Is There Really A Princess In Your College?

is there really a princess in your college?

Yuu has to fix the electric fan in the headmaster's office, or there will be no radiator in the winter😔

Of course neige.. ofc

Drabble: The Prefect's routine

I wonder if Yuu's friends ever realize how awful their circumstances is, how innately lonely and scary it is to be far away from home, with a slim chance of returning?

Yuu has put effort Ramshackle dorm to make it livable. They expended time, effort, and their meager allowance to make a home out of it. It distracts them from thinking too much of their home.

Yuu can still remember the coldness of the night they first arrive. The aching of their body as they battled ghosts and the taste of dust in their tongue when they woke up. The wind blew open the window shutters, the hinges of the doors were groaning. There was no peace or comfort except from the warmth of Grim's body.

They found no rest the following days as they had to deal with the first overblot.

Then they had to deal with renovations. They had to fix the broken faucets, replace the waterpipes and throw away rusted metal or rotten wood. They had to clean every corner that they could. The cobwebs on the walls, in the corners and under the tables. One time they fell to the basement due to a rotten floorboard.

In the weekdays they had to study those they were unfamiliar with, alchemy, magic,flying, and history. They felt like a kindergartener as they knew nothing . At night instead of immediately resting they had to do their homework, which they do not understand . Then it was back to trying to fix the faucet to get some water. If the boiler wasn't working, they had to boil hot water in a kettle to take a soothing bath.

Grim and the Ghosts atleast offered them companionship. They had no phone so they take any interaction they get.

The only clothing they ever had with them were the clothes behind their back, which they used as pajamas. Crowley gave them 3 sets of wrinkly old school uniforms,one for class, one for Pe and one for ceremonies, they were ill fitting but atleast they could change . Alas, they had to sew it up together as the seams fell apart after one washing. It still smelled like dust and old mold.

They had nothing else to wear during the weekends, so they settled in sewing up old curtains into shirts. Ace and Deuce were kind enough to donate to them a pair of shorts each, taking pity when they saw Yuu struggling to fix an ancient sewing machine so they could sew more clothing.

Yuu has gotten pretty good at mending old clothes and making new shirts. They even patched up the couch and the curtains.

Then there was the roof. Oh the damn roof keeps leaking and the damn window shutters keeps banging! It drove them insane that they went and tried to fix it themselves, reading up on an old book to learn how to fix it.

That was the first time they fell off the roof.

Luckily they landed on a particularly strong branch. Their stomach was bruised the whole month, which they hid from their friends.They were resilient and stuborn to a fault.

Then theres the laundry that needs to be done. They do it all one friday night, so that if it ever rains by Sunday they'd have fresh clothes to go. The harder part was washing the beddings and the couach, the curtains and the carpets.

The worst was when the electricity turned off or the light bulb bursts. The nights were very cold and they had to huddle closer to Grim while they wait for the next day.

And let's not forget the garden, the trees needd trimming. The fence needed repainting. The gate needed replacing. The lawn needed mowing.

It was like that, day by day. Study, clean up ramshackle, find another broken thing in the dorm, fix it, do homework, do Crowley's errands, hang out with their friends.

Repeat.Repeat. Repeat.

If there was a moment of peace and quite, it never lasted long.

It surprises the others when Yuu doesn't keep a grudge against those who overblotted. The guys who were the reason Yuu had more on their plate. The persons who were the reason Crowley made Yuu write an entire report on the happenings.Alas, they still did it with no complaints.

Yuu makes sure that they do not have the time to be idle. If they hands are, their mind shouldn't .

Never ever EVER be alone with their own thoughts.

They cannot allow themselves to wallow in self pity. They had a dorm to maintain, a cat to take care of, friends to entertain and school work to be done.

Their hands have never felt rougher.Their shoulder never felt so stiffer.

But that's just the way things go.

Idea: Because Yuu is poor af and has no items of her own

At first, it started as a small gift, like a pen from a brand Ace really liked and an extra ruler from deuce as they saw that Yuu only had a sparse amount of stationary

Then there was a bag pack from Cater who won it from a giveaway on MagiCam and promptly gave it to Yuu cause he had no use for it anyway

Trey got Yuu and Grim a toothbrush set with matching cups

Then, Yuu received a handkerchief with some embroidered roses from Riddle 

“Do I have a sign on my back that writes ‘accepting gifts’ ?”

But it doesn’t stop there as the next gift she receives is an old coat from Jack who notices that Yuu doesn’t have any winter clothing

Ruggie, seeing this, goes along and adds in a scarf he made that was lying around

“Why are you looking at me like that, Leona-senpai?”

Leona seems to grumble something before throwing a fleece blanket onto Yuu’s face

Yuu is seriously considering the theory of an invisible sign on her back

Azul’s face of shock when she said she kept all her money on her was one she’ll never forget and that’s why she returned to her room with a brand new safe box

Receiving yet another gift being a pair of shoes from Floyd that looked really new and expensive as this was one of his older pair of shoes that he couldn’t wear anymore due to his growth spurt

It was also expected of Jade to give something as this point, seeing as everyone else chimed in with a gift and Yuu got a thermos flask that Jade uses often for his hiking trips

Even Grim’s noticing the weird uptick in gifts

Kalim was pretty adamant on giving Yuu a carpet to decorate the dorm and not being able to refuse him, Yuu just thanked him for it

Hearing that Yuu really liked his cooking, Jamil passed her a cookbook he used for the meals with some notes written on how he prepares it, Yuu looked as if she was going to cry right then and there

The ghosts were talking to Yuu about how much the ramshackle dorm has changed from the new additions of Yuu’s gifts

On one of the flying class, Vil came over to tidy up Yuu’s hair with some additional bobby pins he had as he couldn’t stand Yuu’s constant fidgeting as her hair keeps getting in her eyes

Yuu also had a sigh of relief after class as the train of gifts had finally stop, or not

Rook passed a really high class-looking bag to her with a message that it was a gift from Vil and him and Yuu’s wishes were just not going to happened

Looking inside the bag was a medium size accessory box with a purple hue that had a mirror built in and a small amount of accessories like hair ties and pins inside

Epel also passed along apple products from his hometown due to receiving a whole new box

Yuu is getting a reputation from being really friendly with the seniors and the dorm leaders

Knowing Idia’s habit of using an electronic device in place of himself for meetings, Yuu finds it strange that it was drenched in water so she picks it up and dries it before returning it back to Idia

“Hello? Idia-senpai are you there? . . Oh, oh okay. I’ll leave it at the door.”

Ortho shows up the next day in front of ramshackle dorm with what Yuu is dreading to be another gift

“I can’t possible accept this, it’s too much, . .I really don’t,”

So, Ortho just shoves the gift in Yuu’s hands and speeds away, leaving Yuu and Grim to stare into the empty space 

Inside the box has a handwritten note along with a watch which Idia says to be one of his earlier models and a thank you 

If the trend where to continue at least there was only one dorm left, right?

Sebek was seriously contemplating giving Yuu a portrait of Malleus as he didn’t want to lose against the other dorms in terms of gifts

Silver and Lilia had to talk him down from giving anything Malleus-related

“Who wouldn’t be happy to receive a portrait of Malleus-sama????”

In the end, Diasomnia held a meeting to decide what kind of gift to give Yuu

“I have a feeling someone is talking about me, weird.”

When Yuu sees Sebek approaching her with Silver and Lilia and a huge gift in tow, Yuu has never dreaded living that much

Before Yuu could close the door, Sebek’s loud voice has already called Yuu’s name

There were numerous students behind carrying what seems to be furniture and as Lilia begins to introduce each of them, Yuu feels like she is getting dizzy from thinking of the price of each of the items

There was a wardrobe, a dressing table with a matching stool and a study desk

All made of the finest wood originating from the Valley of Thorns

Yuu doesn’t remember how many times she thanked them and the other thing was that all of them seemed really proud for no reason?

Malleus only hears of their actions after a few days as no one bothered to invite Malleus to the meeting they held to discuss what to give Yuu

He thinks to himself that maybe he should gift something as well, and when he finally realizes it, Malleus was already standing at the door of Ramshackle dorm

“Tsunotarou? Why are you standing there, come in and have some tea.”

After a cup of tea and some treats, Malleus finally asks what Yuu would like as a gift 

“It’s the first time someone asked me what I wanted, everyone else just gave me something they wanted me to have. Hmm, how about a small light that doesn’t go out? Like a nightlight? It’s really annoying getting up in the night when it’s so dark.”

Malleus immediately gets to work as he conjures a small metal lantern with a handle at the top, he places just a bit of his own flames within it

He hands it to Yuu who looked quite amazed with the lantern

“If it ever goes out, I’ll light it again for you.”

“Thanks Tsunotarou~”

imagine finding yourself being more forgetful than usual once you find yourself in NRC. You'd swear you left your phone on your coffee table, so why did you have to search your dorm only to find it on your bed? Or how you swear you didn't leave your favorite mug in a room you had deemed a storage room. You had begun to feel like you were going crazy, had you really heard that chuckle? You swore something had tickled your neck. Were you haunted? Well...you were, but the ghosts hadn't done this before. Unbeknownst to you, this was all a giant prank that Che'nya had kept going for far too long. The second he laid eyes on you at the unbirthday party, he knew you'd be fascinating and he had proved himself right when he watched you scold yourself for being forgetful once more, or when you started to scan every room, calling out for the entity to reveal itself. He found it hilarious that you haven't put two and two together yet, and who was he to end the fun so soon?

Drabble: Hand-me-Downs

Yuu got isekaid to NRC with only the clothes on their backs. The only extra clothing they had when they got to Ramshackle were the uniforms from Crowley, the standard NRC class uniform, Pe clothes, a labcoat and Ceremonial robes, all ill-fitting and smelling dust.

When they got to cleaning the dilapitated dorm they found some extra fabric or clothing and they made some shirts.

Ace was the first one to give them so extra clothes, a hoodie that he brought but never wore. Then next was Deuce with a new shirt his mother sent over that was not his size.

When Yuu ran out of clothing because the rain came before their clothes dried, they'd wear some of Heartslabyul's shirts that Ace or Deuce lent them.

At some point other dorms caught on on Whats happening and joined in.

Riddle would give Yuu and "extra" scarf he had that he didn't use, its cold out Yuu should protect themselves from the cold. Trey would give a nice hat to protect themselves from the sun. Cater happily throwing in some comfy mittens he found on sale but didn't "fit him". Everything , ofcourse, in Heartslabyul's signature colors.

The Savanaclaw guys were different, instead of clothing Leona would tell Yuu to take away the trash littering his dorm room, and by trash he means that extra embroidered duvets his brother has sent him. He doesn't want it. Jack gives them extra new towels he had on stock , while Ruggie stitches them a doll he said just happened to look like a mini-grim that he was planning to sell. All of these went to Yuu's bedroom.

Yuu was wary from accepting anything from Octavinelle but it was hard to say no to them. Azul handed a coat he didn't use anymore. Floyd practically pushed into their hands a pair of pants that were far to long, but they could always stitch it up.Jade offered some gloves, but unlike Cater's that was for colder climates, the gloves Jade gave was for everyday use. Yuu tried not to think how it can be second hand when it fits them perfectly (Jade and Yuu definitely had different hand sizes).

Kalim was as generous as he can get and he had a lot of stuff to spare, like his signature cardigan. It was so obvious Yuu got it from Kalim that it got some students staring. Jamil gave Yuu some extra pajamas he had lying around, it was large and comfy and Yuus favorite sleepwear.

Vil gave Yuu like, 7 pairs of silken pillow cases. He said he got it as PR in the past and it would be a waste not to put it to good use. He also got them some extra handkerchiefs so they can be more aware of their messy appearance. Rook gave them his extra dress shirt, which was far too large but beggars can't be choosers. Epel gave them a knitted sweater from his home town and some earmuffs.

Idia was against the idea, but Ortho pursuaded him. Rather than giving hand me downs he gives Yuu some brand new Eyecovers for sleeping, it had a printed picture of a game character on it so it must be a freebie from one of his online escapades. Still, its the thought that counts. Ortho was the one who decided for his brother and added a hoodie Idia didn't use in the pile. (much to Idia's mortification the first time he saw Yuu wearing it in the hallways, he didn't take it back tho)

Lilia gave them a large extra Diasomnia outer coat, which was part of the dorm uniform and several band shirts. Silver gave them an extra pillow. And Sebek, handed them an extra labcoat, which again was far too large but it can be mended so its ok. Malleus took some time thinking of what hand me down to give them, which hw shouldn't really because Yuu was happy with anything he gave, but alas Malleus wanted it to be special. (For a handme down, really?)

He wanted to take Yuu's situation in mind, what article of clothing or bedding did they need?

In the end he settled giving the thing he thought Yuu needed the most...

Which so happened to be a fancy bed canopy with gold and black accents.Malleus says its good for sleeping, to keep the light and noise out.It may also be a bit enchanted to give the owner a goodnight's rest.

It looked so out of place in Yuu's little room.And they had to build the foundation to hold it up.

So that's how Yuu got several hand me downs from their friends, clothing and bedding.

Until Ace lent them his cologne, which started a whole new wave of hand me downs, each person trying to one up each other in giving Yuu a scent that also "coincidentally" smells like one of the dorms or a dorm member.

Can I please request a reader that has been so traumatised by what’s happened in the Scarabia book that they actively avoid the entire dorm and have Ace and Deuce as their guard dogs (I love those two and I really love how you wrote them as the readers protective besties during the Malleus break up fic). Like how would Kalim, Jamil and Adeuce react to that?

I find it really cathartic when I read fics that have the characters feeling guilty after what they put the reader through whilst the reader is getting support from their friends.

(Something I’m really salty about in twst is how no one ever holds the overblots accountable for what they’ve done. I full on agreed with Ace when he told Riddle that crying wasn’t going to erase all that he did before the overblot and I literally fell in love with him when he punched Riddle after he insulted us/Yuu/the player. I understand that those boys are traumatised and are in desperate need of therapy and overblotting was the only way for their problems to be solved but the treatment they inflicted on Yuu/us was downright hellish. Azul made us homeless and tore us away from the only family/comfort we had in twst (the ghosts) and then sent the tweels to terrorise us in our attempts to reclaim said home and free our friends from servitude; Jamil kidnapped us, hypnotised us, locked us up in a room against our will, isolated us from Adeuce and took away any contact we had with them, forced us on long marches in the dessert and turned a blind eye to our clear suffering during that time; Vil acted like a literal demon to not only us (and then almost made my Deucey cry) but everyone else as well and that was before he decided to try to murder an innocent teenager. Like why does no one understand just how much this can damage an actual child who has no magic and has been stripped from their home and family?)

Reader Terrified of Scarabia After Jamil’s Overblot

TW: PTSD; Mental Breakdown; Disassociation; Mentions of Abuse; Kalim and Jamil are tragic

Info: Ace, Deuce x Reader (platonic or romantic); Kalim, Grim x Reader (platonic); Jamil and Reader (neutral)

🍓I love requests like this tbh. My own OC sorta has her own grapplings with this stuff that I like to touch upon, and I’m excited I get the chance to talk about it here :) THIS IS LONG AS HELL BTW(like this intro here lol). I had a lot of fun writing it :))) I added a cute, shorter little grim part, because our little guy deserves more lovin’ than he gets. I also decided to do a cute little (read: long) intro, and then head cannons since you didn’t specify for either. I hope you enjoy this style, and I’m sorry for the wait <3

You had been through… a lot in your time at Night Raven College. Being thrown into a completely different world would’ve been enough, but it seems that the great seven thought you needed some extra troubles. You weren’t sure how you could’ve encored their wrath, but you were, and you were chugging along despite it all.

First was the attack from the phantom in the mines — something that should’ve been foreshadowing for what was to come. You didn’t even do anything to be in this position. It was Ace Grim and Deuce, but you got dragged into it all because you were “Grim’s keeper.” You managed to befriend Ace and Deuce though, so it wasn’t so bad.

Second was Riddle with his unending temper and strict rules. Despite everything telling you to just stay out of it, your good-natured heart just couldn’t stop you from helping Ace and Deuce. Nearly dying in the process, you managed to help Riddle and made newfound friends in Heartslabyul. 

Third came Leona, the selfish, stuck-up, lazy no-good prince of the Savannah. You knew he was trouble from the start, and you wanted nothing to do with him or his little lackey Ruggie. Then he hurt Trey, and you couldn’t stand by while he reigned terror on the school. He was a favorable ally to gain in the end, so you could dismiss his actions so long as he kept in his lane.

Fourth was Azul, another student you figured would cause you trouble. With the extra scary Jade and Floyd always tailing him, and that too buttery sweet voice of his, you were determined to keep your distance. Again, however, your friends were in trouble and you couldn’t help but help them. Azul was a broken person, and you could sympathize with his struggles. He even gave you a job at the lounge to help with funding yourself, so he couldn’t be all that bad.

You’d come to dislike the other house wardens out of principle. A pattern had emerged among them, and you weren’t going to fall victim to another horrific overblot. You still had suction cup-shaped bruises on your arm from Azul’s breakdown. Leona had given you more than just a nasty burn from the scalding hot whirlwind of sand he conjured up. The scars Riddle left behind on your face and arms were healed, but they still ached when you touched them. All painful reminders that you could not truly trust anyone here, that anyone could lose control of themselves and hurt you. Yet…

When you met Jamil in the kitchen, he seemed so kind to both you and Grim. He seemed so genuine and honest. Maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe it was you missing your friends, but you wanted to trust him despite your gut feeling to be distrustful. Could everyone here really be that bad? Certainly not. Ace Deuce and Jack went here as well… so surely… surely…

The alarm bells didn’t ring at all during the dinner, and Kalim — despite everything you’ve been through — seemed so nice, if not a little overbearing. You could see the tiredness on Jamil's face, and you had the kindness in your heart to express your sympathies. And oh, Jamil so humbly assured you that he was fine. Filling your head with little half-truths and ideas that Kalim had been overworking not only him but the other students. That he had been acting “off” as of late.

You saw Kalim’s sudden shifts in personality. How he would be so sweet, so kind and soft. How he made sure you were enjoying yourself, made sure you ate to your heart's content, made sure you were comfortable in your uniform and your sleeping quarters. Then he would be yelling at everyone, demanding unspeakable exercises and work.

If Ace were there with you, he would’ve called bullshit. Still, you trusted Jamil to start. You actually believed he was kind and had good intentions. You believed that Kalim was the real evil here.

Then he wouldn’t let you and Grim leave, and the students were suddenly so aggressive toward you. He took everything you had and stripped you of your dignity and pride until there was nothing left but fight.

Truly, you didn’t realize it was him that was the issue until he was over-blotting in front of your eyes. It wasn’t an unusual sight to you at that point, you’d defeated multiple overblots and befriended these people. You don’t know what it was. The way you’d trusted him. The fact that you felt truly alone without Ace and Deuce. This one broke you…

You just didn’t feel a damn thing after he was saved. You felt no pity, no joy, no relief. Absolutely nothing, an empty void in your chest. Even as everyone around you celebrated, there was nothing. You stood watching everyone parade around with glee blankly, unable to speak to anyone around you. Just listening to the voices that had begun to mesh together.

You didn’t show anything until Ace and Deuce showed up. Something about their faces, the way they were looking over you, the way they seemed so scared for your wellbeing… it made you cry. It made you cry and cry and cry until you couldn’t make any noise and then you cried some more. They had to drag you away from everyone because you just couldn’t quite stand upright when Deuce would try to get you to walk away with him…

The days after were blurry. You remained holed up in your dorm, unable to really move from your bed. Ace and Deuce stayed in their own separate room next to yours. You could hear them talking through the walls about how worried they were about you, how angry they were at Jamil, how angry they were at themselves for not getting there in time to help you. If you’d had the energy, you would’ve scolded them for being so hard on themselves, but you could hardly speak in the first place.

They cared for you as best as they could. Deuce attempted to cook the recipes Trey sent him over magicam, making sure you ate and stayed hydrated. Occasionally you’d hear Azul downstairs, and Deuce would give you something nice from the Monstrolounge — free of charge, he promised. You could tell that he wasn’t sleeping much in his worry over you. 

Grim remained at your side as loyal as a dog and boasting that he’d keep you safe, but you knew he was scared too. He proclaimed that he would keep you safe, but you could feel him trembling at every sudden noise. You had to comfort him from the horrific nightmares he was having. That was okay, though, he was family and you were his.

Ace was the only one who really kicked your ass into gear. He’d tug you out of bed and into the shower as people began to return from winter break. Made you go on walks around campus to show you that you were completely safe. Eventually, he’d been able to get you to visit Azul to thank him directly for his kindness. He wasn’t soft or gentle with you, that wasn’t in his character at all, but he made sure you felt safe enough to return to classes before they started.

They both worked hard to help you recover, but you were still so afraid…

Ace

-Ace isn’t exactly the most comforting person, and he never claimed to be. 

-He’s not good at reassuring people, but he’s good at being honest, and if he was being honest he knew that you were safe around him and Deuce.

-He walks you to and from classes, spends most of his nights in your dorm doing whatever the hell you’d like him to do without complaint, distracts you when you’re freaking out, and most importantly keeps that snake as far away from you as possible.

-If he was being honest with himself, which was his whole thing, he didn’t really get your reaction to everything. 

-You’ve all been through this before, it's textbook at this point. A guy does some shady shit, a guy gets caught doing said shady shit, a guy overblots, and you defeat a guy with the power of friendship. Boom. Done.

-He’d get it more if you were completely alone, but grim and the octanivelle freaks were there! Kalim too, and he’s always seemed pretty nice. Not the best company, sure, but still you had people helping you out.

-When he looks at your face and sees how tired you are, he forgets the logical stuff. All he can hear are those horrific sobs you let out when you saw him and how you nearly ripped his uniform in half with how tightly you were holding him and Deuce.

-If that was too much for him, he can’t imagine how badly it must’ve felt for you. How bad it must still feel.

-So screw what he thinks, he’s gotta make sure you’re taking care of yourself.

-He doesn’t ask you how you’re feeling, he knows it's not good. He focuses on keeping your mind off of everything that might trigger you.

-Reroutes your paths to classes to avoid Jamil and Kalim completely. Sure it’s longer and more annoying, but it's better than you going dead silent and shutting him and everyone else out again.

-He does everything in his power and you’re doing so well… and then the VDC happens. 

-You’re given the title of manager and you’re forced to be around these people who terrify you. 

-Vil won’t budge on anything and sevens Ace wishes Rook would let him try out a little target practice with the (illegal) bow and arrows he’s got in his room.

-He keeps himself between you and Jamil at all costs. He won’t let Jamil bother you at all, not that he was trying in the first place.

-The real issue is Kalim, which sounds crazy, but it’s true.

-Kalim is so… forceful. A pretty strong word, but honestly the only one Ace can think to use.

-He’s really nice, really sweet, seriously such a good guy… but you’re still unsettled by him.

-There are several times during practices that Ace has to yell at him to just leave you alone.

-Sure, it gets him a pretty big scolding from Vil, but he couldn’t care less honestly. He doesn’t wanna risk you having a panic attack because Vil doesn’t wanna be a responsible leader.

-You confide in Ace a lot. How you really want to move past all this, but Crowley won’t provide you with any form of therapy, and you’re just not ready to forgive Jamil or Kalim for what happened.

-He won’t tell you this, but hearing you talk like this breaks his heart.

-You’re normally so strong, so brave, so confident… and now you’re absolutely broken.

-He’s proud of you for putting on a brave face to placate Vil, but he’s angry you have to.

-Surprisingly, though, you do begin to warm up to Kalim. Just a little. 

-It's only when Ace, Deuce, or Grim is around, but it's a really big step forward in his eyes.

-You’re getting back to where you used to be little by little.

-He still won’t give you or Jamil the chance to reconcile, but you honestly couldn’t be more grateful for that.

Deuce

-Deuce is incredibly different from Ace in how he handles everything.

-He’s a delinquent, sure, but he’s a Mama’s boy at heart. Therefore, he’s much more equipped to help you emotionally through all this than Ace.

-Where Ace is the harsh pushing force to keep you going, Deuce is the calm where you can rest and cry your heart out for as long as you need.

-As I mentioned, he makes sure you’re eating and drinking and at least speaking to someone.

-He asks Trey for recipes without leading on to what’s going on and asks Cater for advice on helping someone feel safe after a traumatic experience.

-It’s not subtle, but it helps.

-He handles making all your meals, even though he isn’t the best cook, he absolutely puts all his heart and soul into everything he makes.

-A good portion of his days are dedicated to cooking for you, and he gets pretty damn good at it by the time classes start up again!

-With Sam’s shop closed, he has to go into town to get the ingredients he needs, and then he has to spend hours preparing and serving the food.

-He watches you eat, encouraging you that everything is safe and that he made it all by himself by hand. 

-He doesn’t question why things ended up this way for you, he wonders how can I help?

-And he does help, a lot, more than just with food.

-Sometimes, late at night, he hears you crying alone in your room. He gets up from his own bed, quietly enters your room, and holds you and grim while you both tremble in fear.

-It makes him so mad. Mad that this happened to you. Mad that Jamil did this in the first place. Mad that he couldn’t help more than he already is. 

-Like Ace, he accompanies you to all your classes and makes sure to stay close to your side if any Scarabia students are around.

-He’ll go anywhere you need him to, and if you’re not comfortable being alone and he’s got plans, you’re invited to join him. No matter what anyone else thinks.

-Things get better little by little. You make strides in your ability to be independent again and you’re smiling and joking around like you used to. You even agreed to try out for the VDC with him and Ace… a big mistake.

-He didn’t expect to actually get in, let alone get in with Jamil and Kalim. If it were just that he could’ve been civil, but no, you had to be dragged in too… because that’s always how it works out.

-He has to hold himself from getting in Jamil’s face more than once because just him looking at you is enough to send you into a clear panic attack.

-Deuce does his best to comfort you between all of this, though. Being your shoulder to cry on and trying his best to be your protector… it's just hard. Hard to see you like that, and hard to keep his cool for your sake.

-It's worse with Kalim because both you and Deuce know he means well. You both know he wants to reconcile, but you’re not quite ready.

-Deuce helps the confrontation with the two feel a bit easier though. He acts as a mediator between you and Kalim, and eventually, he’s proud to say he helped you trust Kalim just a little bit.

-Jamil… both of you could use some work, but Deuce is more willing to hear you out on him than Ace is.

Grim

-Grim was there with you the whole time. He understands the fear you’re feeling deeper than anyone else.

-He could just tell something was wrong the second he saw your face. Despite all the celebrations, he was focused on making sure you were at least a little okay.

-He tried to talk to you, tried to make you feel okay, but the only comfort he could offer you was letting you hold him while you cried.

-He could still hear your cries, and they made him want to cry too. He almost did, but he was your guard cat — he had to be strong for you.

-Unlike Ace and Deuce, he never left your side. Not a second. He was there with you from the moment you were unwittingly kidnapped to the sleepless nights in your dorm to the horror of finding out you’d have to work closely with Jamil for the VDC.

-He made his distaste for him very known, sure to make a snarky comment at least once every time he saw him. 

-It was so bad, at one point, that Vil had to give him a stern talking to. He didn’t stop regardless.

-You are Grim’s best friend, the only family he has, and Jamil hurt you in unspeakable ways. He couldn’t just sit back and be okay with that.

-He’s really such a good guy.

Kalim

-Kalim means well. With his whole heart, he has the best intentions… just not the best execution.

-See, he didn’t notice initially that anything was really wrong the whole time.

-He didn’t suspect Jamil at all. In fact, he thought that you were really enjoying your stay in Scarabia, you seemed so happy and chatty up until Jamil flipped things on their head.

-Call him air-headed, but he was caught up in his own whirlwind of emotions at the time. You know, the whole betrayal of his supposed best friend took a toll on him too.

-It wasn’t until you were sobbing your throat raw that he realized something was really wrong.

-The look of sheer terror on your face when you made eye contact with him sent shivers up his spine.

-He knew that look. He’d worn that look on his own face too many times as a young child.

-Believe it or not, without Jamil’s intervention, he knew to keep his distance. He knew he had to give you time to adjust.

-Then a few days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a little over a month, and he had hardly seen you around campus.

-You are avoiding your normal route to class, and when he did see you he was also greeted by the harsh glares of your good friends.

-He understood if you’d never want to talk to him ever again, honestly. He couldn’t blame you. You were more headstrong than him, after all.

-Still, when the VDC came around… he was hopeful. Truly he was hoping that something would give.

-He would talk to you in hopes of showing you that he meant no harm, but Ace or Deuce or even Grim would shove their way between the two of you.

-Several times Jamil had to tell him to knock it off because “It’s not worth forcing.”

-Still, he wanted you to know he felt bad. He felt horrible.

-In a very un-Kalim-like move, he quietly asks you if you can speak with him. Alone. But in a crowded enough area that you wouldn’t feel threatened.

-He didn’t expect you to accept it, he wouldn’t have blamed you at all. But you said yes. 

-You showed up, with Grim by your side, which was fine. He earned some apologies too.

-He poured his heart out to you, apologizing for things that he couldn’t even control. In turn, he listened to you rant about how scared you were, how angry you were, how you wished you were any of these things.

-And after that, things improved. Slowly, but surely. You became more comfortable around him, and you spoke to him again.

-Sure, you wouldn’t be caught dead at one of Scarabia’s parties, but you considered him a friend. 

-That’s all he could ask for.

Jamil

-Jamil is the monster in your story. 

-He’s the evil guy who kidnapped, manipulated and lied to you.

-He’s the one who used his misplaced anger as an excuse to hurt others.

-He’s the boogyman who made you endure days of long and hard training, just because he could.

-Of course, he felt bad. What he did was unspeakable, but he was more concerned with how his reputation would last after the overblot.

-More concerned with it not getting out for the safety of his family.

-Even with you sobbing, he just thought you were being dramatic in all honesty. You have a reputation already, he knew you’d been through this whole thing before.

-It didn’t really strike him how badly it affected you.

-He didn’t notice how you switched paths, how you were never in the same area as him for long, and the glares of your friends never once phased him.

-Even Ace’s snarky comments during basketball didn’t bother him for a second.

It wasn’t until he accidentally bumped into you in the hallway, and he saw the look on your face that he realized.

-The terror in your eyes, the way you shrunk back as if he would strike you. It was the same way his parents acted around the Asim’s.

-If he were a more insane man, he might’ve found it liberating, but it wasn’t.

-He had become what he hated to you, he had done what he hated to you. 

-Jamil was not only your monster, but he was his own.

-He steers clear of you and keeps as much distance as possible for both your sakes.

-He couldn’t handle someone looking at him like that, and he was sure you couldn’t handle the sight of him after what he did.

-Still, this is NRC, and luck is never on anyone's side here.

-Both of you are forced into a position where you cannot escape the other, you have to learn to live with the awful pits in your stomachs.

-He keeps Kalim away until you both are on good terms, then he simply watches quietly.

-He won’t apologize, he won’t antagonize, he won’t speak unless spoken to.

-You two never truly recover your small lasting friendship, but you do make amends with each other.

-During the trip to the scalding sands, you get to meet Najma, whom he’s confided in about ‘accidentally upsetting a classmate’.

-You get to have a good talk with her, and it makes you really realize some things about Jamil.

-You realize he’s just as broken as you, just as tired as you, and that he feels the most immense amount of guilt for hurting you.

-You, being you, find it in your soul to forgive him.

-Nothing really changes between you. The guilt is still there, and the fear still shakes you to your core, but you both have closure.

-In a situation like this, closure is the best grace a person can ever have.