part.
Your teacher notes as much in her notes on your performance.
Yuu/The Main Character of the Twisted Wonderland series gains a new student while setting the groundwork for some major renovations on the Ramshackle Dorm. Based on a great concept written by fairytaleliving over on Tumblr. I was so inspired I had to write it. Sunny, the new student, is their concept, I just took it and ran with it.
Notes:
For @fairytaleliving
Inspired by "au where yuu gets a freshman" by fairytaleliving.
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This was one of the first pieces I’d written in a really long time. It actually revitalized my passion for writing! This is just to explain that this is one of my older pieces, so the writing might be a little different than my usual stuff. I recently re-vamped it and am starting to add more chapters. It’ll come out a lot slower than my other stuff, because I wanna base it off of the series, and I’m an English player. As of posting this, the series has only released up to Book 4.
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Warnings:
Spoilers for Twisted Wonderland series
Tags:
Reader-Insert, Ungendered MC, OC Characters, Overblot, Twisted Wonderland, Ramshackle
Chapter 1 of ?: Rough First Day
"Hey, ___, You've been disappearing after classes lately. What's been up with that?" Ace asks as you and Grim come to sit down with your food at the table.
"___'s been working hard on our dorm!" Grim pipes up excitedly. This piques the interest of the lunch table.
"Working on your dorm? What does that mean?" Cater asks, curious.
"Oh yeah, I've got a system worked out with Crowley. I took over the expense reports and expenses for the Ramshackle dorms, he gives me a stipend every month to do so, and any money I can save from the month's budget will become mine. It also means I can save money for larger projects that I can't do myself, which would be a headache and a half for Crowley to oversee, which means the dorm property gets faster upgrades, so, it's a win all around."
Deuce's eyes sparkle at the idea. "So wait, you've been working on the property yourself?? How?"
"Oh, I used to do woodworking back in my own world. Re-upholstering isn't actually all that hard to learn, it's just the working with wood part that's a fancier problem. Even then, I'm pretty well trained in it."
"Can we come and see? That sounds really cool."
"Sure, but I warn you; The front yard's a bit of a warzone. I've started a personal fight with the chairs and couches of the dorm. They need some TLC. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to handle the waste from the projects, but that's a small price to pay to be able to have some pocket change in the near future." Nearby, a certain fiscal Hyena's ears perk up.
"How much is the budget anywho?" Trey asks, curious himself. The school has always typically managed these types of matters, so this is new information to him.
"Oh man, it's like 5000 Thaumarks. It's an insane budget. I figured the school was used to paying cost AND labor, but I didn't realize labor was such a high markup around here. Makes me wonder if they actually know how things cost when you take the time to take care of it yourself."
"Oh wow. How much are you saving on the budget?"
"Well, Instead of blowing the whole month's budget on replacing only a fraction of the chairs in the dorm, I've spent about... $500 Thaumarks on getting myself some necessary tools, and $500 more Thaumarks on tangible supplies for refurbishing the existing furniture. I estimate on that, I can get about half the chairs done on that alone, and the only stuff I'll really need to replenish is the wood and fabric for the next round of furniture. So, I'm using about 1/5th, maybe 1/4th of a month's budget to achieve what would have taken multiple month's budgets to achieve. I'm saving up the rest for the floors, which severely need to be replaced. It's gonna be a tall order, and I've still gotta shop around to see how much it'll take to replace the wooden floors we've already got."
Trey looks earnestly surprised. You're taking on quite a lot of responsibility for this project, but you've never looked more in your element than this moment. Everyone at the table is a little in awe of how readily you've taken to the management of the dorm's expenses. Nearby, a certain Hyena can't stop listening in on your conversation. At his table, Leona raises an eyebrow, glancing to him.
"Yo, Ruggie. I still need that drink."
"Gimme a sec, I've just tuned into a very interesting station." Leona looks around. Interesting? Well, he doesn't often butt his head into other folks' business, so he can't seem to make out what's so interesting that his drink has to wait. He watches the flicker of Ruggie's ears as he listens in on your conversation, and uses that to pinpoint that he's listening in on your conversation specifically.
"Oh wow! So you're gonna be making bank pretty soon, eh?" Ace grins widely.
"Tuna! We'll be able to buy tuna!" Grim dances in his spot at the table. You laugh, gently petting his head, lightly scritching behind his ears.
"It'll take a bit of time, but I estimate I'll be in the green sometime around... 5 months from now? After that point, it'll mostly be small-fry projects that the monthly budget will be more than enough to cover, and the bulk of the budget will just be saved up on the side for if there's an emergency. Like if a certain small monster chooses to set something ablaze. And if I spend a chunk of the budget on nicer tools, I can get even more done on the property. The externals are last, though the walkway's gonna need some serious repairs or replacement before then. I estimate I'll have to do some stonework if I really wanna make the property shine." You scratch your chin thinking on that last part. "If that ends up being the case, then I'll probably see some bigger expenditures after the bulk of the dorm is in good shape, just because landscaping isn't really one of my strongsuits either."
"Wow, where did you learn how to do all of this?"
"Eh, it's just stuff I picked up in my old world. My dad was a carpenter, so woodworkin' was easy to learn. The rest I learned to make money here and there. People would pay through the nose for the pretty kinds of things. Luxury has a cost, and I could be it's source."
Deuce grins excitedly. You've got a goal in mind and you won't settle for anything less than achieving it. It's admirable. "I'm excited to come take a look at it. Maybe today after our classes?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." The conversation shifts to talking more about school projects, and Ruggie tunes out. Leona sighs, having already laid his head on the table to nap. Ruggie stands up, grinning to himself with his newfound little nugget of info. It's never a bad thing to know who has skills, and who has money coming in on the horizon. He pockets this information and goes to grab Leona his drink.
---
"Oh wow!" Cater's eyes widen as he sees the before and after of the furniture. "This is amazing! This would be so perfect to capture for magicam. People love DIY nowadays! May I?"
You laugh. "Sure. Thank you for the compliment."
"No but seriously, this chair looks like brand new." Ace looks it up and down. "And it looked like THIS before??" He points to the one next to it. It's a dingy old piece. The cloth has been worn through, sun-bleached, and the wood has lost its luster.
"Yeah. You just yoink out the seat, re-upholster it, and then tend to the wood frame of the chair. The chair legs have been the biggest hurdle, since some of them have gotten broken. Some of the chairs have a weave in the back that's also taken a rough beating, so I have to manually re-weave the strips of wood or re-make a chair leg from scratch, which is where most of the time on this project gets eaten up. But after that, I just sand down the old stain, re-stain the whole piece and let it sit in the sun while I'm working, and take turns wiping and reapplying until I get the desired color. Let it sit for a day, and then I can go over it with a lacquer to keep it scratch-safe. Then I just plug the cushion back in, and BAM- Good as new." You're proud of your work. It's hard not to gush about everything you've been doing.
The guys don't mind though. They're earnestly infatuated with your work. "It's like the work of a master craftsman." Trey comments, touching the finished product. "Well, you have my respect. This is amazing work you're doing."
You smile warmly, grinning sheepishly as you lightly scratch the back of your head. "Ahh, you're very kind. I appreciate it."
"No seriously, this is top-tier. I couldn't do this even in my dreams." Ace grins, moving to sit in the completed chair. "It's even comfy to sit in!"
"Y'know, we've been looking to get some personalized chairs for the Heartslabyul dorm.." Trey grins.
You laugh and shake your head. "Maybe we can figure out an order once my dorm's in good shape. Who knows how long I'll be here."
---
It's been a few months since you started working on the dorm house. Most of the furniture has been repaired in all the main rooms, and you've even been able to start repairing and refurbishing the bedrooms. Even if you don't live in them, it'd be weird to leave them in the sorry state they were in before.
Tonight is the first New Student ceremony since you got here. It's hard to think it's been a year. A lot has happened in that time, even amidst your dorm repairs. You were told by Crowley that as a Dorm Prefect, you'll need to attend the ceremony, even if it's only for ceremony's sake. He even sent you some robes for the occasion. You feel strange in the robes, considering that you weren't really keen on the pomp and circumstance of it all. What if they had another 'fluke' like you? Someone ripped from their world with nowhere to go? You've never believed in flukes. If anything, you almost expect it. Something's up with that mirror. You couldn't have been the only one. Still, arriving in the Hall of Mirrors, you find yourself a little shy.
There's a spot for all of the prefects to sit in, and everyone's already seated. Well, everyone except Leona.
As you move to your seat, you hear Riddle murmur to you "Prefects should always be 15 minutes early to the start of any occasion."
You glance to the empty seat next to yours with five minutes left to the time when students are meant to be piling in.
You raise an eyebrow and Riddle sighs, his eyebrow twitching. "Leona isn't someone to model yourself after."
You laugh quietly, sitting down.
The event seemed pretty normal. Everyone was getting sorted into their dorms, it seemed pretty evenly split amongst them. No new students for your dorm, which was expected, you suppose. It's not like your dorm was a real one anyway. You didn't have one of the great seven associated with your dorm, your halls were filled with ghosts, and the only active students who lived there were a monster and a magic-less human.
That is... Until the mirror calls out the unexpected, causing the entire room to quiet down. "Ah yes... You have the spirit of Ramshackle inside of you." Everyone in the room is quiet. So quiet, your new student turns around cautiously. No one else had been added to Ramshackle. Was.. Was it dangerous? Scary? Bad? Even Crowley is surprised. It even takes the headmage a moment to compose himself.
Your new student finds himself intimidated by this.
"Please continue to your seat, so others may be sorted." Ever the face of the school, Crowley doesn't want to let the student body realize he's just been shaken. No one's been sorted into Ramshackle in about ninety years. He knows this has to be because of the work you've been doing, but you have no magic. What have you been doing?
The other prefects are looking at you, but as Crowley tries to gloss over this strange occurrence, they begin to compose themselves as well, looking back to the mirror. The bewildered look on your face was already soaked in by all of the other dorm leaders though.
A student? Are you a real prefect now?
---
As the other students pile away after their dorm leaders, people keep giving you looks. You haven't moved from your spot. You're waiting until everyone's gone. Your lone student sits in their chair, looking around at all of the other students as they pass. Once the room is cleared out, you stand up and walk over. Crowley accompanies you.
"Ah.. hello. You're the Ramshackle student, right?" You ask, looking to him. He seems almost relieved that someone actually came to retrieve him. Though, looking you over, you seem so... Ordinary. One of the other prefects had horns. He was so sure that a dorm as exclusive as this one would be something wild and scary, but you seem so... normal.
"Yes. Are you my dorm prefect...?" He looks between you and Crowley.
You look to Crowley. "Am I?"
He muses, scratching his chin lightly. "Hmm.. I suppose you are."
You look back to your new student. "I suppose I am."
"Why.. why is it only me?" He asks, looking between you two. Isn't that the headmage? What's he doing weighing in on this matter?
"Honestly? We didn't expect my dorm to get any new students." You say, scratching the side of your head.
"Huh? Why's that?"
"See, we're not really a dorm. I mean, I suppose we are on paper.. But.. ahh.. Hmm."
Crowley sets a hand on your shoulder, pausing your explanation. "Ramshackle is a unique dorm. You're the first student who has been sorted into it for about ninety years." The student's eyes widen in surprise.
He points to you. "Then.. How does it have a Prefect..?"
"Well, your amazing prefect ___ has taken up residence in the Ramshackle dorms due to reasons that the universe has yet to enlighten us on. Even the mirror didn't know where to sort them."
You grin sheepishly. "I.. ah.. I'm not a typical student. I have no magic, and I didn't really come here of my own volition. I was scooped up from my world and taken here. I've been trying to get back ever since. That's why it's a surprise to have you, a student, now living in my dorm."
No magic? The student before you's eyes widen with more than just surprise now. "Wait, you don't have magic? And you're from another world? You can't even go back..?"
Crowley weighs in. "No, the world that ___ came from appears to be missing from even the mirror's eyes, which does beg the question of how it was able to collect them in the first place... But I assure you, ___ is more than capable to handle everything this school has to throw at you. You're quite lucky to be in their hands."
The compliments surprise you, though, it's probably just fluff to make the new kid feel more comfortable. You decide to speak your mind.
"Look, I know it's.. Not the most desirable arrangement. The other dorms probably still have room if you wanted to transfer. That mirror is all kinds of wonky as far as I'm concerned. You don't have to be trapped in this if you'd like to change dorms."
Your student furrows their brow. Everything they'd known about the mirror and this school tells them that if they were sent to your dorm, then that's where they're supposed to be. Just because it's strange doesn't mean it's wrong.. "Well, the mirror chooses the dorm that would best benefit our journey in learning, yeah?"
Crowley nods. "Yes, it listens to the heart of your magic and what dorm would best be tuned to helping you to succeed."
"Then, I guess I belong to Ramshackle. I'd like to at least give it a chance before I go throwing myself into something else."
Crowley grins. "Wonderful! Yes! Ramshackle has officially flourished under your tutilage, ___. Breathe in the rewards of your labor!"
You laugh quietly, shaking your head. Yeah, okay. "Alright then, come on. Let's head on over to our dorm. I'll show you the way." Your student looks around at all of the mirrors around. Which one could be yours? You motion for him to follow you out the door of the building. "C'mon. We don't have a mirror yet."
---
"When we get there, you're gonna meet everyone else who lives there."
"I thought it was just the two of us though."
You sigh with a chuckle, shaking your head. "Far from it. Grim is a monster that is a fellow student." A monster? Wait. As a student?? "Also, there's a few ghosts that live on the premises." Ghosts?? "Don't worry about them though. Everyone's pretty chill. Grim's a handful, but he's pretty relaxed if you get him some tuna or pet his belly. The ghosts just like to play tricks, but if it ever bothers you, lemme know." Just what exactly did he just get himself into, accepting this dorm as his own..?
As you reach the gate at the foot of the hill leading up to your dorm, he peers up at the abandoned looking building. "Oh god, please tell me you're hazing me."
"I promise, it looks a lot nicer on the inside." You laugh, opening the gate leading up. He follows after you, looking around. Cobwebs, dead plants, overgrown foliage as far as the eye can see. There appears to be a.. workshop..? Set up outside?
"What's that area right there?"
"Well, when I got here, it was a decrepit old shack of a building. I've been breathing life into it by using the dorm's upkeep budget to fix it up. Made a little arrangement with Crowley to be able to control the upkeep budget. I finally got to replacing the floors this last month, so things are lookin' real nice if I do say so myself."
When you go to open the door, your student is shocked to see how beautiful the interior is compared to the outside. "Wait... You did this? All of this? All on your own?? With no magic??" He stares at you, then back to the floors. To the furniture. If the nearby wall didn't have visible tears in the wallpaper, he'd almost not believe it. The majority of the room looks pretty brand new. The floors even sparkle from fresh oiling.
"Yeah. I mean, Grim helped a little here and there, and so did the ghosts, but they can only do so much. Their help was mostly just grabbing me tools and stuff from inside the house while I was outside because I couldn't be assed to clamber all the way inside to grab a screwdriver. I'm the one with woodworking training and the knowhow of shopping for contractors."
Your student is immediately enthralled by your handiwork, admiring the furniture. "You didn't buy this?"
"Nah. Just cleaned up and refurbished the furniture that existed here beforehand. Wanna see what they looked like before I got my hands on 'em?" You grin.
"Yeah!"
You tug out your phone, pulling up a picture of the couch that sits in the main hall. "Check it. That used to be this." Your student looks bewilderedly between your phone and the couch.
There's no way you did that.
"You're like an artificer!!"
"Hmn?"
"A craftsman of magic artifacts!"
"Oh yeah, I've heard of those. I've been looking into that kinda stuff recently, actually. Turns out, you can perform a lot of magic through crafting objects. Magestones are the magic-less person's magic craft. You just gotta charge the stones correctly and know how to build something out to allow it to best use the magestone's magic. It's a lot easier to research crafting magical objects, and I've been wondering if the path home is through crafting my own mirror to go home. I do have objects from my home that could act as a catalyst.." You get lost in your own thoughts, which your student can't really follow. But he can't argue with the results. Your work is amazing.
He's beginning to get the idea of why he was put into your dorm.
---
"This room here is mine and Grim's. All the other rooms on this floor have been cleaned out. The floors on this floor haven't been replaced yet, but we're working up to it. The ones downstairs have been replaced, but they're also pretty barren since I had to move all the furniture out. At some point this month, we'll probably have to move downstairs for a week while some guys come in and replace this floor's floors. So don't get too attached to how things are right now. Lots of changing in the works."
"Why do the floors have to be replaced?" He asks, looking around. Sure, the floors aren't new and pretty like the ones downstairs, but some TLC would probably do them some good. You kick the long hallway carpet aside to show him a massive hole in the floor where a chandlier was dropped by the ghosts when you first got here.
"We uh, don't go past this point in the hallway all that often. I'd like for new students to be able to walk anywhere in the building without worrying about their safety. The floors are pretty old anyway. I'm pretty sure they were old a few centuries ago. They're pretty overdo for replacement."
Sunny blinks. It looks like an impact. Did something happen here? Actually, now that he thinks about it, why is this dorm practically abandoned and filled with ghosts? Is there a story here they haven't told him yet..?
---
"Sunny, huh? My name's ___. It's good to have you around." You had to fill Sunny in on so much when he got here, that you've only JUST gotten to a formal introduction. He doesn't mind the informality though. You've definitely got a lot on your plate already with the renovations of the dorm. Though, it surprises him when you get up early enough to make him some breakfast the next morning. He shyly sits at the breakfast table, not really sure what to do. You give him a glance over as you start putting some food on his plate.
Setting the pan aside on a potholder, you reach over and fix up his tie. "We've only got three students who go on campus, so we've gotta try to be presentable. Let me know if you've got any problems adjusting. I know it can be pretty hard." Pretty hard is an understatement. You've probably gone through hell as a non-magical student. Sunny has been in awe of you since he saw the foyer. "Wash your dishes by hand and leave them to dry on the rack. We don't have a working dishwasher." You motion to a rack on the counter by the sink with a towel underneath it. You don't even bother to sit down, you scarf down your food while standing by the stove. Grim happily munches away at his tuna in a seat nearby Sunny as he looks around, beginning to eat his own food. It's all still pretty new to him, so you're not surprised he's taking a minute to adjust.
Still, you can't slow down much to help him. "I'm going to be solving a problem at the library today, so if you need me, I'll be there."
"Wait, what kind of problem?"
"Ahh, I think they have an infestation in one of the back rooms. Whatever the cause, Crowley was insistent that it was 'too much for him to handle' so he dropped it on my plate."
"You address the headmage so informally..?"
You laugh for a second, pausing for the first time since you got up. "Oh, yeah, dude, our dorm's unofficial name is 'Crowley's Bitches'. Every time he has a problem, he'll show up at our door and tell us to solve it. Grim, we've gotta go soon if we wanna get there in time to get to our classes afterwards."
"Our dorm acts as the Headmage's personal assistant??" Sunny's eyes widen again. That's a lot of responsibility.
"Yeah. Though, that's more of a me problem. It's because I'm staying here on his dime while I'm trapped in this world. You don't get things for free here, so, while my life incurs expenses, I pay them off by doing odd jobs. You don't have to worry about that. I mean, unless you'd like to help. I'll never say no to help."
Sunny wonders on that. With how much praise the headmage gave you upon his arrival here, being in his good graces would definitely be a positive. And, if you've got your thumb on all kinds of things in this school, he could push himself ahead by involving himself too. And no greater way to do it than to learn under someone so experienced. "Yeah, actually, I think I'd like to help out. Just consider me part of the team." He grins, flexing one arm and grabbing it with his other hand.
---
Upon arriving at the library, the librarian knows you and opens the doors, locking them shortly after you and your entourage come in. Sunny looks over the vast library in awe. It's his first time seeing it.
"Alright, so where's this.. infestation? That Crowley mentioned?" You ask, looking to the librarian getting straight to business.
"Follow me." He sighs, motioning for you three to follow him into the back. Grim glances around as you're led behind the desk. You keep your eye on him, but now you've got another person to watch. You don't know how Sunny will handle the pressure of these odd jobs, but it's nice to have someone willing to try. Did the mirror fuck up again? Or is he planning something? You catch yourself wondering on Sunny's motives, and you quietly laugh to yourself. It's funny. With how long you've lived here, you really have become accustomed to the way this world operates. Whatever the case, you're in charge, so you're sure you'll figure it out if something goes awry.
The librarian opens one of the doors in the back and you're greeted by a prompt book being jettisoned from it. You quickly dodge the projectile, seeing the dent it leaves on the wall behind you. Everyone looks to the Librarian, who stands off to the side of the room, avoiding looking in. Glancing inside, you see the disfigured face of.. A ghost. Suddenly, the headmage's request for you to get involved makes a lot more sense. The ghost screams and dives into the storage stacks of the room. You look over to Sunny to see he's frozen. Yeah, that tracks. Stepping forward, you start to walk into the room and Sunny grabs you by your sleeve. "Wait- You've got no magic-"
"Magic can only do so much anywho. C'mon. Unless... you're scared?" You give him a small, challenging grin. He's shocked. You're so relaxed. Whatever's in there is aggressive and doesn't want to be bothered, and will likely lash out at anyone that tries to get it to leave. Ghosts are one thing, but angry ghosts are another thing entirely. He's studied on them before, fascinated by the ghosts of the school. This is a bit more... exciting than he anticipated though.
You see the look in his eyes and you sigh, gently patting his shoulder. "Hey, just stay here, alright? No hard feelings if you can't go in there. Just watch." You look to Grim and he grins to you, putting on a fierce expression as you two step into the room. "Remember, no fire Grim."
"I know!!"
"I really mean it. These books are priceless."
"I'm not gonna burn anything!" The librarian watches from the doorway next to Sunny, and Sunny finds himself.. fascinated by the expression on the librarian's face. He almost looks... guilty. Books fly at you as you step into the room. Trinkets you can only presume are valuable for studying are tossed against the walls and shattered. The floor itself begins to move as the wallpaper of the room begins to tear. The ghost splatters ink against the wall that screams the word "LEAVE" in the dripping stain.
You prepare yourself for the violence, batting away books with the bat you brought as you call out to the ghost; "Look!! You're a person! So let's talk person to person, eh!?" The ghost screams audibly as it flitters through the bookshelves. One of them begins to tumble towards you off of the wall and you scoop up Grim, jumping back. "You weren't always like this, right?!" You shout amidst the chaos. "Something happened, so talk to me!"
As you speak, the librarian seems to be fiddling with something in his pocket, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. Sunny, however, can't seem to take his eyes off of the librarian. Sunny knows when someone's hiding something, and this guy's definitely holding back some vital information. It's when the ghost begins to scream again that it clicks to Sunny's mind. Every scream is accompanied by movement in the librarian's pocket. Almost as though he's got his hand on something that's causing the ghost to lash out. Without even thinking about it, Sunny snatches at the librarian's pocket, causing the librarian to jump back.
"What do you think you're doi-" The librarian snaps, interrupted by Sunny.
"What're you doing that's pissing off the ghost?" He calls out, garnering your attention. You glance over to see the librarian yank his hand away, the glint of something shiny in his hand unmistakable.
You call out to Sunny; "Grab the artifact in his hand!" And he jumps into action without even thinking about it. "Grim, help him." Grim, glad to escape the wrath of the pissed off ghost, rushes to Sunny's side to help him. After a tussle with the librarian that takes them out of your line of sight, Sunny and Grim manage to get an artifact out of his hands, and the ghost begins to calm down. The room falls silent, telling you that Sunny's hunch was right on the nose. The question is, though.. Why? After talking it out with the ghost, you learn that the ghost is one of the ones that helps in the library sometimes, but 'help' is the key word there. He wanted to leave, and the librarian tried to tether him to the library as a permanent captive.
Out in the main area of the library, the librarian begins lashing out at Sunny and Grim. His body begins changing in a familiar way, and Sunny can't believe his eyes. You can already tell from the ghost's story where this is going.
"Holdup, I'll be right back. Please, don't cause anymore damage while I'm gone."
"I just want to go home..."
"I'll need your testimony for the headmage so that the librarian is brought to justice." The ghost is sad, but resigns to it. Maybe after this, he can finally go home. You run out to the main area of the library, where Sunny and Grim went with the librarian, and you see the librarian finish his transformation. Overblot. That certainly seems to be a reoccurring problem in this school.
You immediately begin to bark orders. "Sunny, go get help. Grim and I will keep the librarian busy. This is WAY over your head." He can't help but be amazed by how quickly you step up to the plate, unfazed by things that he was sure would haunt him in his nightmares.
The librarian begins to scream about how he has too much work on his shoulders. How it all falls to him. How he can't handle it anymore. He lashes out, sending a blast of cutting air in your direction.
Grim is about to burst into action when you grab him and hoist Sunny out of the way of the blast. "GRIM. NO FIRE."
"HE'S GONNA KILL US, ___!"
"THE BOOKS STILL MATTER, AND I'M NOT INCURRING DEBT TO THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU BURNED THEM ALL." Even in the midst of this chaos, you're aware enough of your surroundings to see your effect on the world around you.
Sunny stands slowly, stepping between you and the librarian's overblotted form. "Maybe my magic is better suited for this." He says, hovering his hands outward, pen in hand. You don't even take the time to ask if that's true or not, you just switch tracks. If the kid is willing to fight, and he's not about to set the library on fire, you say let him fight.
"Change of plans then. Grim! Get help! We'll handle this as best as we can!"
"No need to tell me twice!" Grim rushes for the door. The librarian lashes out at you three with another blast of air, to which you kick over a heavy table as a barricade to give Grim a cover to escape from.
Behind your makeshift barricade, you look to Sunny. "Okay. What type of magic can you perform?" You ask, glancing over the edge of the tipped table to keep an eye on the librarian between blasts of cutting air.
"Uh.. Mm.." He raises his pen, "You're alone, and you are scared, but the banquet's all prepared- Be Our Guest!" Books and debris around you begin to dance, moving around. The table itself begins to move, surprising you. You reflexively bark orders to the table to hold its place, and it.. Salutes.. you..? But it stands firm in its position, even moving its own legs to better leverage against the blasts.
You look to Sunny in earnest surprise. This is a powerful spell.
You can't help but let a large grin spread across your lips as an "Oh hell yeah" escapes your lips. "I can work with this."
Using guerrilla tactics and dancing book ends and library ladders, you two are able to lure the overblotted librarian deeper into the stacks, catching him offgaurd from multiple angles as you take control of the field. Finally, he gets so fed up that he just begins using his personal magic to try to hurt everything that comes near him. You couldn't catch the spell, but it looked like sand is engulfing everything. Where did the sand even come from..? Is this what higher level magic looks like..?
It isn't until Grim returns with Ace, Deuce and.. Rook? That the tide of the fight shifts.
Everyone working together, you're able to wear down the librarian enough that he's burnt out his emotions before his magic has been burnt out.
He passes out and you look around at the massive mess. Ace and Deuce are high-fiving and laughing as Rook is commenting on how dastardly the beast you just hunted was, and how beautiful and impeccable your teamwork was. Sunny is exhausted. He's spent more magic in just this morning than he has in most of the exercises he's ever had before this school.
You look to his pen and can see the cloudiness in it, and you rest a hand on his shoulder. "Stand down, Sunny. You did great. Relax and rest. I'll handle the rest." He watches you in awe as.. even though you've already spent so much energy running around in warfare amidst the bookshelves, you stand tall to thank the help that came along. Deuce and Ace both grin and demand you buy them lunch and you happily agree. Rook on the other hand is now more interested than ever in your prowess in the field, and keeps suggesting you'd make a great hunt. Sunny isn't sure what that means, but it doesn't seem to be a favor you're keen on giving him.
Grim cries out that he worked hard and deserves tuna, and you agree as you start moving tables back to where they belong. Sunny is exhausted, but he knows his spell would help a lot with the cleanup. Still.. he finds himself drifting off to sleep before he can swing his pen in any way to help.
---
Sunny eventually wakes up, this time in the infirmary. You're sitting next to him. Crowley is standing nearby as well. He can tell you both were talking about something before he stirred awake. Crowley cries out in joyous lament from the state of Sunny's awakening, saddened that such a student fell so exhausted and was put in such danger under his watch. You figure he's putting on a show to try to make Sunny feel responsible for getting involved in one of your little 'odd jobs'.
"How're you doing, Kid?" You ask him, nudging his shoulder.
Sunny tiredly looks to you, then to Crowley, rubbing his eye. "Nngh.. I'm beat.."
"It was really kind of you to help out with that odd job, but, the headmage here says it'd probably be best if you didn't help on those in the future." You grin sheepishly, but are startled as Sunny shoots up, gripping your forearm.
"But, I wanted to help!"
This surprises Crowley too. He figured you had pressured Sunny into it, but it seems he was a bit more boisterous than you BOTH expected. "I.. I liked being able to be useful. I learned a lot, and, and.." Sunny tries to explain himself and Crowley smiles. From your story, this kid is the primary reason that the school even still HAS a library. Maybe the mirror seems to know what it's doing afterall.
"Alright. Okay. I involved myself because I was worried that your first day was a little TOO rough, but it sounds like you're more tenacious than I expected. Your teachers have been made aware of the situation, so please, Sunny, take the rest of the day off." Crowley's less concerned about the backlash of the kid's parents, and more concerned about the darkness clouding his magestone. He doesn't really know how to hold himself back. He's a little too eager, and that concerns him. "Your magestone is quite clouded, so you need to rest more than anything."
You immediately step up to the plate, giving Crowley a silent confirmation that you'll help your student recover from this incident; "I'll go by all your classes to get the classwork for you, so, just consider today your day off. We'll start again tomorrow, fresh as a daisy." You grin, patting Sunny's shoulder. He tiredly nods, resting back in the bed. You get up. "If you feel ready, let the nurse know, and I'll come return to walk you back to the dorm. Alright?"
Today it was just exhaustion, but, you make a note in your mind that Sunny doesn't really know how to stop himself from pushing himself too hard. You'll have to keep an eye on that.
---
"What ever happened with the librarian?" It's been a few days, and the library's been inaccessible due to repairs. Sunny asks the question over breakfast.
"Ah.. yeah, Crowley was not psyched to find out what he'd been doing to the ghost that was helping in the stacks, but he also felt responsible for all of the problems that'd fallen on the librarian's shoulders. Still, given the level of damage he did, and the fact that he endangered multiple students, it's not likely we'll see that librarian again for a while, if ever. They're probably gonna get a new one, and give them more help than they did the last one. Can't have a teacher who overblots like that instead of communicating to the headmage about their struggles."
"You seemed.. so used to it. Like nothing about any of that surprised you. Is that.. Is it common for you to deal with that kind of stuff?" Sunny's voice is slow, almost not sure how to phrase the question.
You laugh. "Yeah, you could say that. A lot of people have overblotted at the school, and I keep landing in the center of those fights. It's never my fault, it just seems that a good chunk of the things Crowley doesn't have time for are things that need the most tending to."
Sunny blinks. "The more I learn about this headmage, the more I'm surprised he's allowed to run a school. He seems incredibly irresponsible."
"Hey now, Crowley bankrolls that breakfast you're eating, so you gotta play nice. But.. I getcha. It's exhausting. I figure he's doing the best he can, but it is awfully suspicious that he is always conveniently gone when overblotting starts happening. I've had my thoughts on the matter, but, eh, I've got enough to worry about. 'Sides, it's in the job description."
"Job description?"
You grin. "Y'know. Crowley's Bitches." Sunny laughs. He gets it now.
——–
Chapter End.
——–
You can read the rest of this series, and other works, here!:
I just remembered this thing a friend and I used to do back and forth, and now I have an MC concept.
Okay, so, my buddy and I used to do this thing where we’d send each other coded messages back and forth. At first, it started with us learning Morse Code, at which we very quickly realized we could force the other person to decypher messages like “Ur a bitch” which was so funny to us, that we started upping the anti.
Over time, we started using new codes to trip each other up, not telling the other person what codes we used. It had to be something the other person could find/study if they were clever enough, but outside of those parameters, it was mostly free-game.
Eventually, we started nesting the cyphers.
Which means, taking the already cyphered message and running it through another cypher.
This would result in paragraphs upon paragraphs, even upwards of pages of text that would amount to a message like “You’re the bitchiest bitch of all of the land and I bet you took too long figuring out this message. Fight me.”
So I’m imagining an MC who, one day, decides to bring up cyphers to another character. They explain them, and show them how they work, and they send them a cypher message for them to decode. Only, it’s an insult and the MC is grinning like an idiot.
Over time, this back and forth escalates between MC and the character, and they reach a point where they are sending pages upon pages of coded messages back and forth.
Where coding comes into this, is that I’m learning coding (C++ and C#) and I was thinking back on this time period, and I wish I had a ‘fight buddy’ to fight through coding programs and stuff. Someone who we could go back and forth, having to analyze each other’s codes, compile them, and then go back and forth between the code and the program to decypher the messages, which would amount to insults.
It’s a really great system. I’ve been told it’s akin to having a rival relationship, but super nerdy. Lmfaoooo
I imagine this MC would get along really well with characters who’re book nerds/coding/programming/game design nerds? These would be your characters who’re obsessed with machines and programming stuff, or characters who love a challenge of unraveling something by their own wit and grit.
When I fought my buddy, I’d go out and get help from other friends who were well-versed in cyphers, so I also imagine this MC going and roping other characters into this little game and it just becomes a very fun back and forth, only the characters who get roped in don’t realize that they’re putting all of this work in to decypher an insult. Hahahahaha
“I DID IT, I FIGURED IT OUT, THEY’RE USING A MODIFIED VIGENÈRE CYPHER!”
“Ooh, what’s coming through??”
“Y O U A R E A M E G A B I T C- What the fuck are we decyphering”
“Oh I’m writing a rebuttal as we speak.”
“We’ve been spending an hour on this”
“Yeah, and now they’re gonna spend two decyphering our insult.”
---
I just imagine this MC sitting with a group of folks, chatting away, and one of the characters just walks up and drops a stack of papers in front of them and silently throws a white glove in their face and walks away. MC, now looking through the papers, realizing they’re looking at code, just going “No.. no... NO.. NO I HAVE TO TRANSCRIPT THIS, YOU BITCH!?” and all the characters around them being confused like “What is happening right now”
I love when tormenting people is a love language.
MC has a fun hobby. They make up fake words to try to convince the cast that they’re saying real words that exist from the world that MC came from.
Some people, the ones who avidly study/consider themselves well-read, who admire this MC, wanting to learn these new words so they can use them organically in a sentence and understand MC better. MC then makes more fake words to either see how far they can take it, or to keep the ruse up because they’re in too deep. Maybe the characters who got invested are gonna kick MC’s ass if they discover this was all a ruse. Maybe MC just doesn’t wanna disappoint them? Whatever the case, MC doesn’t wanna get caught.
MC makes them so convincing that the characters genuinely believe that this is a real cultural rift between them. The characters and MC’s languages share enough words that they can communicate really well, so where did their communities diverge that prevents them from knowing THESE words?? If there’s a linguistics nerd who is fascinated by the differences, they try to research into a nonexistent rabbithole of linguistic research to find if there’s any words in the history of their world that connects to these, to see if there was a time when their worlds were connected in the past where they could have diverged, and what the implications of that could be.
If MC has been ripped from their world and has no way of getting back, the characters could see this as a very real lead to discovering MC’s origins.
Extra points if MC starts forging documents to make the rabbithole seem legit.
Extra EXTRA points if the linguistics nerd(s) realize(s) that these words couldn’t be real and just starts forging their OWN documents to trip up MC and see how they react.
Came to me because I was watching a funny video where someone was challenged to make up a fake word with at least 3 syllables and try to convince people that it was real by using it organically in a conversation.
I made up a word and really liked it, and then started playing around with more words for funsies and just got the inspiration for this concept. I was like “I could totally see an MC doing something similar and convincing the casts of these games that these words were real.”
Maybe there’s a character or two who knows that these words aren’t real and is messing with MC to trip them up.
