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genshin-scenarios · 4 months

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A Flower Made of Playing Cards (Lyney x Reader)

Summary: A highschool idol AU commissioned by a very kind and patient anon!

It's mostly inspired by this headcanon post, where Lyney spends his civilian life starting to pine after you (a classmate) while keeping his idol life as 'Felis' a secret.

Content warnings: reader is implied to be at a height where Lyney can spin them under his arm?? That's pretty much it! Still gender neutral as usual

Preparing for the Stage:

When Lyney was first asked what he wanted to base his idol concept on, he decided on the magic of luck — something unpredictable and frankly, he wouldn’t bet on most of the time — but if a black cat of all things could disguise itself as a charming magician who made dreams come true, Lyney thought that could be the truth threaded within his performances.

His luck in gaining a family as supportive as his own. His luck in being chosen out of many candidates to debut, and…

Suppose a bit of rotten luck could play into his concept too. The kinds where props or staff go missing on the day of his nationwide tour, and miracles come into play to get him out of a tight spot.

But like a cat landing on its feet, Lyney — as Felis — would always come through in the end with a smile.

There is comfort in the mysterious and ethereal. The audience places their faith in idols to remain as an untouchable being, talented and charming till the end; while the idol repeats their tricks and illusions, learning them down to a science of well-orchestrated plans.

With the right people to support him behind the curtains, Lyney is sure there is little he can’t do.

But at the end of the day, Lyney is still just a teenager. And when faced with you, who’d unknowingly puppeteered his heartstrings to skip at the quirk of your lips, eyes crinkling with laughter from your seat a few rows away…

No one said that stars couldn’t fall in love. In fact, the ways they do so might be more beautifully devastating than ever. And Lyney is nothing if not someone who burns as brightly as he shines onstage.

On the other side:

You’ve always thought of Lyney as a regular classmate; one who gets along with others but otherwise keeps to himself. And sure, he’s also really cute, but Lyney’s always just been a nice presence to hang around with, especially after you learned he has a knack for magic tricks and was willing to teach you a few, skilled fingers sifting through a deck of cards.

You’re starting to think that Lyney’s not just a friend to you anymore.

Despite your best efforts to keep your feelings at bay, you’re more than aware that the nerves building up in your stomach whenever he’s near spells out a crush. As you get to know him, Lyney’s somehow went from cute to pretty, and you know you're not crazy when you notice his quiet charm shifting into something more extroverted.

There are no seating plans during the breaks between classes — particularly if it’s this week, where your science teacher has packed off to accompany a sports team to a tournament — so you spend the hour finishing your substitute work with Lyney by your side. Except once you’re both done, he takes to scrolling through his phone and showing you the posts on his feed every now and then, and you swear his chair has been shifting closer and closer every minute.

With quiet words, Lyney leans towards you with a quirk to his lips. You wonder if he realizes how dangerous this is to your wellbeing.

“This cafe’s menu is themed after wizards! See the cauldron?”

“Maybe you could get a part-time job there as an entertainer.” You suggest.

Lyney hums. “But I only like to perform magic for my friends. Which totals to three people, including you.”

“Are the other two Lynette and Freminet?”

“Bingo!”

“I don’t know if your sister would be happy to hear that.” She’d probably say he sounds like a loner.

“Nevermind if that makes her cringe — she’s stuck with me anyways. But I’d like to think at least Freminet would be happy.”

“He’s a sweet kid,” You try not to get distracted by Lyney’s hair tickling your shoulder. “Maybe you should take him there with you.”

“Just between us, I think Freminet would be more comfortable if you were there too.” Lyney shrugs, eyes meeting yours with a clarity that tells you this is a genuine offer. “He’s a bit more chatty around you, which is saying a lot.”

“Maybe that’s just because you’re too much for him?”

“Whatever do you mean? I’m nothing if not quiet, introverted, shy…”

“Shy.” You repeat in disbelief. You might’ve believed that once upon a time, but certainly not now. “A shy person wouldn’t offer to teach a stranger how to do card tricks.”

“Maybe I was just enchanted by you.”

“You avoided me unless we were talking about magic.” You remind him, to which Lyney bumps his shoulder against yours with a huff. “Maybe at that time you were a little shy, but I highly doubt you’d be like that towards your brother.”

“I’ve let you talk too much to my siblings…” He’s pouting. “Your impression of me is ruined now.”

“There’d be nothing to ruin you with if you haven’t done anything.” You tap your chin. “Is there another big secret that I should ask them about?”

You don’t notice, but Lyney’s eyes widen before he tears his gaze away from you, trying to stop the blush rising on his cheeks. If he wasn’t sitting so close, he’d probably slap his face to snap out of it.

Which secret? His crush — or idol career?

Just the thought of you knowing about his feelings is enough to make him combust, but the idea of you realizing he was the idol Felis? You’ve already told Lyney you weren’t that interested in idols since they were real people, compared to 2D characters who you could headcanon about to your hearts’ content.

A part of him is relieved this means that if you fell for him, it’d be for himself. But another part feels like it’s a waste of the possibilities floating around his head; what if he surprised you by inviting you to a concert, then watched as the understanding enters your face when he steps onstage? What if he dedicates one of his performances to you, or asks you to sneak out with him after a show?

He’s even wearing just one side of his earphones so there’s an opening to offer you the other; it’s less about the music at this point, and instead the little gestures that tell him he has a chance.

He’d take any interaction if it has to do with you, but only within the safety of his own home would Lyney allow himself to daydream — his imagination causing a burn on his cheeks.

Lynette tells him he’s been reading too many mangas, but an idol can dream. Lyney just hadn’t expected you to become one of said dreams so fast.

Rehearsals:

Somehow, practicing how he’d confess to you is harder than any other rehearsal Lyney’s done. Perhaps it’s because he knows he looks like an idiot, speaking to the wall-length mirror after he gave up on Lynette and Freminet as helpers.

…The things he’d like to say to you remain private, anyways. There’s no way Lyney could bring himself to sound so sappy to anyone’s face but yours.

Seeing as it’s off-season, the only idol work Lyney has is related to magazine and advertisements shoots. It’s nothing much compared to when he first did an overseas tour, so he has the chance to steal some time for himself — going for a coffee run after he dons a mask and large sweater, then a cap which hides most of his hair.

Today Lyney had to model for a limited-edition pocky series. It’s strawberry and something-flavored, so the dress and makeup people had the bright idea to add a ribbon to his hair. It’s fanservice, it’s cute, and Lyney doesn’t think much of it seeing as he can’t see himself, until he spots you outside of the cafe where he’s waiting for his order.

He’s always been light on his feet, but Lyney doesn’t think he’s ever ducked into a corner so fast, quieting himself in an attempt to become invisible.

You haven’t seen him without his glasses before, so maybe you wouldn’t…?

“Order for Felix!”

Of course it’s his turn now that you’re here. He considers taking off the ribbon before thinking better of it, hoping it isn't visibly poking out from underneath his cap.

“...Here!” Lyney tries not to cringe as he goes up to the counter. On most days he gives the cashier a random name — sometimes ‘Felix’ because it could be his idol alias read wrongly — but right now it almost gives him a heart attack when he hears his not-name, because it’s followed by you accidentally bumping into him and apologizing for almost spilling his coffee.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“It’s alright, nothing’s spilled.” Lyney realizes too late that you might recognise his voice, and starts to speak in a muffled tenor. “No worries at all. Thank you for your concern.”

“...Felix, was it?” You look at him in confusion. “Is your throat okay?”

Before you can look at him any closer, Lyney’s turned away from you and started to speed-walk out of the cafe like his life depends on it.

“Perfectly fine, enjoy your day!” He says a bit louder to not appear too rude. He’s quite sure his ears are red as he makes his retreat, and by the time he makes enough distance between himself and the cafe, Lyney realizes something.

He didn’t even get to hear your coffee order!

Back to your side:

Out of all strange incidents that could happen over the weekend, you didn’t expect an encounter with some ‘Felix’ guy to linger in your mind until now.

To be honest, it was less about the stranger and just the ribbon you spotted in his hair when he ran away. As you listen to Lyney ramble about a magic trick he’s figured out recently, you watch the way his ash-blond locks sway with every motion.

…That pink ribbon from the stranger's head might look cute on Lyney. With how the breeze is playing with his hair, you can imagine the ends of the ribbon floating, threatening to fall loose and fly off the school rooftop you’re loitering at.

Lunch finished and forgotten, Lyney stands up as he’s reminded of something. He spins on his heel to look at you, hands linked behind his back.

“You know, over the weekend I saw a dance go viral.”

“The one on tiktok?”

“Yep! Want to try it?”

Lyney’s not usually this energetic, but it’s not so out-of-character that you’d start to find it odd. Instead, you’d like to preserve the easy smile on his lips while you still can — it’s a rare sight to see him this excited, steps light and gaze playful.

“I’m not a good dancer, though…” You hesitate, before Lyney comes closer to pull you to your feet with both hands — and how could you say no when your fingers are still loosely linked between you?

Lyney’s cheery demeanor slips into something more calm. With a content hum, he takes a small step away from you and positions his feet. You mimic him as he explains each move.

“Okay, so now you have to do a turn from this side.”

“How should I when you’re still holding onto me?”

“Like this,” Lyney urges you to turn, and as naturally as momentum brings you, he lets go of one of your hands to twirl you under his arm. “See? It’s easy!”

“I’m quite sure the dance didn’t involve a partner.” You can’t keep your smile down, peering up at Lyney when you stand in front of him again. “Trying to set a new trend, are we?”

“Only if you’ll let me record us. I won’t post it anywhere though, since my manager might get mad at me.”

“Your manager at work?” You ask, confusion furrowing your brow. “Did you accidentally sign an extra clause or something? They shouldn’t be able to control how you act outside of your shift!” Lyney bursts into laughter, earning a light hit on the shoulder from you. “Hey! This is serious — what kind of part time job did you get yourself into?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a regular side-gig.” Lyney calms down, expression dusted with a pink blush as he looks at you fondly. “I’m a bit of a public figure, though I don’t normally dress that way when I’m at school.”

“Well then, Mr Popular.” You play along. “What should I be calling you instead then, when I see you during your job?”

“...Most people call me Felis, if that rings any bells.” He glances away. “It’d be pretty embarrassing if you didn’t recognise my name. But I do have to sing, dance, and…”

“You’re an idol.” Your eyes widened, the words spoken so quietly, you had to repeat them just to make sure they didn’t slip away. “You’re that idol, aren’t you? The sparkly-looking guy on the billboards!”

“Not so loud!” Lyney hushes you, grabbing your shoulders in reflex before stopping. He clears his throat, taking a step away. You would’ve minded the distance more, if it were not for the sight of Lyney bashful in front of you. “...It’s a bit of a secret, just so I can still live peacefully as a civilian. I asked Lynette and Freminet to make sure no one could overhear us here. They might be as nervous as me about your reaction, I’m sure.”

“I find that a little hard to believe.” If anything, they might be more worried about Lyney recuperating. You speak tentatively, raising a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. “Now that I’m checking properly though, you do have the same look.”

It takes everything in Lyney to not squirm at your touch, and it’s even more terrifying that he wants to keep you there. “I would hope so, seeing as we’re the same person.”

“I bet Felis doesn’t spin his fans under his arm,” You quirk a cheeky smile. “Unless there’s something else you have to tell me?”

“Of course not, that’s only reserved for the best of…” Lyney trails off, the word ‘friend’ dying on his tongue. Not that you aren’t one, but— “I thought it’d be important to tell you about my job, before I ask you the real question I have on my mind.”

Giving him a nod, you tell him you’re all ears.

“...If you’re free next week, would you want to go somewhere together? As a date, I mean.” He lets the question sit in the air. “I understand if not, of course, whether it be because you just see me as a friend or find the whole idol thing too much—”

“I’ll make sure I’m free.” It takes a moment for your answer to register in Lyney’s head before his eyes light up. “Rather, you might have to make sure I don’t mess anything up for you. Like… should I call you by another name? Do I also need to wear a disguise?” If you had a net right now, it’d be very helpful in catching the butterflies in your stomach, to keep you focused on what you’re saying.

Just you would be perfect. “As long as we dress casually, it should be fine.” Lyney’s smile is contagious, now that he’s settling into the fact you said yes. “Sunday afternoon?”

“Sounds good!” You’re cut off by the bell. Remembering that you have PE and haven’t changed yet, you curse under your breath and quickly apologize to Lyney. “I’ll see you later— or text, if not!”

By the time your sentence ends, the door to the rooftop has shut, and Lyney is left standing with the tiniest of smiles, looking at the ground to try and control his expression before his siblings can bombard him with questions.

Lyney has never felt nervous while singing love songs before, but his manager recently commented that he feels younger than usual. Like an actual teenager in love.

It checks out, considering how fast his heart races when he starts to associate lyrics with you. Gone is the Felis who shines like an untouchable star, and here enters an idol who might just be human.

He enjoys it, as afraid as he is at the same time. To place one’s heart in the hands of another is terrifying, but he’d rather it be you than anyone else.

…But maybe you shouldn’t attend any of his concerts for now. He doesn’t know what he’d do if his brain short-circuits at the sight of you within the crowd.

His own little secret within a sea of people entrusting him with their dreams — what a thrilling thing indeed.

Speeding up:

After that day, you noticed that Lyney has loosened up more around you — in a way that means he’s more likely to smile and cling to you during conversations. If he had cat ears, you can imagine they’d be standing proud every time he managed to fluster you, watching for every micro-reaction as if his career depended on pulling that expression from you as he might with a crowd of adoring fans.

Except you think that Lyney’s adapting to this too quickly. How is it that he was the nervous one that day at the rooftop, but has been going on the offense ever since the next morning?!

Lynette apologized to you in advance, telling you that once Lyney has his eyes on a goal, he’d be merciless in trying to charm your heart. You just didn’t think it’d affect you this much, though that might have more to say about how quickly you’re falling rather than Lyney’s approach.

Every time Lyney calls your name and decides it’s time to hang around you like sunshine to a flower, you’re reminded of the clips of Felis you’ve watched after learning of his job. It was a mix of curiosity and puzzling out what Lyney’s other side might be like…

But god, does he have to constantly sport a smile like that? You find out through a promotional video that the coffee shop stranger actually was Lyney, and the ribbon does look very cute in his hair.

It’s a shame you’re only seeing the whole design through a screen. And even worse is the way he’s blowing a kiss to the camera in this one music video—

“What’re you watching?” Lyney’s hands rest against the back of your seat as he leans to look over your shoulder, prompting a panicked noise from your throat. You fumble with your phone, flipping it over so he can’t see. The little smile Lyney’s wearing tells you he has an inkling, but he does you the favor of not spelling it out. “Must’ve been a pretty good video if you didn’t hear me coming over.”

“You snuck up on me!” Sending him a glare, you power off your phone protectively. “...And if you must know, I was just listening to a song.”

“Can I hear?” Despite his playful tone, Lyney does give you the space to deny him as he adjusts his glasses. “But of course, I understand if you don’t like to share headphones.”

“I don’t mind, but there’s something else I’m wondering about.” You tilt your head up to peer at Lyney more closely, reaching a hand out to graze against his fingers. “Are these real?”

“My hands? I’d hope so.”

“Your glasses.” You retort quietly, trying not to roll your eyes. “Despite how I had to make a reality check about you too, I do know in fact that you’re real.”

Lyney laughs, raising a fist to his mouth. “You flatter me. But to answer your question — yes, these are actual glasses. Though the prescription isn’t too bad, so I only wear contacts if needed elsewhere.” With a serious pause, Lyney meets your gaze. “I wear these to school though, because I need to look at the board from behind and admire you clearly.”

You prop your chin against your palm. “I’m starting to think you’ve gotten too flirty recently.”

“Would you believe me if I said I’ve been holding back?” He hums, pulling a chair to sit beside you and mirror your pose. “I wanted to make sure you were comfortable with me romantically at first, but after that…”

“...You’re lucky I find you cute.” You sigh in jest. “At this rate, you might wear me down before we even go on a first date.”

“There’s still a lot about myself I’d like to share with you.” Lyney quietly admits. “I just hope we’ll be able to talk with more freedom. And if you decide you still like me after that — I suppose I’d feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”

The softness in his words somehow hits you harder than his previous flirtations.

It’s me who should be feeling incredibly lucky.

Rather than one persona being more genuine than the other, you were starting to understand Lyney’s balance between the schoolmate you knew and the charming idol onscreen.

You see the truth of his smile underneath the blinding lights and exchanges in the hallways; the adorable way he fiddles with his pen during class versus his confident choreography.

It’s all Lyney. You just have to learn more about him and put his trust to good use.

He’s not the type to pull just anyone into his world, after all. Lyney has always held back just a little, so as to not let his secrets show from behind the curtains to even his familiar friends.

And now that he’s allowed you in, how could you possibly take his excitement for granted? You’d be lying if you said you weren’t looking forward to it too.

The date:

When Lyney greets you at the start of the date, the last thing you expected is for him to sneak a pink rose into your hair in place of a bouquet.

He claims it’s more discreet, especially considering the way he’s dressed with a mask and hat to hide his features, glasses also present. Despite these, Lyney is expressive enough that it doesn’t affect your conversations, and you allow him to take your hand as he leads you to the aquarium. It’s lunch time, so you’re going against the regular flow of people and enjoying the exhibits while it’s less populated.

Beneath the walkway tunnel where various rainbows of fish swim by, you gaze up in wonder at the shadow of a shark passing through.

Fontaine is nothing if not abundant in sea-related attractions, even if the main city is on land. You haven’t visited this aquarium since you were a kid, so it was nice to relive traipsing through a world washed in soothing, gentle blue.

“I think when we were younger, me and Lynette would talk about catching these fish if we were allowed into the tanks.” Lyney muses. “Perhaps that’s why our father says we’re like cats.”

“If we were in the wild though, catching fish for dinner would be a pretty good idea.” You gaze up. “But… if I was able to breathe underwater, I think I’d just spend all day escaping my troubles.”

“Would you have space for a partner in crime?”

“Only if they’d be able to help, by whisking us away from pursuers, for example.” You smile when Lyney starts swinging your hands lightly between you. “It’s stressful business when I have to worry about two of us getting caught, instead of just one.”

“I’d take the heat so you can get away first.” The conversation is childish, but Lyney’s sentiment makes a frown pull at your lips.

He’s confused when you stop walking and turn to face him. “No self-sacrifices! We either run together or get caught together. Nothing in-between.”

Something flickers in his eyes before he replies, tone warm. “Alright then. I’m at your mercy.”

“A bold claim, when you surprised me with this in my hair.” You point towards the rose Lyney’s managed to secure to your shirt with a pin, after his initial sneaky reveal. “...I’m just trying to make sure you’re not the only one giving between us, but it’s hard to keep up with all…” You gesture vaguely at him. “This.”

“You just signaled to all of me.”

“That’s right!” You huff, crossing your arms across your chest. Lyney resists the urge to reach out and entwine your fingers again. “You’re too pretty, and nice, then I find out you can sing and dance too—”

“But I like surprising you.” Lyney chirps back, a laugh in his voice as he notices the way your face is darkening with a blush. He does you the service of hiding this from passersby — if any actually entered the walkway now, empty as it is — with his hands cupping both of your cheeks. “Maybe it’s because I’m a workaholic, but I want to make sure your eyes are only on me.” It’s the most dangerous thing he could say to you, in public or not. “So maybe I should apologize for dragging you into my selfish whims.”

“...But you don’t intend to stop.” You say, feeling lightheaded.

“Of course not.” Lyney hums, eyes bright with a smile. “There are a lot of stars to compete with in the night sky.”

And you said we're in this together, did you not? It's not the first time someone's told him he doesn't have to do things alone, but… it means a lot, coming from you.

“I hope you don’t say this to all your fans,” you sigh, relaxing into the softness of his palms. They’re smooth, and you realize Lyney’s always felt a little warm to the touch.

“You’re a fan?”

The lilt in Lyney’s voice tells you you’ve made a mistake in your choice of words. He’s much, much too happy that a previously-disinterested person like you has now seen enough of his idol content to make such a slip.

“A fan of Lyney Hearth.” You try to salvage your pride, gaze trained onto the ground.

“Oh… I see.”

Lyney’s eyes widen before he catches himself, suddenly glad he’s wearing a mask for a different reason.

God… What is he going to do with you?

After attempting to feed penguins, seals, and exploring the open pool where you’re allowed to touch reef creatures, you and Lyney make a beeline out of the aquarium and towards the main shopping street, where many cafes are abound.

Since you were working against the usual rush schedule, you managed to grab a seat at a local favorite which also served meals; corner of the cafe and out of sight.

The meal passes by without issue, and next you browse some stores nearby while slowly heading towards the park. You were in a hobby shop when a group suddenly exclaimed the name Felis, causing Lyney to flinch and pull you with him behind a shelf.

“Oh my god, they do have idol stuff!”

“Yeah, but we already have this! It’s not new merch, y’know.”

Lyney lets out a relieved sigh, slumping against the shelf of comics. “Nevermind, false alarm.”

“Are you always this jumpy?” You whisper back, resisting the urge to look around him and see what said Felis merch was as the group moves to another end of the store. Lyney doesn’t seem to realize his arms are still wrapped around you, and that if you simply tilted your head a little, your faces could touch.

“Only because I’m more distracted today.” With you. “It’s nice to know that people are having fun though. My manager would classify that as a good review.”

“Yes, but also, um…” You clear your throat, causing Lyney to finally turn his head and freeze at your proximity. “Not that I mind, but you’re still holding on to me.”

“...Am I too close?” He sheepishly asks.

Yes.

“Not at all.” You swallow your nerves. “But if the staff find us like this, we’re definitely going to get kicked out.”

One shared crepe and a walk in the park later, you reach a quiet area hidden between the trees that’s lit by the evening light. Lyney explains that he and other trainees would often come here to hide out and practice choreography together, when the training rooms became too suffocating. In hindsight, he’s quite sure this spot had eventually been bought out by their company, seeing as they never ran into any press or strangers here.

“We’d prop our phones on water bottles and record ourselves, since there was no mirror.” Lyney recounts. “It was mostly to catch our mistakes, but some managers encourage us to pretend we’re doing vlogs too, to get used to presenting our personalities to the camera. Whatever does get uploaded is screened, though.”

“Do you still have those videos?” You’re sitting on a bench, legs crossed and facing one-another. “The ones that didn’t get posted, I mean.”

“...Maybe? They’re really embarrassing though.” He chuckles, and almost moves to take off his mask before he thinks better of it. “And I think I only did those to update my family on how I was doing. They don’t believe my words entirely when I say I’m fine.”

“You are too good of a talker, so I’d be wary too.” You laugh, glancing up at the sky. The clouds are parting for purple and orange. “I think once upon a time, I might’ve dreamed about doing something creative too. Like singing, fashion, or etcetera.”

“Not every interest has to be placed in the public eye.” Lyney takes off his hat, giving you a wink. “Guess what’s inside.”

“A dove? More roses?”

“Take a look.”

Once you lean closer, Lyney raises the cap to shield your faces from one side, then pulls his mask aside to block the other. It’s over in a moment, but he brushes his lips over your cheek, and the one image that clings to your mind is the blush adorning his face and the clear look in his violet eyes.

Eyes that are trained on you — holding your attention until something flickers in the corner of your vision, and Lyney reveals a rose made of playing cards.

You look down to check for the flower pinned on your shirt: no longer there, and presumably transformed by Lyney’s trick of the senses. He allows you to take the handcrafted rose with a satisfied smile.

“I was nervous it might’ve fallen apart after walking around all day.” He admits. “It’s not as romantic as a regular rose, but I hope it holds its charm all the same.”

It’s very him. Lovely and careful in the ways he opens up his petals to you, but hiding a puzzle of spells underneath.

“It’ll last a lot longer, too.” You smile, storing it carefully to take home later. “How long did you spend on preparing that?”

“What do you mean? I transformed it in a second.” He muses. “Besides, I don’t want to spoil the magic. It took a lot of practice, but normally just with an audience that looks at the hat, instead of…” Lyney trails off, clapping his hands together as if to signal the next topic. “I can teach you to fold a flower like that though, if you’d like.”

“In the library as usual?” You allow the shift in conversation, if only because unlike Lyney, you do not have the solace of hiding your expression behind a disguise. “I’m starting to wonder if your skillset will ever be exhausted.”

“Well, I’m quite adept at interviews, modeling, and learning things by sight.” For his idol work, he means. “But I will admit I’ve been curious about baking. Maybe one day we could try that together.”

“Collecting points in more categories, I see. Maybe you can teach me how to dance, too.”

Lyney surprises you by swinging his legs off the bench and standing. He gives you a little bow, a glint in his eyes as he extends a hand towards you. “One of Felis’ you mean? I could do that now.”

Right now?!

“Don’t you trust me to?” Lyney pouts. “I’m a good teacher, I promise.”

“M… Maybe next time?” You’re not too sure, suddenly feeling intimidated by the idea of proper choreography. By instinct, you still take Lyney’s hand and get to your feet. “I need to mentally prepare— Whoa!”

Before you can finish, Lyney’s spun you around and lowered you into a dip, hands supporting you at your back and waist. He keeps it shallow and helps you back up — lips quirked as you’re suddenly pulled closer to him with the momentum, bodies and faces inches apart.

His pupils are dilated.

Your indignation quickly forms into surprise. There’s a quiet tension surrounding the air — a question asked, and your hand reaches up to take off Lyney’s mask in reply as he steals your breath away straight from your lips.

You’ve been wondering when you’d finally get the chance to stop his honeyed words with a kiss.

After you get home, you find a playing card that Lyney’s slipped into your pocket. On it is his familiar scrawl, and a few simple words:

‘Thank you for today. Love — your number 1 fan.’

You get a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time you exchange messages upon a suit of hearts. Maybe you’ll start investing in a deck of your own, just for him.

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strawberryxfieldz · 1 year

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Welcome Home: Easy Math

Vampire Wally Darling x Reader!!!

I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE VAMPIRE WALLY TREND STARTED, IT’S SO RANDOM! GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!! HAHA!!!

The Count mentioned at the beginning is not the same Count from Sesame Street, it's just a silly reference to him (and I am not confident in my Sesame Street lore, forgive me-)

CW for blood and minor violence/injury

ALSO POSTED ON AO3!

Welcome Home Masterlist

How did you get into this mess anyway?

You supposed you shouldn’t have been too surprised. You were bound to deal with all sorts of insanities being the only human in a neighborhood full of puppets. Still, you never ceased to be amazed by their shenanigans, try as you might.

Your first mistake had been entertaining the idea from the very start.

Last week when a lone traveler had visited Home, a mysterious puppet with fangs and adorned in all black, the Count, you had your suspicions. The others insisted they were friendly but you couldn’t exactly trust those optimists’ judgment. Even when the Count aided them in a lesson in mathematics, you stayed your distance. You could learn all the math you wanted to from books you borrowed from Frank’s library very well, thank you.

By the time the puppet left, everyone was ogling about all the new things they’d learned and how cool the stranger was. It was almost enough to make you think you’d missed out. Almost.

Your doubts about the Count’s intentions were proven correct, though, when just a day later Wally had gotten sick. This was abnormal in itself (puppets didn’t usually get sick), but it didn’t seem to be a flu or cold of any sort. He’d gotten pretty pale through the course of the day and, for some reason, couldn’t stand being in the sun without his felt burning. Then the fangs appeared.

You didn’t really understand the logistics of a puppet being turned into a vampire. Why on Earth would something made of fabric and stuffing need blood to survive? You sure didn’t know but you had to stifle your questions and swallow your pride to focus on the situation at hand.

Wally needed blood. You were the only human. As the Count would say, it was pretty easy math.

You don’t know why you accepted. You were fairly certain giving in would just make his situation even more detrimental but… he needed help. And helping others was among some of the most important virtues shared by all of Home.

So, you told yourself it would be only one time. Just the once you’d made an exception for those pleading eyes and that cat-like smile.

Now here you were, standing on Home’s front doorstep, a basket of freshly picked apples threatening to drop from your hands as you stared at Wally.

“What?” you asked again, agape.

Wally repeated himself, unblinking. “Can I drink from you again, neighbor? Please?”

You readjusted the basket in your arms. The apples were supposed to be a get-well present, not you.

“Wally…” you started.

Wally ducked his head. “Ah, right. I’m sorry. I won’t ask again, I promise.”

Wally had made it very clear he didn’t like hurting you from his newfound hunger and would only drink your blood if you let him. This was what had convinced you to let him try the one time. You’d sworn to him there wouldn’t be a second.

But you didn’t have a strong resolve, not when it came to Wally it seemed. Just seeing a slightly sad look take over his usually cheery face made your heart drop and you sighed.

“Uh, fine, I guess.” You shrugged, speaking as coolly as you could manage. “Whatever.”

Wally’s face brightened instantly. “Really? Oh, thank you, neighbor! You’re so kind!”

You told him not to mention it (seriously, don’t, you didn’t need the other neighbors catching wind of what was happening) and stepped inside. You set the apples on a countertop before focusing your attention back on Wally.

“So,” you began, trying to make this interaction as least awkward as possible, “how do you know when you… um, need it? I guess.”

Wally sat on the couch and patted the spot beside him, motioning for you to join him. You obliged, though making sure to keep some distance between you.

“I start feeling weaker, I suppose,” he explained carefully. “And more sensitive.”

That made sense. Since figuring out his new aversion to sunlight, Howdy gifted Wally an umbrella to use when walking about the sunny outside. Even so, he hadn’t ventured outside Home today, which was unusual, to say the least.

He also looked disheveled, if that was possible for the perfectionist puppet. As someone who prided himself on his appearance, Wally wouldn’t have dared ever let you see him with his pompadour done, replaced by a mess of long curls cascading down his face and so pale and sickly looking under different circumstances. He really was getting desperate.

“…And I get this feeling,” he continued, keeping his voice even as he spoke. “Like I can’t live without it. It’s like... being thirsty but different. Stronger.”

'Bloodlust' was a word that came to mind but you didn’t say it out loud. You only nodded.

“Yeah, being a vampire will do that to you,” you joked.

Wally just looked at you blankly, his smile not leaving his face. While usually cute, it looked a bit more menacing with a pair of fangs attached to it, poking out of his mouth.

“There’s other stuff too like…” You paused, thinking about all the vampire-related media you’d consumed in your lifetime. “…you can’t eat garlic. Have you eaten any garlic lately?”

“Nope,” Wally replied.

“Hm. Have you touched silver? You can’t mess with that either.” Wally shook his head. “What about your reflection? Do you still have one?”

Wally gestured to his hair sadly. “No.”

You chuckled.

As interesting as learning the effects of vampirism on puppets was, you knew you were just prolonging the inevitable. Hesitant, you sat closer, hands fidgeting in your lap.

“Okay, you can do it,” you told him, “but please be careful.”

He was the first time. You had no reason to believe he wouldn’t be again. Still.

"Are you sure, neighbor?" Suddenly, Wally was the one who was tentative. "I don't want you to feel pressured."

You put on a confident smile, gazing into his eyes before nodding.

Wally said and did nothing at first, instead just returning your stare with an intense look of his own. You weren't quite sure why the short puppet loved eye contact. Once, he did say something about it being polite, but the amount that he did it was just unnerving. To others, at least. You sort of learned to enjoy it, over time, so much so that you were sure you had the exact look of those two, inky black voids called pupils memorized, often the subject of your daydreams.

As much as you hated to admit to yourself, there was of course another reason you were not so keen on the whole blood-drinking situation. You were fairly certain you had an infatuation with Wally, which was bothersome at least and downright embarrassing at most. This had been something you were made well aware of long before the Count came and you had been dealing with just fine until then. Impromptu staring contests and Wally's latest fixations with holding your hand and (incorrectly) blowing kisses at you whenever you were near were just some of the things you'd learned to handle. Drinking from your blood was something totally different!

"Should I-?" You tried to keep your voice even as you nervously tugged at your collar.

Wally caught your hand with his, helping to tug it a bit lower and exposing your neck, causing you to flinch from the cold air that hit there. Wally leaned back with a monotonous laugh and you joined him.

"Sorry," you said between quiet giggles. "I guess I'm just nervous."

Wally shook his head. "Don't be nervous, neighbor. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're biting my neck." You sent him a playful glare. "It's going to hurt."

"Right." Wally seemed dismayed by this but continued. "Well, if it hurts too much, just tap me. I'll make sure to stop."

You agreed, nerves settling once more. After all, you were less worried about the small, stinging pain you were about to endure and more focused on the close proximity between you and him. Wally was now kneeling beside you to be level with your neck and you were leaning slightly to accommodate for his small stature. You sincerely hoped he didn't notice the reddening blush forming on your face, though you could feel his stare on your neck. A few seconds went by of just him staring and you waiting, and if the anticipation didn't kill you, you were sure the queasy feeling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach would.

"Can you-?"

He interrupted your plea by hitting the lower half of his face against the side of your neck. That startled you slightly as you felt his fuzzy felt skin tickle you. You suppressed a laugh before you suddenly felt his mouth open and one of those pointy fangs scrape against your skin and you shivered.

"Can I what?" he asked, voice genuine.

"Hurry up," you finished.

He chuckled against your throat and, in a desperate attempt to distract yourself from that sensation, you flicked your eyes down to look at him. His eyes were piercing into yours and you swear you saw a tint of red in them. Then, in a flash, he ducked his head lower and his fangs sunk into your skin.

You held your breath as you felt the skin break, sharp teeth pricking you like two tiny pinpoints on your skin. Your first instinct was to lean away, so you put a hand on his shoulder to steady yourself, squeezing it gently. Wally shot back at the action and gave you a look of concern.

"Sorry!" he was quick to exclaim. "I'm so sorry!"

You kept your hold on him, ignoring the way your heart pounded and rattled inside your chest. "No! It didn't hurt, I was just surprised."

Wally sighed with relief. "Well, the worst part is over."

He nodded to your neck, where you felt two small rivets of blood dribbling down. You waited patiently for him to drink it with his eyes, much like how he ate food with them too, turning the other way for him. Wally didn't appreciate being stared at while he ate or drank, you knew, and you figured even if it was your blood, this was no exception. In a matter of seconds, you felt the blood be cleaned up from your neck as the streams slowed and then Wally tapped your shoulder.

"All done!" he cheered with a smile.

You looked at him, faltering a bit when you noticed the red stains on his fangs, and smiled back, feeling your blush deepen.

"That wasn't so bad," you admitted. "But in any case, I'm glad that's it."

Wally said nothing. The scarlet light in his eyes seemed to shine a bit brighter and your gaze couldn't help but drop back to his bloody fangs before coming back to his eyes again.

"What?" You rubbed your sore neck with a timid smile. "Are you feeling any better?"

Wally's smile didn't match his eyes. They stared at yours intently as you got the growing sense that his hunger was far from satisfied.

"Yes," he spoke carefully. "Thank you, neighbor."

You inwardly cursed at yourself. It was clear he was lying, likely to save you from feeling like you had to give him any more. He was still pale and there was the same tiredness in his limbs and expression. Even though you knew the effects of drinking your blood would take time to kick in, you knew it wasn't enough. Your mind reeled at the idea of having to do this again, yet, in a terrible act of betrayal, your heart thudded, reminding you also how nice it had felt. You ached for the closeness again and, even if it was far from any sort of romantic act, it was fun to imagine.

"You still need more," you stated matter-of-factly.

Wally seemed shocked by this, half-lidded eyes widening. "I don't want to be rude..."

You scooted closer to him (in a hopefully casual manner) and shook your head.

"No, go ahead. I'll be fine. Honest," you told him.

You calmed your buzzing nerves with a deep breath and smiled wider. Wally took a second to drink in your features, and, after deeming you were fit to continue, he leaned in again.

"Okay, neighbor," he sighed against your neck, right over where the last bite had been. "This one might hurt a little more."

Before you had time to react, those fangs bit into you again and you swallowed down a cry of pain. Wally just moved a hand to the other side of your neck, holding you still in a comforting way, allowing you to leave his hold if you pleased. You did not, instead pulling closer to him as his teeth dug more into you. This time was far harsher than the last, now less of a stinging and more of a burning as you did everything in your power not to grab onto him too tightly as to scare him away. Interestingly enough, you felt yourself relax against him after just a few seconds, succumbing to the strange sensations.

It was over far too soon as Wally finally pulled back and you felt the fresh bite be met with empty air. Then, blood began coursing down your neck and you frowned at the feeling. You began to avert your eyes, ready for the puppet to begin drinking only to hear Wally's voice, sweet and gentle.

"Neighbor?" he hummed. You looked at him. The blood on his fangs was a much deeper shade now, coating more of it now. "You can look."

You said nothing, just watched as Wally's pupils dilated and the blood started to disappear from your skin. Your eyes didn't move from his and you found yourself unable to so much as blink at the sight. He was beautiful and all too alluring like this, hair down and your blood on his mouth while his eyes worked to drink from you. Your body trembled as your heart pounded inside you, reminding you why you'd been so reluctant to do this in the first place. It'd be a miracle if Wally hadn't noticed your flushed face at this point.

Then, Wally blinked and his eyes met yours with a soft smile. Somehow, he already looked to be regaining some of his strength, glowing with a certain, healthy radiance he hadn't had before.

"Okay!" he said, signaling he was finished.

You ripped your gaze away, sure your face was as red as one of his apples, and instinctively put a finger to where he'd bit you. You hissed sharply at the pain your touch sent down your neck and Wally gasped.

"Neighbor!" He moved your hand to examine your neck, once again his face pulling close to yours and you thought you might faint, and not just from all the blood loss. "You said you'd tell me if I needed to stop!"

"I'm fine," you insisted, lightly pushing him away with one hand. "Really."

Wally didn't look so convinced and he instantly got off the couch. Home, seemingly having read his mind, thumped its floorboards and swung open a cabinet in the kitchen for him. He walked over to it and rummaged through its contents for a while before pulling a box out. You watched as he stopped at the fridge too, taking a water bottle out. Puppets didn't need water, that was just a part of the stash he kept for you. You bit down on your tongue to stop giddy feelings from bubbling up inside you too much and he made his way back over to sit beside you again.

"Drink this." He handed you the water bottle. "Water always seems to make you humans feel better!"

You couldn't argue with that, twisting the lid off to drink the cold water. Then, he brought out the box, full of bandages and ointments and such. Again, not anything puppets are needed. Their form of first-aid was a sewing kit complete with a needle and stitches, usually provided by Poppy. Your face warmed at the thought that Wally kept this around just for you.

"I have many different kinds." Wally plucked a few bandages out to show you as an example. "There's these with the hearts on them and these with the cute little butterflies and- oh! I forgot about these!" He laughed as he took out a bandage decorated with an apple pattern. "This one is scented!"

"Really?" you laughed too. You pointed at the apple one. "I guess that one, then."

Wally smiled. He had a wipe in his other hand, which he used to clean the blood stains before carefully placing the bandage over the bites. You continued drinking your water, completely content, until he did something that made you choke on it a little. Wally nuzzled his face against your neck, pressing his mouth to it, and leaned away with a "mwah!" At the sight of your shocked expression, though, his smile shrank.

"Oh no! Did I do something wrong?" he fretted. "I thought kisses made stuff like this feel better."

You swallowed the water, now more sure than ever that you must've done something to displease whatever deity watched over you and you were being punished severely for it. Despite your squirming and heated cheeks, you gave him a smile.

"No! N-no, you're right. It helps." The amount of overwhelming emotions you were feeling made your words feel all twisted, coming out in embarrassingly short stammers. "Thank you. I feel better already."

Wally brightened. He made no comment on your flustered state, simply cuddling close to you happily. His head fell easily between your neck and shoulder and you carefully wrapped an arm around him. Surely, he could hear your speedy heartbeat, possibly even feel it, and the realization only served to make you more nervous.

"Thank you, neighbor," he whispered. You felt him go adorably limp in your embrace. It was nice. "You're a good friend."

You hummed. Perhaps too good a friend, you thought, thinking about how much of your own dignity you'd sacrificed tonight. But you were an even bigger lovestruck fool because you knew you'd do anything for Wally, including let him drink from your blood if (rather, when) he asked again.

You were still set on helping Wally figure out how to undo the transformation. Most of your days since the Count left had been spent in the mythology section of Frank's library, though it was limited. You were determined to figure out a solution to his problem that didn't involve giving him your blood every time he was hungry but, for now, this was alright, you supposed. If you allowed yourself to entertain the very selfish idea, you wouldn't entirely mind it if Wally was a vampire for a while longer either.

You thought this as you held his still body closer, the minutes going by as neither of you made any effort to detangle yourself from the other. You were sure he'd fallen asleep when you felt your legs go numb beneath you. His face was more pressed against your neck now, buried in the spot where he'd put your bandage. You felt his head move and resigned to closing your eyes to sleep with him but, just as you had, they snapped open. Wally didn't sleep. You heard a small noise come from him and you shifted your head to stare at his eyes, which were already open and wide and drinking in your expression with a smile.

"Are you smelling the bandage?" you asked.

"Maybe," he quipped and then slowly laughed.

#wally darling x reader #wally darling #welcome home #welcome home x reader #mine #strawbs fics

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nunalastor · 1 month

Text

Ask Compilation Because We Are TIRED.

@azzythestupid:

Last night i tried having a dream about radioapple via looking through all your radioapple asks on here

I had a dream about blitzø and striker somehow

Anonymous:

Been watching Taylor Tomlinson's Netflix comedy specials and she has this joke where she talks about how growing up religious made her weird in many ways, one of which was masturbating wrong for her entire adult life. She goes on to explain that because her youth group was told that masturbation itself isn't a sin, it's the lust in your heart when you're doing it, she decided she could masturbate as long as she kept her mind totally blank except for "road trip thoughts (almost there, making good time)." Anyway that's Vaggie to me hjhjhb

@azzythestupid:

Ay did you answer my ask abt the "au where hh characters are in the place of hb characters"? If you did can you gimmie a link 2 it

@blaackbiird:

alla that little red Riding Hood ask but it's Hoodwinked

@xxx-angiedust

"creepy old guy" from beetlejuice but someone for me it's literal

'gum disease' which alastor canonically has black gums from a lack of hygeine iirc

also i love beetlejuice too i would marry him or alastor fr

Anonymous asked:

Since when did the cannibal colony get tumblr?!?!

Anonymous asked:

Blood and cannibalism? Who started this??

-Alastors dick

Anonymous asked:

huskers-bar mom has got it going on~

Anonymous asked:

How Alastor hasn't given himself chronic wasting disease is a mystery beyond anyone's understanding. Either human or as a deer demon, he shows no signs of having gotten a torturous existence via prion.

xxx-angiedust asked:

if gay people don't exist, how are you this popular?

checkmate liberals

Anonymous asked:

Oh, they look good!

-Alastors dick

Anonymous asked:

I know where Eve went.

She was turned into a rubber duck!

Anonymous asked:

Oh! I've found it!

-Alastors dick

Anonymous asked:

B-b-bingus cursed alastor cat

Anonymous asked:

I feel devious, like I'm a little rat scurrying around when I leave a message in a blogs inbox anonymously and they only know me by some goofy ass name I thought up.

-Alastors dick

Anonymous asked:

I just got sent the something anonymously and now I must send it here.

Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby, let me know-

-Alastors dick

Anonymous asked:

I know you know who I am, I'm just hiding from the other people on this blog. It's like the confessionals, you see.

*thump* *bleat* *thump* is canon????

-Alastors dick

I usually hate swifties because of a expierence but ill make an exeption for you cursed mod

-😋

Anonymous asked:

Hii! How are you this hellish morning/day/evening/night ? :>

Love how you and huskers-bar have a ship name now😂

-🦋

Anonymous asked:

Just to piggyback off angeldust never forgiving Valentino and redemption/ forgiveness, I once had a pastor tell me that if I was unable to forgive someone who hurt me badly, then it was ok to just forgive myself for not forgiving my abuser. Forgiveness can come in many different forms and part of redemption is forgiving yourself

Anonymous asked:

wsg

im the person that did an ask on the charlie x al and on how i let my friend used my acc

lemme tell u smth

I WANNA FUCKING DIE THIS FURRY ASS SHIT KEEPS APPEARING ON MY FYP

AND I FEEL SO BAD FOR VAGGIE😭😭

love u btw

muah🥰🥰

xxx-angiedust asked:

"why does everyone suddenly wanna get cartoon characters pregnant?"

i've been writing mpreg since i was 11

xxx-angiedust asked:

i need alastor's tentacles inside me

i need to ripped apart by them like rire in boyfriend to death

@fujillamaparadise asked:

Alastor + Loki = ??????

#nunalastor asks

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heraldofcrow · 21 days

Note

Okay for something less chaotic: select 5 Dark Souls 2 blorbos! Except for Aldia and Lucatiel because they're self-explanatory and will only rig the list xD I mean the less obvious blorbos!

P.S.: Turns out that Navlaan is Shabriri at home and idk how to feel about it

NAVLAAN IS SHABRIRI AT HOME!!

Ok yes, my DS2 blorbos, FINALLY!

—

Shanalotte 🍀

My girl comes first because she is the most well known character, but she is MORE than just the level up girl that says “Bear seek seek lest” and all that lmao.

Shan was the original Melina, in that she was waaaayyy deeper and more mysterious that one would initially think, which is actually kinda sad because all of the Soulsborne level-up girls are considered the heroines of the story and usually are more complicated than they seem.

But anyway, Shan is by far one of the most developed, to the point where she even got a really unique CG model in the DS2 trailers.

(Seen here. Thank Fromsfotware Hoarder once again).

She also has some really cool unused concept art and LOOK AT HER. She has a very Druidian look that gives off a “traditional fantasy” vibe that Dark Souls usually tends to warp with other designs. Also, the pic where she’s T-posing….I will never shut up about her ornaments and that big-ass dagger. Melina vibes for sure.

There are some miiild downgrades for her actual in-game model IN MY OPINION, but nothing too drastic. I just wish they had kept her little forehead gem, but she looks great otherwise.

Beyond design, she is also just a fascinating character. I love that she was…created? She is like the Doll in that sense, but she wasn’t a memory ornament. She was an attempt to achieve immortality, which actually isn’t an unintelligent idea on humanity’s part. Dragons are eternal after all, but uhh…it’s unethical of course. (Idk why I am very drawn to characters that were born from human experimentation but I just love them okay).

Shan being part dragon is bizarre and I love it. She also has her own motivations in trying to break the human curse. Part of me thinks it’s because she wants to avoid any more children being used for grotesque creations like she was. Just that touch of agency and personal interest makes her appealing to me. I could go on about her all day and I’m sure you now see that I’m not very normal about her. Lowkey been simping since I first played DS2 in late 2014 or whatever.

I even wrote her a little story with the DS2 protag back in the day. I’d like to rewrite it and publish maybe. Anyway yeah, Shanalotte is my DS2 beloved besides Lucatiel.

Alsanna ❄️

“ALSANNAAAAAA”—Ivory King. Maybe.

You may not know of the DS2 “It-couple” yet, but they are like the Ciaran and Artorias in the game. They are the epitome of “I can fix her” and “I can make him worse,” which is, funnily enough, exactly how I see Ciaran and Artorias lmao. I’m admittedly soft for the trope of “black cat and golden retriever” type pairs if they are written well.

But Alsanna is more than just one half of a romantic plot. She is the fourth daughter of Manus and the “redeemed one,” if you will. She is her father’s fear, which basically meant she herself was the personification of anxiety lol. She says it herself in the game.

She went looking for a king to corrupt in order to feel stronger and gain power, but she ended up with the Ivory King…who was like…a pretty cool guy. He knew what she was trying to do and didn’t care. Her dark powers even corrupted parts of his kingdom, but he was just kind to her and treated her with dignity. This changed her heart eventually and she ended up devoting herself to protecting the kingdom with him. I won’t say what happens, but it’s a really bittersweet story that Alsanna gladly shares. I love her. She’s a good bean.

AND HER DESIGN. I swear, she’s one of the big reasons why I’d want a Remaster of DS2, because my poor girl is tormented by gritty pixels, but she has a lovely look. Here’s what she is SUPPOSED to look like to us:

Cosplay by harridana

Girl is slaying ngl. My fav redeemed Manus daughter fr.

Fume Knight Raime 🐦‍⬛

Me??? Having the knight with a raven aesthetic as a blorbo? Naaahhhh.

This is SO unexpected.

Anyway, Raime is mah boi. This gothy edgelord saw right through Nashandra and Vendrick’s doomed marriage and got kicked out for being loud about it. Basically.

He also lost a fight to his golden boi rival, Velstadt, who was a Vendrick SIMP. Although, technically they probably both were at first, but Raime was too alt. He had to be exiled.

Then he latched on to Nadalia instead…Manus’ most lonely daughter. Raime is infatuated with her in the game, and I kinda interpret it as a mother-son thing. Basically, Raime had an Oedipus complex lmao. Reject the father (Vendrick) and embrace the mother (Nadalia).

I could be wrong, but that’s how it comes off. It’s also totally ironic how Raime knew Nashandra was sus but fell for Nadalia anyway. He’s a hypocrite, but he’s MY hypocrite and I love him. His story and design are great.

Nashandra ♠️

Nashandra…I’m so normal. She was the original Marika fr. I love evil blonde queens <3

I don’t wanna spoil the whole damn plot of DS2, so I’ll just say….I love how this literal fragment of dark became so politically savvy and cunning that she basically toppled a kingdom. I like to imagine some more complicated feelings between Vendrick and Shandra than ‘guy simps and takes massive L.”

Yeah, that IS what happened, but Shandra fooled him for years. How? HOW? A literal manifestation of Manus’ “want” could not have been that believable…unless? I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Anyway, she is too spoilerly to talk about, but I love Nashandra both design-wise and story-wise. AND HER MUSIC IS SO GOOD.

Zullie + Alva 🪻

These two come as a package and count as one blorbo, I will not be taking criticisms. I was gonna put Creighton here, but guess who gets less screwed over in DS3? THESE TWO.

Their story is so good. Idk what it is about FromSoft’s love of “problematic female character meets chill guy and starts to hang out with him instead of murdering his ass,” but it’s…a thing lol.

Zullie, (not the YouTuber sdfgh), is such an iconic DS2 character that stole the show with her design and history while Alva has one of the best armor sets in the game. He’s also just a cool fella overall. I used to like to read about and imagine their shenanigans as a duo, and in fact, they subtly inspired my take on Leo and Ursula in Bloodborne. Noble knight and shady witch duos are fun as hell. Love these two.

—

Creighton still counts, but some of these characters got better treatment and writing in the end, sadly.

#OK NOW I MUST SLEEP #I CAN HEAR BIRBS #hjdkhdj #dark souls 2 #asks #mutuals #emerald herald #shanalotte #alsanna the silent oracle #nashandra #fume knight raime #alva and zullie

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n7punk · 2 months

Note

So I know in a lot of your fics Catra is red color blind and you’ve explained it in the fic notes but do you have a place where you’ve fully explained what she can and can’t see?

very bad question to ask me because i am not a Science Person, but my understanding is that our color vision is made up of three cones, red, green, and blue. the more cones you have (and also the more you study names for different shades, i wish i was kidding but Learning Words actually improves your vision), the more shades of color you perceive (generally). in humans you get red-green colorblindness as the most common type and blue-yellow (yes i know i didnt mention yellow cones. it's complicated) as the second one.

this varies wildly for animals. for instance, we used to think mantis shrimp saw colors we couldn't hope to distinguish because they have 12 color receptors and we have the aforementioned 3, but now we think they actually see less than we do and they just have so many different receptors because their cones suck. so like, while we may be able to see many shades of blue and green with one cone, they need a Light Blue cone, and a Dark Blue cone, and a Turquoise Cone.... etc etc. and again, this is just where we're at with shrimp right now! we actually have no clue what cats see - if it's reduced shades due to a generally lower number of cones (they definitely have at least this), red-green colorblindness like in humans, just red colorblindness (something speculated for both cats and dogs), or monochrome colorblindness. different studies and resources have come to different conclusions, so in the end i usually pick just red because it's pretty unique and she's a fantasy species.

all the colors we see happen by wavelengths of light entering our eye. If a color is picked up a ton by our red cones and a little bit by the blue, we would see that as purple, right? except sike, the wavelengths of light do not work like our usual understanding of colors and what cones purple belongs to is not red + blue. i watched a video on this and then decided i wasn't going to understand it and moved on with my basic understanding of color mixing for what she can and can't see, but that didn't stop one Very Annoying Reader from trying to correct me and completely missing the point even after i explained it to them that disability representation is not to mimic any one person's Exact Situation, but to instead represent their overall struggles. literally none of the experiences i give catra apply to humans but just because it's her tail that makes some chairs really painful for her rather than scoliosis, that doesn't make it any less relatable when she finds the world hostilely designed for her body.

lmao can you tell its a sticking point for me. anyway, i often (although not always in AUs, partially because of not wanting to deal with annoying commenters when it Does Not Matter for what i'm trying to convey) write catra to have either very few or no red cones in her vision, which gives her a visual experience that is unique to us and very difficult to simulate due to that wavelength thing being more complicated than just removing red from an image. I don't know what colors catra would really be able to see if a human did have her specific kind of colorblindness, but i do get more specific in this fic about what my general take was early on. Slowly i've shifted to lean more towards her just having generally reduced cones more densely clustered on missing red cones, which would mean she would see fewer shades of color in general but would be able to see all the base colors we do, even if the variation and strength she gets is weak, especially heavily in red (this is kind of what i'm working with for modern AUs. if i mention adora's red jacket, she can kind of see that, just not nearly like we do, and maroon just wouldn't exist for her). this is the type of colorblindness my mom has (cannot tell navy from maroon from black, but easily tells red from blue from black. she leans slightly more towards deutro in her weakness) and is one of the speculated color perceptions for cats.

so i guess to answer your question: it depends on which fic you're reading LMAO.

also, because i can't not mention this: those colorblind correcting glasses (enchroma, etc) are not real, do not give you the ability to perceive things you literally do not have the receptors to, and actually work by filtering out wavelengths of light to make the colors that you see more potent, but it doesn't change the actual colors there, it's just like applying a filter to photo on fucking instagram. it actually limits your color perception even further and you cannot "train" your eyes with them just like you cannot train a limb to grow back. its a scam, and at three figures for a pair of glasses, it really hurts people and their families when they fall for it.

#fic ask #anon

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shadow-genesis-yay · 6 months

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Gimme them Memory headcanons! Please!

Say less! o7

>headcanons under the more/reading<

(Sorry it's long & for late response, was shopping for birthday stuff)

First 1: Memory in my design has white streaks they got from Void's side! Void just dyes his hair black to hide em for unknown reasons (probably ego or smth I dunno. Voids out of my control /j)

2: They're 6'4, uses mostly It/They but also uses he. They prefer mostly the other two tho but won't get mad if he is also used. (This one's mostly based off how in canon, Memory was referred to as a thing by Sabre, and he would use It/They until switching to He. Mem was still called a thing but used he ig). Oh and ig they also used nicknamed but only like it when Void calls em them. Like Memmy/Mem/Memoy/Fancy Steve lol

3: He has light sensitivity and uses their mask to help it when outside of the void/memory dimension

4: It has heterochromia, but in a different way! His left eye doesn't have a iris/pupil, and the area that's supposed to be white is pure red like Voids. (I think it's called the sclera) and also on said left side, they have a scar on its cheek that it got during some event they doesn't like talking about

5: Memmy likes cats and owns two! One tuxedo cat named Voodoo, and the other, a black cat (Bombay I think) called Morticia! Memmys had them since they was a smol lil swirly peppermint boi, and treats them like royalty as deserved 😤

6: (this one's kinda from a quote my friend made but it's too funny to not make a Memory headcanon) If Memory got called a specific slur I'm not gonna say, he'd just be like "Yeah no duh, it's obvious. Now please tell me something I already don't know about myself, or leave please and thanks."

7: Memory is highly skilled in swordsman ship, archery, and fighting. It's won awards in competitions they entered secretly (not because Void would be mad, but because they're Void's son. Void's like a king/God in the eyes of the other steves [of course except Nightmare LMAO] and terrifies em.) They's only lost once and that was more on its end since he didn't want to do competitions anymore, so they purposely disqualified itself by starting a fight.

8: while this one may be more of a ship that was started for funnies, it took my brain over so uh yeah. Memory is married to Faceless. The reason for why (to me) is because since Faceless doesn't have a face (no duh), he's immune to Memory's powers, even when mimicking others. And Faceless just couldn't resist a fancy boi in a suit. (I love this ship but at the same time I'm like "I want it gone from my mind its been 3 months help") ik they never met canonically but I speculate they met a tiny bit when Elemental worked for Void and El had to capture Faceless. It's a long shot but yolo I was bored

9: Memmy boi like flowers. Mostly roses or any black flower, but they'll be content with any other color if red & black are unavailable :)

10: While Memory may seem stern and cold, when you get to know them, he's really nice! Though it's usually always on guard and will unintentionally break your arm if you happen to spook them (somehow).

11: Memmys very sneaky and will smile a cheeky smile when it scares someone from behind.

12: Memory really hates cameras. Like, REALLY REALLY hates em. Whether it's off or not, they don't care and WILL throw a dagger at it. This one's more from a funny thing Sabre himself replied with in his discord when I said "I wish Memory had more screen time. He would of bee such a cool villain" with Sabre replying "maybe he did but we forgot".....I walked basically right into that joke but I love it so I'm considering it canon /hj

Uhhhh yeah anyways I think that's it other than more funny meme ones me and a friend made when I was bored and thought 'what if after the camera was off, Sabre and the steves would have a smp world together' and Memory would be the sometimes chaotic one of the server.

Ye uh I rambled alot lmao idk if this will even post but thank you so much for the ask and willingness to hear the headcanons about our silly little peppermint boi! Memory deserves so much more love that what's seen, I love him so much

Memory Steve, our beloved 'forgotten' king <3 👑

#favremysabre #steve saga #memory steve #asks #marii-the-shapeshifter #shadow-gens shadow ask!

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nanistar · 1 year

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I know you said they arent technically albino eyes(?iirc), but I like that you still draw them accurately! A lot of people just made them pink when they ARE just really pale blue a majority if the time! N the pink is usually blood vessels :3!

WEIRD thing to compliment you on but the genetics of it are fascinating as well as it’s sad to see people think of it as creepy or unrealistic ect ect so its nice to see! <3

thank you!! i put a lot of thought into how their eyes work, cuz speculative biology is fun, and i don't really draw them the way i actually imagine them. (like how i've said before that most of moonclan would be very thin furred with rat tails but i dont want to draw similar looking cats so they have different markings and fur lengths and stuff) i also imagine all of moonclan to have wide, bulging eyes that don't blink often (like Rock from Canon) but i found that hard to emote with, so for the sake of the comic they have my typical style of eyes, except for in webwhisker and rubblekit's case. their eyes are how i wanted Everyones eyes to look. so my canon reason for web and their son being the only ones who have it is just saying that they are the first to evolve it. rather than albinism, my inspiration for how their eyes look is based on three things; russian topaz eyes, the eyes of some cave tetras i used to have, and the way cats eyes reflect in photos with flash. russian topaz is a really unique eye color that sometimes comes with birth defects and high/unique white spotting and can look "normal" blue or more like this:

(via messybeast)

blue with red shine. but if you know tumblr famous cat pangur a la @pangur-and-grim blog, she has russian topaz eyes where they look more purople/blue with more purpleish/red pupils.

^here's a good post of theirs where you can see what i mean.

russian topaz can also show as black irises with red pupils but that, while cool as fuck, was a bit too "dark forest"-y for me.

(the two above graphics are via messybeast, which is a GREAT source for cat genetic info) so anyway, that was my base, and then i wanted the eyes to be inconsistent in exact color because i want the light to reflect off of it more, and make them glint like holographic colors. i had some cave tetras that technically had red eyes, but when they moved their eyes to look around it felt like you could see into the eyes, like the pupils were just sitting on a layer of clear jelly instead of being surrounded by iris if that makes sense? so i wanted the moonclan cats to evolve that sort of light refraction. and i want their wide stares to be a bit unnerving. in the future, moonclan cats would eventually evolve completely blind eyes and then finally no eyes at all, but i think that would be Really far off. (they have only been in the mines for ~100 years or so.) i have... no idea if this would ACTUALLY be genetically realistic, but it's fun to pretend like i know stuff lol

#moonclan #lore #and their culture is fucked up too but we'll get to that #sbc

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lowkeyclueless5137 · 2 months

Text

And ANOTHER P5 x Twst au :3

Oh god this is gonna be a trainwreck :v

But what else is new in here? :'3

Anyhow, I got like... Months ago an ask about another possible p5 x twst au and, of course, this derailed into shaping a whole thing.

Yet it wasn't enough for moi. It had a lot of holes in the plot and if you know me, you know that I gotta fill those up until I'm satisfied. :3c

So here we are✨

We are gonna reflect the whole time-line: top to bottom, explain every lore bit to the best of my pea brain's capacity and see what crawls out :v

How are we gonna do it? Well it's gonna be simple: we will go plot time-line wise and when things that do need explanation will pop out, they will be explained underneath the paragraph in smol text. If the marked section consists of a spoiler, it will be marked AND colored, which means it will be explained later, in a smol text, post the spoiler paragraphs.

Explanations will consist of:

plot irelevant information

games cannon points

the ooc lore that ties in the 2 games

time-line clearance :'3

I'm also gonna refer to the P5 protag as Ren Amamya, so yep. -3-

Fair warning: there will be spoilers for the whole P5 vanilla version along with Twst's latest story chapter. Since we are going cannon time-line wise, you can either go and read it until you don't want to be spoiled or you can simply read it after you saw your spoilers in the cannon games. :3

Now onto the fuckery! :D

We start off with how it all began :v

Ren's school had a letter exchange program, as a way to teach English to kids in a much more engaging and fun way. And what is a more fun way to learn a language than kids making a pen pal? He was in middle school at that time, pretty excited for this thing. They were given a few options as well.

Except that poor lil Ren didn't know how to write a school address from the options given. Instead, because of his excitement, he only wrote 'pen pal :3' in the bracket meant to have the address to send it to.

What Ren was unaware, was that, despite giving it in person to the mailman, the letter got lost among the hundreds of other letters meant to be sorted and sent.

It does get sent anyway.

And the answer is quite over everyone's heads.

You see, a few days later, Riddle was asked to pick up the mail by his mother. He would usually read the address, not expecting for anything to be addressed to anyone but his mother.

Watch his utter surprise when he sees a letter intended for 'pen pal :3'. Riddle was shook, but knowing that all the letters for his mom have her name on it and a fancy adress, the kid's brain makes the connection that HE is the one whom the letter was meant for.

So he hides it and keeps it to himself, until late at night. He uses a small light spell as he excitedly opens the letter. His mother always banned him from seeing her letters, so he believes this is also a very private moment.

And the contents were as follows:

'Hello! My name is Ren. I'm 7 years old. I live in Japan. I lika red and cads! What is your feivoriite color? Do u like cads? I'm exxcitd to be friends! -Ren'

Yes, it was short and yes, the errors were there amongst the sloppy writing, but it was authentic. The doodles did help Riddle understand that Ren liked cats actually. He even drew himself too! Even if it was a stick man with a lot of black for hair. And he even said he wanted to be friends! His very first friend!

Of course, being the very first friend, Riddle was over the moon. He didn't know how to even redact his letter. His mama always wrote hers, again, alone, without Riddle being allowed to see, thus the redhead believes that, again, it's a very personal activity.

And he got a letter. It would be rude to not respond to it!

So next morning, at individual study session, when Riddle is left alone, he pulls out Ren's letter. And uses it as an example. He puts Ren's address at the 'from' as he puts his full adress too, thus completing the destinations rubric completely. He quietly puts it in the mail needed to be picked up by the mailman and then off he was to continue his studies.

A few days later, Ren receives a letter with very nice writing. His parents think for a hot minute that their kid got a letter from a fancy school or smth. But no, it was from Ren's new pen-pal. The boy was so excited that he ran off the stairs and almost smushed on the ground. He left any breakfast he had on the table and almost spilled over a glass of water in his excitement.

Riddle's letter was far more difficult in terms of quality and English, yet Ren did make a big Boi effort to understand it. For the sake of pen-palling!

'Hello, Ren! I am Riddle Rosehearts. I am, as well, 7 years old (my birthday is in August) and I live in the Queendom of Roses. I am very happy that we will be pen-pals from now on! My favourite color is also red. And I do like cats, although I am not very sure what my favourite animal could be. I do want to ask: how is it in Japan? I never heard of such place. Is it nice? I would love to hear more from you and I'm very excited to be friends through the mail. -Riddle'

It took a lot to deschipher the letter itself, which only added more to the time for making another response.

Meanwhile, poor Riddle thought he made a bad impression for not adding doodles. He didn't really have time for such things. Yet, after a week, he gets a letter for him, from Ren and he's absolutely happy when he sees the response. Ren even made an effort to say that his pen-pal has very pretty hand-writing. As such, Riddle gets an idea of how Japan might look like, or at least Ren's little hometown. The redhead tried to research about Japan, but found nothing, thus assuming it was a local name for some country close to the land of the dragon. Meanwhile, Ren said promptly that his pen-pal is from the Queendom of roses, but everyone assumed he was referring to UK. No one questioned it, assuming that it was a thing in between the 2.

-they also believed such thing because in cannon of twst, time is reffered as our normal time

-in here, the time is the same for both worlds. Japan time is sage island time, so there's a small decalation of hour.

This letter routine continued. Ren was a fast learner, thus he had a quick evolution in his English, which gained praise at school. Meanwhile, Riddle was finding a warm and fuzzy spot whenever a new letter would come for him. Both found to grow very close to each other, like a brother you would tell all your Woes to. The letters came from simple things, to much longer ones, about one's week, personal problems or even funny side-stories.

Since Riddle was helping Ren with his studies, the latter found it fit to teach his pen-pal Japanese. This also shifted the contents of the letters, containing small notes in Japanese. Just how Ren's English looked sloppy at first, Riddle's Japanese was the same.

The letters also came more thick at one point. Ren would send small things, trinkets and candy, while Riddle sent in trinkets and pressed flowers. When the small objects were exchanged, Riddle unfortunately already was busted long ago for sneaking out to play with Trey and Che'nya. So imagine that Ren sending him such small trinkets, there was bound to be some sort of reassurance.

And while strawberry tarts were great, Riddle found Mochi to be his comfort food. It was small and was eaten easily. In his mind it was similar to a tart: comes in a big variety and it was given to him by someone he holds dear in his heart. Along with the fact that his first ever taste of one was always the strawberry flavour.

-he told Ren in a letter that he liked strawberries, so the latter made an effort to choose strawberry sweets.

Meanwhile, Ren was very happy with his own lil trinkets and things. He made a small glossary of all the pressed flowers as well, although at first he thought the 'sweet rose' was candy and ate it. Imagine his surprise when he discovered in the next letter that it wasn't supposed to be eaten. But it still tasted nice. :'3

-Riddle sent another 'sweet rose' for Ren's glossary after that, as to have the entire collection

This becomes a routine, that is followed all the way to high-school. Ren started first high-school and had to explain to Riddle how the Japanese sistem worked. Nonetheless, Riddle was expected to start his first year while Ren was around the middle-end of his. So there was that.

-Twst follows the European/American school model, thus it has some decalation with the Japanese school model.

Riddle also expressed his considering of taking on for the dormleader position once he got his acceptance letter. Ren, tho, said that it wouldn't be good to paint a target on his back so early. That maybe, first, he should gain a good reputation and trust of the others so he could be recommended rather than simply taking it by force. It would look far better in this case scenario, which would be easier to gain respect out of others once he does get the position. He makes some good points, which gives Riddle a much rounded idea of how he could raise as a much more respected Dormhead.

Trey inevitably thinks that maybe he managed to talk sum sense into the redhead, whom initially was dead set on taking that position. So for now, he got a bit of credit for this. :'3

Although, for Ren's end of the year, things get a bit messy. Like in the cannon of P5, he gets charged with assault for pushing off the man that tried to force himself on a woman. In his urgent letter, he stated that the man's name, which Riddle takes a note of for future reference.

Still, the redhead was worried sick for his friend. He did change his letters accordingly, in April this whole Tokyo probation would start, so Riddle still didn't finish his first year by then. Ren told him that for the time of the formalities of moving and getting enrolled into the new school, he won't be able to write, so Riddle could let off a worry if he didn't receive the usual letter.

-Ren had to pack things and move to Tokyo, thus, still waiting for the new address, he couldn't have Riddle write accidentally the same address and send the letter to the wrong place.

The night before Ren's first day of school, Riddle wakes up in a theater room. He was chained with ribbons by all limbs and a guy that was painfully similar to Jade, introduced himself as his brand new attendant. This Jade was strikingly different from the real one, mainly by the white hair in an undercut and the more punk appearance, which wasn't fit st all with the theatre's elegant presentation. Unfortunately, the master of this room was not availabile now, as he is tending to the other wildcard.

Despite that, Riddle feels like someone else is watching him. Like there are 3 persons in this theatre and one of them was the redhead himself.

Still... It was wierd af :'3

Imagine being in Ren's shoes. You have your brand new school day after a freaky prison dream. You are in your uniform, meet a kinda nice guy and together you head to the school, only to be found in front of a castle.

To add salt to the wound, they hear a scream from inside and rush in to see 2 guards dragging out a small, struggling guy. Ren recognised him as Riddle and the latter tried to free himself when the guards stopped to 'interrogate' Ryuji and Ren.

-the 2 exchanged photos with themselves at one point, after all they've been mailing to each other since 7.

Guess it's now getting Dormeo-ed and waking up in a dungeon cell. Riddle was freaking out since he was just heading out to PE, while Ryuji and Ren were just getting to school when they found themselves in this freaky place.

The redhead mentions how his magic didn't work out in here, to which the other to swipe it under the rug, in favor of finding a way out and trying to survive this crazy shit. :'3

Cue Kamoshida coming. Riddle is absolutely baffled that this is a PE teach. Like sure, Vargas had an obsession with muscles, but the man had sum decency, ya know?

The situation was overkill for Ren tho. Like this is the first time he meets his pen-pal, his brother in arms if you will, and he is now gonna get killed by his new PE teach who is in just a speedo with a wierd cape.

The first one on the line of execution was supposed to be Ryuji, but Riddle charged in and pushed a guard aside, which got him to be deemed as the first one on the chopping board.

Cue Ren's very epic awakening. Everyone is simply losing their shit atm. :3c

But that, clearly that had to be magic. Using that as a distraction, when the guards turned into your run-of-the-mill Jack-o-lanterns, Riddle spared 0 time in grabbing a sword and cutting one of those lil shits's heads. Ryuji stole the keys and together they closed off Kamoshida in the cell, trying to run away.

Cue realising that they are lost. :'3

So, instead of jumping on the other side of the river, they decided to look some more in here, try to find a sturdier bridge, because it was unclear if their adrenaline was yet to wear off.

They, unfortunately, stumble across a few cells with students that Ryuji recognises. The blonde explains to the 2 that these people are actual students at their school and he wanted to free them. Unfortunately, the keys didn't work and so they had to ditch them. Ren is very collected about this shit, preffering to not act rash in a situation where their very lives are on the line.

Riddle tho? Riddle sees it as unfair. And he's absolutely enraged. He insists to bargain with Kamoshida for the captive students, but, upon returning to the cell, they find no Kamoshida and that the whole door was blown away by smth. And not just anything, but something very powerful, as it left quite horrifying trails and marks. This gets Ryuji on board to finally ditch everyone else for now and try to get out before they get killed.

But, they have a run-in with a red-armoured guard, tasked with taking care of this 'intruders'. By how everything was shaped around, Ren looked drained from his transformation and Ryuji had a small halebard found on the ground to fend himself with. Everything was absolutely wrong and someone had to fix it before their heads get rolling. And Riddle deemed himself as more than fit for the job. He was well versed in the art of magic and his senses simply told him to protect his friends, to protect the people he holds so dear.

Cue epic af awakening.

With this new power, the redhead demands for Ryuji and Ren to run away while he deals with the guard. Because it didn't turn in any shadow, Riddle used that to knock off the guy from the horse and take the animal to ride and catch up with Ren and Ryuji.

Cue meeting Morgana, just as the 2 freed the cat-thing. Morgana introduces himself as a very skilled Phanthom-thief and as such, he sees some potential in the now 2 masked guys. So now they took it by steps towards the exit.

-the horse was also a shadow, so it had to dissappear, plus Morgana insisted to be discret.

Ryuji is lowkey all like: what's with the people burning alive and getting sick outfits????

The cat gives us drugs! (yes, I love that joke for sum reason) :D

Morgana also shows a demonstration of how personas work. Arsene was mainly using curse attacks and physical ones, while Judgement queen was had mainly fire and a tiny bit of bless, thus keeping the distance.

While escaping, the 3 return to Tokyo, which is bad, since Riddle was supposed to be at NRC. Everyone was, rightfully, freaking out about it. Thankfully the new badass outfits didn't come over as well. :'3

Riddle does look around and uses magic to change his uniform into something akin to a more normal school uniform. Cue Ren and Ryuji freaking out since that was actual magic and Riddle was not making shit up in his letters. Ryuji brings up that this is how the redhead dyed his hair so vibrant, to which Riddle replies that no, his hair is natural.

-In P5(not royal) universe, there are no wild hair colors. The dark blue is meant to represent a colder black. By Japan's standards, some would believe that a bright red hair could be either a delinquent or a J-pop idol. :'3

So Riddle does use magic again, to make his hair black, although still it retained a tint of red to it. It was absolutely sick for Ren and Ryuji, while Riddle was more concerned with getting himself back to NRC.

They re-meet Kamoshida and Ryuji with Riddle are immediately ready to square tf up. By sum miracle, the redhead understood perfectly Japanese, as if he was an avid speaker, which wasn't the case at all. No one brings it up, Ren and Ryuji assuming it was sum fancy magic shit.

-Cannon P5 has the group understand Morgana as a cat, so it can be expected that a more human language could be altered to be universally understood.

Riddle has to wait outside, which means the latter gets to explore around a bit. They exchanged phone numbers already and Ren with Ryuji asked the redhead to get them smth to eat post classes. Already they were through more than half of the school period, so it didn't take too long. Along with this, the 2 didn't want to catch the empty school shop, so Riddle was their errand boy for the day. :'3

On the way around, Riddle meets a nice tall guy who tells him where a cheap store is. That was a blessing for his already almost broke buget. :'D

The tall guy goes with Riddle to the store and with the extra given coins, Riddle decided to give them to the guy as a sort of thank-you, so he could complete his price for his food take.

Riddle has made a new friend: Yusuke! :D

Unfortunately both of them forgot to exchange phone numbers and only realised this when they parted ways already.

Ren and Ryuji are very happy with the food and together, the 3 discuss about what are they supposed to do. Ren offers for Riddle to sleep with him, but Sojiro might not allow it and Ryuji didn't have any space in his small place. They decide to sneak the redhead in when the latter shows them an invisibility spell he knows.

For the night, Ren and Riddle discuss a bit. The redhead admits that he was a few seconds, at best a minute or 2 before Ren and Ryuji came. Riddle also mentions about his freaky dream with the blue room, to which Ren is all like 'damn, me too'.

The 2 draw a few lines:

both are wildcards, whatever the hell is that

Igor is the master of both rooms

the theatre is not like the prison :'D

Ren got the short stick with the attendants/wardens

So they go to sleep.

And surprise, surprise, Ren is back in the Velvet room. With this opportunity, he asks Igor what is up with his friend and why is he also deemed as a wild-card. Igor says that he was chosen for another motive, but it has nothing to do with Ren's rehabilitation.

On the reverse side, Riddle asks about Ren's velvet room. Again, Igor wasn't here, but Jade says to not question his master's wishes, for they all have a purpose in 'delivering the perfect story' along with shaping Riddle in the 'worthy protagonist' he has to be.

When waking up and everything, Ren makes sure to spare half of his curry for his buddy, while Sojiro wasn't looking. As such, re-meeting with Ryuji, the 3 re-trace their steps post classes. Riddle was again sent through the city for things, meeting again with Yusuke and the 2 hanging out for a bit. This time they did exchange numbers. Yay! :D

They discover the metanav, the freaky app on all 3's phones. Riddle theories that since he came first, he has to also leave first, as to separate the 2 and thus return to their respective worlds.

-it was realised that since magic was common in Riddle's place, the latter was from a different dimension altogether.

This time, they re-meet Morgana, get more things explained and Ryuji promptly has an awakening post facing Kamoshida yet again. Really Riddle was getting impatient and wanted to behead for real the guy. Unfortunately Morgana said that if you kill Kamoshida in here, he has a mental shudown irl and actually dies.

This time, when they return to the real world, Riddle is back in twisted wonderland, while Ren and Ryuji are back in Tokyo. Their phones could still message/call one another, which only was used for them to confirm that indeed, they have to leave separately in order for everyone to go to their respective worlds.

Riddle had to call in sick for yesterday and today, which was plausible. He had a single room due to the Heartslabyul first years not being unable to divide evenly by 4. Trey was the first one to tell Riddle that he was really worried for him, while Cater managed to get him the lost lesson notes, from Jade.

-in cannon twst, the Heartslabyul dorm rooms for the 1st years are split 4 by 4. Riddle is still in his first year as of now.

Now, the redhead stood amongst first years at the one with an absolute perfect score at everything, including attendance, so it was pretty understandable that I'd he was sick he wouldn't come, as such no one really bothered to bring it up.

Still, despite all that, Riddle couldn't help but feel that someone was watching him. He tried to swat it off as being just over dramatic, but the feeling did not dissappear, whatever Riddle would try to force himself to believe.

Meanwhile, Ren makes a Gc, which is titled 'The Bois'. In here, Ryuji makes a list of people he saw in the palace and whom they should interrogate for future reference. They know that Kamoshida is abusing the students, as such they should be careful at how they could address the situation.

Riddle still was doing his best to help Ren and Ryuji with their investigations, via suggesting approach ideas or reminding them of rules and regulations that could be used as a shield for their actions.

Now there is a new routine, which also means that Ren, Ryuji and Riddle sync together when entering into the palace for investigations. Morgana came up with the code-name idea, so everyone was based off a motif from their own costumes, except Joker and Mona. So you have Skull and Rose, with their nice visual themes and then there's Joker and Mona. :'D

It's also time they discover what a wildcard could actually do. Both Riddle and Ren were spooked when their own negociations went a wierd way and gained new personas. Even weirder was the following velvet room trip, where the concept of persona fusions was presented. Ren told his buddy that he had to witness the gulittone execution, while the redhead said that he saw nothing, but heard a chainsaw for some goddamn reason.

Even so, you have Ann joining the group and expulsion hanging over Ren and Ryuji's necks. Now they did have a deadline and it was something that gained the loudest 'what' possible from Riddle.

The redhead tells the 2 that maybe they could avoid expulsion. They had to plead their case, because it wasn't legal to simply expel a kid with no backing motive and a proper investigation. And if there's a proper investigation, then Kamoshida could be shown as the absolute disgusting being that he is.

As such, their dead-line is given a bit more of a stretch, so that everyone could breath a bit in relief. Clearly they were forcing Kamoshida's hand and no doubt that he could find more 'plausible' accusations to give them. But that takes time. And they need that time for sure.

Cue these lil shits making a heist. :v

Ren was deemed as the main leader, while Riddle had to take over in certain situations. It was basically these 2 switching around. Riddle was a no-mercy fighting guy, while Ren was thinking more and stacking power.

Ann also had the brilliant shock of red to black that is Riddle's concealing charm. She brought up that, nonetheless, the guy was adorable and she definitely wanted to take him through the mall sometimes because there were so many pretty outfits he could rock. Riddle did not share the same excitement unfortunately. :'3

Ren and Ryuji realise that their buddy here has that cute charm that makes girls actually approach him.

Back in twst, not a lot of people noticed Riddle's absences. He wasn't that present post classes anyway, even so Cater did bring up that the redhead is pretty absent from the dorm post classes and/or clubs. The dormleader doesn't give it much thought, saying that perhaps he made a buddy and is hanging around. Trey seems to be pretty happy with this more outgoing change after all.

Meanwhile, our lil buddy here is getting traumatized by the horny castle. :'D

Kamoshida is horrible and Panther was more than happy to beat the shit out of him. Mona tried to be reasonable, but Ren said that if they leave the guy alive, then they could still beat him up to a pulp. >:3

Post that and the successful change of heart, the group wanted to celebrate. Ann made the great suggestion to go to this fancy buffet with the pawned money and treat themselves to their heart's content.

Riddle really didn't know how to prepare for such buffet. So he dressed up in smth nice and called it a day. Everyone had the same idea it seems, except Morgana, who is a cat.

Ann had a sweet tooth. And unfortunately she noticed that Riddle also had a sweet tooth, so the 2 indulged in the cakes and sweets, while Ren, Ryuji and Morgana went ham on the meat and other savory foods.

Then it came time to name their group. Upon a vote, it was decided to be named simple: 'The Phanthom Thieves of hearts'. Riddle brings up that it maybe they should lay down low for now, since clearly police would look into it. And Ren was on probation, so any bad light can be a fatal move.

Later on, Riddle hears from Yusuke, who tells him of this art exposition. And him having extra tickets, he was thinking of bringing his friend to see the art of his master, Madarame. The latter couldn't possibly decline the offer, so he gracefully accepted to come by in the weekend.

But before that, Morgana said 'let's go into the mementos' and we get introduced to the Monabus. :'D

The freaky part is when they encounter a stalker, whom, after defeat, accuses Madarame of exploiting them. It brings out a very wierd situation. Riddle offered to properly face the man in an interrogation, for he cannot actually be identified in this place, while the others listen in.

Indeed, the guy accuses again Madarame, saying how he wishes for nothing that he put effort in to be taken from him. Unfortunately, that got out of hand when his ex decided to break-up, thus the stalking. But now, seeing actual reason and realising how horrible his behaviour was, the guy begs of our groups to try and use their miraculous ways to save the children under Madarame's 'care', so they couldn't be exploited anymore.

Post that, Riddle mentions how he has a ticket to the art exposition, courtesy of Yusuke, his friend. There is also this wierd alcoholic reporter, who tries to get a scoop on Madarame, having all kinds of rumors on him. Coincidentally, Yusuke saw Ann and deemed her as the perfect model for his next art piece.

So there are 2 different plans of action:

The exposition one, where Riddle is gathering info about the paintings displayed, along with how Madarame himself acts around. Frankly, the old man was quite humble and kind, addressing to Riddle as Yusuke's friend and being happy about more youth attending a traditional art exposition.

Meanwhile, Ann is refusing far and beyond to pose nude for Yusuke, once the true intention of the painting is. In between us, Ren was pretty down to be a nude model. :'D

Still, our group finds the Madarame palace and BOI is that thing FANCY. All gold, abstract building and whoever decided to put pots on the roof. :'3

-In the P5 game, you can steal art pieces on the roof, who coincidentally look like pots

Riddle had a very familiar, yet foul feeling about this place, but he mostly kept it to himself, in favor of how to deal with this place. The pupil paintings were almost the last straw, but still, Yusuke was loyal to hell and back to Madarame. Simply telling him that this guy is bad won't do anything but to sour their already complicated relationship with the guy.

Still, they couldn't proceed further because of the peacock feather doors. So Ann FINALLY accepts the modeling gig, but with a catch: she took all the closet on her. :'3

Meanwhile, Riddle and Mona were meant to sneak in and open the door itself. Using an invisibility charm, the 2 had to both open the door and have Madarame see it open as well. Morgana wanted to lock pick it, but Riddle said 'nah' and straight up opened it with magic.

Unfortunately, neither was fast enough to catch that hefty thing and so it slammed on the shabby floor, which was heard through all the house. So the 2 knew that now either Madarame reaches them first or Yusuke and Ann.

-Yusuke assumed something bad happened or something got broken and thus wanted to assure for the well-being of his master

In a panic, Riddle and Morgana go and hide in the dark room itself, leaving wide open the door. Yusuke and Ann come first and out of instinct, Ann switches on the light.

Poor Yusuke is in an absolute shock. Hearing the footsteps of someone also coming, Riddle uses his magic to turn off the light along with turning Ann and Yusuke invisible. Yusuke wanted to yell, say smth, but Ann shushed him, just as Madarame entered the room. Yusuke saw first hand how the man actually acted around, quite arrogant, yet panicky that maybe someone actually stole a copy of the Sayuri.

Now that he was invisible, Yusuke also saw Riddle and Morgana, which was far more confusing since, for him, it was wierd that Madarame didn't even notice their presence altogether. Fleeing the place, the group came with the metaverse escape, once Morgana accidentally knocked off a painting and Madarame was convinced someone was truly there.

Cue Yusuke freaking out. He was in this metaverse place. In here, all the charms Riddle initially made were lifted, so cue the briliant shock of red hair again. :'D

Rose decided to got directly to the point: this is how Madarame views this whole art business and himself. As a museum of himself, where his vanity knows no limit.

The 2 had to re-meet with Joker and Skull. Yusuke has just a bad time overall and Riddle could only offer to step back and protect Yusuke, while the others fight shadows upfront.

Yet Yusuke also awakens to a persona! Yay! Now we can kick that grandpa's ass! :D

After the whole escape, Yusuke is very down. Ren tried to comfort him, but ultimately Riddle got to send the message across: just because someone raised you, doesn't necessarily mean that you are allowed to excuse every mistake of theirs. You can admit that the person in question is bad, even if they had you since you were a baby.

-Since Ren talked sense in Riddle prior, the redhead is aware already of his own mother's wrongs and thus, is the best to talk with Yusuke about this

Yusuke is now determined to change Madarame's heart and have him answer for his deeds against all those innocent pupils he exploited.

But, Madarame's wary af and thus asked police to make an investigation of the place. The investigation proves to be futile, as no one could find any evidence, besides the lock being thrown on the floor. Still, they were drawing a few suspects, one of which is Yusuke. This puts on fire the group since if Yusuke is accused of breaking in, it's over.

Yet, Riddle gets his summer holiday now. He had to make sure his mother was out in town while he 'studied' in order to sneak out via metaverse. Even so, it hardly changed the routine, since Yusuke also had very lil time to slip up.

By the middle of June they manage to find the treasure, send in the calling card and have the heist. Yusuke gets even more traumatised by Madarame's greed and the group find out about a black mask roaming around.

The confession, of course, is followed by a lot of uproar from the public. Yusuke now was living the ✨broke✨ life and Ren, Ryuji and Riddle are roped in with Mishima onto investigating the maid service, discovering that Kawakami works it as a side-job.

We also see the fireworks! :D

But, later, Riddle notices smth wierd. They were followed, quite indiscretly, by a girl. Ren explained that she was the student council president and it could only mean bad things for them.

Riddle, being done and over with that feeling of being followed, confronts Makoto upfront about stalking them. Like damn, can't a guy have sum privacy and hang around in peace?!

Makoto confronts them back with them being THE Phanthom thieves. Of course, this puts the group in a tight situation as Makoto wants them to prove their ways by changing the heart of a mafioso boss. They need a name tho, so using the journalist Ren meet previously, they deduce the name of Junya Kaneshiro. Their problem was the need to see Kaneshiro in person and deduce the nature of the palace in question.

Riddle tho, stopped her, saying that he is the guy on the terrain and that Makoto shouldn't get involved with those guys directly. Makoto tho, dismisses him, which almost gets them caught off in trouble with Kaneshiro, but thankfully magic is a godbless in here and Riddle doesn't hesitate to use it in order to confuse the people around and thus avoided an insanely close bullet.

Still, in order to fully escape, they used the metaverse escape, getting yeeted in the fricking bank. Since Kaneshiro knows them now, they gained access oh so much before the 'bank owner' demands cash for their damage done in the club. And a quite exaggerated sum, which could put poor Makoto in a life long debt.

Cue awakening! Heck yeah! We have a motorcycle now! :D

Makoto has many shocks today. Magic, metaverse, personas, the very close escape from ruining situation... Really a lot. Even so, Ren reasons that there is a possibility that the cameras could've caught their faces. It would take a bit more to get the footage and identify them, but when that happens, no doubt that Kaneshiro would want a hefty payment to keep shut.

Still, with sum effort and a very nicely set calling card, the group pull it off. Kaneshiro drops for them sum info about the black mask, but it's not really helping them in this situation.

Cue summer holiday like pros and Riddle starting his 2nd year at NRC. This was marked as special, since last year he was named Dormhead, by the previous one, whom now is in his 4th year. Ren quietly congratulated his buddy, who insisted to be kept on the low.

Still, what Riddle didn't expect was the mountain of tasks that would get dropped on his shoulders. He had to oversee a bunch of things and along that, by sum unspoken rule, he was put in charge of confirming that every Dormhead would come to the entrance ceremony. So he wrote nicely a few notes for the Dormheads, handing them personally to themselves, vices or students who can safely take it to them.

All, well except Idia. Riddle brought this problem to Ren. Like how he could even get that guy out to attend the ceremony. It's not something hard. He could still bring his tablet and speak through it. He wasn't unreasonable. But attendance will be mandatory and to top it off, Ortho, the deemed younger brother of Idia, really wished for him to attend the ceremony. It's not like he was sick or anything. Ortho confirmed that his brother can attend the ceremony with no problems. So it's more of a 'get yo ass out and stay in a corner for 30 minutes' kind of thing.

The rest of the group suggest their own things, but it all boils down to 1 idea: go in person and confront the guy.

Despite Riddle expecting to have a shy guy that maybe needs a bit of a nice word of encouragement to get the things going, Idia was snarky. This guy wanted nothing to do with the 'Resident rule perfectionist' as he put it into words. And that, in turn, railed up Riddle too, which turned into a back and forth with only the closed door preventing Idia from getting his ass whooped into attending.

-being so absent during April and the end of the year, people didn't get to see Riddle as more than just a guy that follows rules to a T

So Riddle, upon Ren's guidance, guilttrips Idia into confirming his attendance for the sake of his brother, who was really looking forward to it. It was a success! :D

Except it wasn't, because Idia didn't show up, despite Ortho saying that he saw his brother in the ceremonial robes, leaving before him even, just how the dormleaders were required to. Add salt on the wound, this wierd magicless peep stumbles in, a cat-raccoon puts on fire the whole goddamn room.

And Azul is his partner in catching that cat. This night couldn't possibly get worse, could it? At least, being used to thief shenanigans, it is far easier to outpace Grim and catch the lil monster, not before collaring him first. It would've been easier if Azul didn't almost blast him off with a missed spell. :'3

Post all this, luckily Ren and him meet up to hang out. In the metaverse to blow off some steam, ofc. Riddle does mention about Yuu, but when Ren suggests to take Yuu himself over to this world, where they belong, Riddle responds that there is a chance that this stranger was brought by the dark mirror. Something was up with this Yuu and he isn't going to risk it until he has evidence that they could be truly sent back safely without them being brought back by accident again.

-Yuu mentioned their home when the mirror asked for them to be sent back, as such it was clear it was a place from Ren's world.

This gets reinforced when Riddle wakes up in the velvet room. He was never summoned there for anything than at first 2 times. He had to ask for different procedures that Ren discovered when he was summoned. So there's that.

But the velvet room this time was more eerie. Far darker around and the bindings were tighter, even hurting when the redhead tried to move. He called for Jade, but he didn't respond, nor was to be seen.

All Riddle knew was that someone had their hands on his seat back, tilting a bit as a way to gain his attention. The person in question spoke very quiet and softly about how this game is rigged and that Riddle should, under no circumstances, mingle in with the magicless human. The redhead is allowed to ask 1 question before their time runs out. And Riddle, naturally, asks who the hell is this person behind him.

The response is: Someone he should've meet much earlier.

Of course, the redhead shared this encounter with Ren. Something definitely was up. He wanted to bring it up with Igor, but Riddle insisted that this stays in between them. Who knows what velvet room shenanigans are truly going on?

First proper day of NRC school and Ren just calls in to check on his buddy, only to be hit with the 'these dumbasses charred a statue, broke an insanely expensive chandelier and almost avoided explosion by trespassing in an abandoned and, possibly, Hazzardous mine'. When Ace allegedly stole a tart, it was the last straw and Riddle collared him. He didn't explicitly kick him out, but the guy left the dorm puffing and huffing so he didn't stop him.

-the way Riddle phrased his nagging made Ace believe that he was kicked out

Ren just suggests that tomorrow he should talk with Ace and Deuce. And just make it clear that he expects the 2 learned their lesson and won't do that absolutely dangerous shit again.

It goes actually well! :D

Ren is also invited to the tea party. The others were a bit busy, hence Ren finally got to visit Riddle's world. There was fun and nice food, so he wasn't complaining. U-Ub

Ren also gets to see firsthand how it truly is in a place where everyone uses magic. The roses were turned red by a flick of a wrist, the dishes were flying off their table on their own, even Trey's Unique magic was amazing for Ren.

Ren also meets Yuu, the magicless hooman in question, along with Grim. Since Morgana also was there, Ren jokingly said that they are kinda the same. Yuu notes how, from Trey's Intel, they didn't expect Riddle to actually have other friends, outside the school. Well Che'nya was an exception, but still! It turns out Yuu was also from Japan, them casually mentioning how in their world, at least, there were those wierd mental shutdowns and sum rumors about Phanthom Thieves. It was very freaky and Yuu was actually glad they weren't there atm.

-Ren lied and said he was a magicless student studying around, coming from the Queendom of Roses as well.

Post that, Ren was pretty glad that Riddle called off the idea of bringing Yuu back home via the metaverse. So far, their idea of the thieves wasn't all pink and sugary, so there was a fair chance they would rat them out.

Post the party, Riddle and Ren talk as the redhead is 'getting back to school' the latter. Riddle does mention about the other Dormheads and how they kinda are in terms of personality. Not the most happy bunch, but NRC was notorious for stuck-up brats after all.

Discussing those matters, Leona's name gets dropped. And what you'd guess, the metanav picks it up. It halts the 2's convo as they realise that 'oh shit, the metaverse is not Tokyo exclusive'.

So until they reach the mirror chamber, they try different things. It does pick up 'coliseum', 'envy' and 'sloth', getting the 2 to come face to face with a more antique place, where gladiator fights were the main attraction. Still, they didn't venture too much. They had to talk with the rest of PTs about this palace.

It comes to a comune accord that this palace was something that needs to be dealt with. At least before inter-dorm magishift season starts. Azul was in charge of organisation so they had to take a leap of faith and get somehow a clue about what Leona might pose a threat to. His palace was cold and straightforward. Shockingly very easy to go through.

Their problem tho, comes with Medjed, back in Tokyo, taking upon a 'duel' with the PTs. For that, Alibaba, a misterious hacker, requested to have a heart change. So Leona's palace had to wait a bit more.

Everyone honestly was thinking that the desert tomb was mocking them with the endless heat, only to have back irl the autumn coldness. Still, they manage to change Futaba's heart, or more like she helps in changing her own heart. This does cause a collapse episode in the real world, something which Riddle can freely use some simple healing magic spells. Still, Sojiro, unaware, called in Takemi to check.

With Medjed dealt with, Riddle is informed of the string of accidents on the school grounds. Yuu, Grim and Adeuce were looking into it, so the redhead assigned Cater to also look a bit in this mess. Clearly, he knew Leona had something to do with this. His palace was straight out outing this thing, but Riddle had to play it right and not raise suspicions.

So he devises a plan to stop the sabotaging, all the while the rest of the thieves group go and steal the treasure. Riddle promised that he will confront Leona face to face, as such they won't need a calling card and make their presence also known in here.

-since Yuu knew about the Phanthom thieves in their world, a calling card would immediately raise suspicions.

Cue busting Leona at the magishift grounds, just as, in the metaverse, Ren was leading the heist.

Except that what wasn't taken in account, was Leona overblotting. This shook up the whole plan and not only did Riddle have to deal with an overBlot, the rest of the thieves got out with the treasure, only for the thing to crumble apart right in their hands.

Instantly, the metanav confirmed that the palace still was standing, so it was clear that now everyone meet in front of it, seeing the now abandoned ruins of the once prestigious looking coliseum. No more shadow readings, treasures or anything that would do with distorted desires. It was like a shell of it's former corrupted glory.

Riddle says that in the real world, Lilia came in between him and Leona and berated him so bad he actually overBlotted. Something like this was absolutely unexpected. And so far Leona was still preparing to play in the exhibition match. He had to return and arrange the Heartslabyul team, so the others decided to come too and keep an eye on the matches.

Magishift was, clearly, something that hyped up the whole group. It was also Futaba's first time outside, at a grand event such as this.

Still, Leona was acting like normal. He was sent to the infirmary to rest after this thing, while Yuu was sent there post getting bonked with the Disk.

For a few days, Riddle kept a close eye on Leona. The palace was in a state of decaying and the guy himself looked like nothing changed. No change of heart was made, but some sort of inner change was done by Leona himself. Something that compromised the whole palace.

After that, there is the Halloween event, where Riddle invited his Tokyo buddies at the open gates event. Magicam monsters like magicam monsters. Still getting a kick outta them. :v

The actual noteworthy thing is post that, when the endless Halloween night starts. In the land of the afterlife, Riddle could feel his personas brimming inside. It felt awfully like some sort of metaverse, but it wasn't his metaverse, more like some sort of extension.

And since WHEN did Lilia need glasses?! They were that hot pink, bedazzled with prints on their rims along with a colorful chain full of beads. Really standing out against his Halloween attire. Still, he said that it was his idea, as to cheer up Malleus for the inevitable end of this big school party. Pepaw, dunno if u have health insurance, but I'm sure af that Riddle doesn't give a damn about it. :'3

Following that, in Tokyo, people didn't really believe that much in the power of heart change. The thieves needed some big target to hit, but that could also be compromising. It does get into a heated argument, with Morgana ditching the group in a rage fit. Everyone is just all over the place. They decide to target Okumura and run into a spaceship palace! :D

Meanwhile, Ren and Riddle decide to solo investigate the mementos of twisted wonderland. They didn't really have a clue how to get to rotten souls, but Riddle suggested to try out students names. This mementos was an extension of the usual mementos, accessed through a cracked mirror and resembling an upside-down tower.

The 2 stumble upon the shadow of none other than Azul. It was surprising, since Riddle knew how greedy and perfectionist this guy was. He expected a more grandiose thing out of him, not a simple shadow.

Still, using the fact that they could easily change his heart and that also there was no trigger for overBlot rn, they do defeat the shadow. It was more as an experiment, to see if a change of heart actually works in twst or it is something else.

Azul had absolutely 0 change in his behaviour. Still he's scheemy and still he has that honey-sweet Demandour, appearing to be friendly and rope u in a deal.

In fact, a lot more people got roped in a deal. Ren wanted to say that they did worse, but Riddle reassured that this was absolutely no surprise: exams were coming up. With Azul as a dormleader now, along with his 'reliability' in the previous year, it was no surprise that the clients would come in more numbers.

So while the whole Octavinelle plot is going on, the PTs are managing the Okumura palace. They have Mona back, along with a new addition: Noir, or by her real name: Haru.

There are 2 things that result in this whole Aftermath: Azul Overblots and Mr Okumura dies live on press. This is pivotal, as the Tokyo public believes that the Phanthom thieves are criminals, while on the twst plan, Azul still is hunting for contracts, although he seemed to lower the actual conditions, to the point is outright too generous. It was a sign of desperation.

Haru needs sum time off to think. With the sudden public death, the voting was postponed at a later date, to firstly let this scandal die down and re-make the whole voting options. It proved as a good time for other prime-minister candidates to make PR moves and capitalise on the death of Okumura for the sympathy of the masses. The ballouts would be hosted in March now, Japan waltzing in the new year with a lack of a prime-minister.

So Haru spends the small winter vacation with Riddle, at NRC. It was away from all this Tokyo Chaos. The others still checked up on her, to make sure she was, at least, able to cope well with the situation. There was a nice atmosphere in the Heartslabyul gardens, nice tea and along those, Haru seemed to enjoy the company of the local small critters and flamingoes.

Of course, due to this, it was no surprise that a certain Floyd Leech would bust the calm, mostly since 'Goldfishie stood over!' and he wants to play with someone else. Esp since Azul and Jade always were with him during the winter break so it was boring. Last year's break was enough for Floyd apparently. :'3

Although Haru found it entertaining the said chase and the chaos Floyd brought, what she didn't quite appreciate was when Yuu and Grim crashed into Octavinelle in the middle of the night and Haru joined, not expecting to be put through a training camp. Still, there was nice food and Kalim seemed very kind at first glance.

Then evening rolled up and Kalim wasn't so nice anymore. Just how Yuu and Grim said, this guy had worse moodswings than Floyd himself. So they split up to investigate: Haru and Jade separate Kalim from the others, while the rest keep Jamil occupied.

On the Kalim side, things were going smoothly once Jade used his unique magic on the latter, now the whole thing boiling down to asking the right questions. Haru was perplexed that Kalim's willpower to keep his promise was so strong, but this is also what outed the whole thing as well if you count in Kalim's connections. It was ironic, really.

Meanwhile, Jamil takes note that Riddle is very precise in the board game, which made him quite the fearsome competition. The redhead doesn't ignore the given compliment, saying that is very simple to advance if you know the rules and don't loiter around thinking of the points, rather consider the penalties. Yuu also notes that the redhead had quite the longer hair, this time being braided around pretty nicely. Riddle says that he didn't really take in account his hair situation at all.

-Haru braided it for him as a sort of relaxing activity for both.

Regrouping back in the guest room, a plan is devised and put in action the very next day. Jamil is exposed and this guy has a breakdown and overblots.

Cue getting yeeted across Scarabia. It came as an absolute surprise, which, to Riddle and Haru's further horror, they discovered that, indeed, Jamil had a palace all along. Who would've suspected such humble guy to turn out like this?!

Haru has now rights to commit extreme violence in the real world. Haru is very happy. :3

Poor lil Kalim... He's devastated, but nothing much could be done about it. Haru has her lil pep-talk with him, which turns out on a nice note, with Kalim declaring that he will do his very best to improve, for the sake of Jamil and everyone else.

Jamil also got a pep-talk, but no one really has an idea if something stuck with the guy or if he's just playing along for the sake of getting out of it faster.

Following that and an oasis hangout, Haru decides that she should come back. She stood for 4, maximum 5 days and deemed that all of this small adventure helped her rewind a bit and clear out her head.

Post her leave, Riddle still had the rest of the holiday to spend with the freshly returned Adeuce. Still, Floyd didn't leave him alone at all. He did inquire to know if he didn't get bored of him post the Scarabia incident. They were put to hang out for days together, so how come Floyd didn't get bored?

-in cannon twst, Yuu called Adeuce before breaking out with the carpet, as such the 2 rushed in here as fast as they could.

The latter responds that he knows Riddle's getting more risks taken and that the redhead is mingling with forces he should fear. It wasn't a nagging, because for the end, Floyd says that he's curious of what would come out of all this and expects Riddle to continue this type of shenanigans.

Riddle wanted to ask what in the world is the latter on, but decided to leave it at that and mind his own business. He went to the velvet room, where the other Jade was patiently waiting for him and any questions he may have. The latter has only 1 question: does this Jade have a twin? The attendant hesitates before giving no response, Riddle taking it as a confirmation.

It verified Riddle's theory that this Jade has a connection with the actual Leech twin in real life.

Despite everything, Jade says that, unfortunately, he cannot disclose information regarding the other attendants or about his own position, which further vexes Riddle. Clearly he knew of the twin wardens from Ren's velvet room. And Riddle now knew that in this theatre are supposed to be another pair of twins. But it was only 1. This had to be some sort of parallel. Things so far seemed way too separated, yet they had to be connected. Riddle has never seen Igor, while Ren always was welcomed by the said misterious man. Riddle had 1 attendant, posing as the one and only, while Ren had 2, split into an equal duty.

With those aside... It takes a bit of time, before our group is blackmailed by Aketchi into clearing Sae's palace. It put this whole thing on fire for everyone. And if for Riddle it wasn't enough, for him, this year, Crowley gave him the duty of overseeing the organisation for the culture festival. Mountains of papers and a lot of places, with little time to even rewind for himself a bit.

Aketchi gets also aquitanted with Riddle, being quite taken aback by the fact that 2 wildcards are in the group. Sure, fancy pants... Sure... -3-

But, with all of those Woes and troubles, Ren suggests that the group should also take a break, in the form of the culture festival. An open gates event where they could take 1 break, preferably to clear their heads before the big heist day and to enjoy themselves. Riddle actually looked very forward to it. He liked when his Tokyo friends would visit him. So he marked down the date and he did everything in his power to clear it. Making sure everything was to a T, so that no unexpected worries appear on the last second.

It adds far more on his plate than Riddle would like to admit. But he had to push it through. He had to make sure everything went swimmingly. It all depended on him, the 3rd party that wouldn't be affected by Sae's change of heart. The palace was investigated in record time and add to it that Ren even offered to help the redhead with sum paperwork, so he could speed up the whole process.

What was a thing Riddle overlooked, was literally the other Heartslabyul students. He overlooked that some might mess up something. And when they did, it resulted in a quick lashing out, a collar taken down seconds after realisation settled in and a profund apology for the scare. Those signs also showed in the palace. The reason they advanced so quick was because Riddle adapted an approach of 'wanna negotiate or taste my gun'.

This problem was brought forth with Trey. Him being the vice, the others decided that he is the best person to snap Riddle out of it. Cater even offered to take some of Trey's duties off his shoulders so he could take some of Riddle's in turn and at least clear up some time. Adeuce were gone, an unbirthday party was planned literally 2 days before the VDC. Time was on fast forward and it seemed Riddle had a hard time keeping in the pace.

-Ace and Deuce were at the VDC camp.

Trey tho, swats off the others, saying that it's simply just a more hectic period. A lot of things need to have Riddle's presence or signature, so it's not far fetched to say that even if they wanted to help, there's very little they could do. Cater tho, insists that even that little help they could offer is better than no help, but Trey shuts down the idea, saying that he'll take care of it, the same way he did on Riddle's first year: have a talk with him.

And that goes as well as one would expect: down in the goddamn gutter.

To start off, Trey postponed the deemed talk, until before the unbirthday party. At This point Riddle was piling even more stress, after a morning call where his mother finally got to nag him about staying at school for the winter and also forgetting to give her the weekly report yesterday. It already put on the down mood for the day and that only added up when his dorm students reported that apparently one of the flamingoes escaped, a hedgehog had a bellyache and the roses will take a few extra hours to be re-painted because some first years accidentally turned them green and got lost in between the leaves.

Add to that the poor sleep schedule and the overall tiredness. He intended at first to stay in the lounge and finish some urgent papers he'll have to send over to the light music club, regarding their performance duration, when he fell asleep.

Trey woke him up a few hours later and told him about his slip, which made Riddle to spiral in a panic, asking why in the fresh hell didn't he wake him up earlier?! He had to send those papers today, because those are meant to confirm the presence of certain club performances and allow for the schedule of the festival to be posted. Those were PIVOTAL for the organisation. And he slept on them! Now he couldn't attend the unbirthday party, so he'll just postpone it post VDC.

Cue Trey telling him that already everything was set and they couldn't possibly postpone it, when only the redhead was missing from there. He tries to tell the latter that he should take a break, but Riddle panics, saying that he took a break just now and he destroyed all of his plans. He won't have enough time, he'll have to work even on the VDC day, thus he couldn't take his friends out through the festival. It was all a mess. His only free day was forfeit because he fell asleep. Everything just came in, crashing and burning.

Cue a breakdown and an overBlot. Surprisingly, a quite weak one, since already Riddle was still tired and it was easier to knock him out.

So while the redhead actually does sleep in the real life, Riddle wakes up in the velvet room, again being dark and eerie. This time tho, the bindings were a bit more loose and his hands were smudged with ink. He knew that behind him was, again, that misterious someone. Fortunately, Riddle had a theory and a name for the one behind him.

So he calls out for Floyd to come forth. The latter does listen and presents himself as Jade's twin and Riddle's initial attendant. He was quite different, with longer hair and an attire fit for an actor on stage more than anything. Floyd explains that he waited for this moment. For things to crumble down and allow him a moment longer in here. Jade was very limited in this situation and he adds that Azul's initial plan of sneaking in was busted by that pesky shrimp.

Riddle doesn't really understand what's truly going on, but draws one conclusion: the velvet room twins and the irl Leech twins are one and the same. And Floyd here says that he's supposed to be Riddle's true attendant. Then what's Jade's role? And what does Azul have to do with this whole ordeal?!

Floyd doesn't explain, saying that time ran out and that someone is waking up Riddle in the reality, thus their time is cut short. Nonetheless, if he has any questions or truly wants to see what was truly hidden from him, then he reccomends Riddle would seek him out in any world he deems fit.

When the redhead really wakes up, Trey was holding him, while Cater and Che'nya were also in sight, both ferreting around like headless chickens. Riddle asks what happened, to which he's told that he overBlotted. Now he's lost even more time with his 'temper tantrum' and the inevitable knockout session he had. It immediately ends with Riddle crying, saying that he cannot handle it anymore, that he wants to simply stop time to do everything.

Trey doesn't know what to say, but he tells the redhead that he needs to take a break and recover, weather he wants or not. It doesn't reassure at all the redhead, so Cater steps in, saying that he will talk with the club representatives that have performances planned and have them come here and pick up the papers, as to cut some shortcuts at least.

This reassures a bit Riddle and he only demands now for a bit of privacy.

And he uses that privacy to go to Ren. Now, the latter was a bit taken aback by the sudden visit, but indulges in and welcomes the latter with an awkward hug. He doesn't ask what happened, he just waits for the latter to explain. Riddle does tell in between sobs what happened. Due to stress and using so much magic to patch up for his shortcomings, he overBlotted. He really just wanted a nice lil hangout day before they pull the big heist, but everything was compromised.

Ren, as a gud friend, does 2 things: 1. Comfort his buddy and offer to come with him and help him out. 2. Plan Crow man's funeral in advance and prepare a bat for Clover.

-Ren is aware Trey is a vice and therefore could've taken some of the duties and papers with no problem from Riddle's intel.

Riddle feels like he's asking too much from the latter, but Ren admits that the redhead did so much for him and the rest of the Phanthom thieves, by covering their traces, prolonging their deadlines and helping out with anything possible. He feels it's only fair that he will be here, with a hug and a helping hand when in need.

What Riddle does add is that something is wrong with the velvet room. At least his velvet room, for apparently he has a wrong attendant and both he and the actual attendant are real life people. There's also a 3rd person roped in this and it's none other than Azul, whom at first Ren and Riddle had under a close eye due to odd behavior.

Ren admits that it's wierd, but for now, he says that it would be better to take a deep breath and focus on the now. Not on the what they should do next. So he calls in the rest of the group, filling them up ONLY about the overBlot news. Clearly Aketchi had to catch up with the whole magic shit, but Riddle made it clear that overBlot is an external factor and cannot mean that a person necessarily has a palace.

Aketchi suggests that they still have a week or so until their deemed heist day. They said a week, because Sae is out of town, as of now, and on the first day she returns to Tokyo, she'll get the calling card. So, from his perspective, all the previous overBlot cases share a similarity: they were triggered by something. So he asks for Riddle to re-trace his steps of the day, because something doesn't add up.

So the redhead does that. He starts with the usual, but reaches the end, adding that it was just like any other day lately, until he snapped. Ann does ask if by chance he got upset over something, maybe a discussion, a mistake, something that would usually be brushed off easily. Riddle admits that he didn't think much about it, but now that he recalls, he had in the morning a call with his mother, which did make him upset for the rest of the day. It totally flew by him since just so many upsetting things happened lately that he didn't even realise that the call was actually the one who started the string.

Now Ren knows that his buddy's home situation is rather a delicate problem, so when Aketchi proposes to feed Mrs Rosehearts's name to the metanav, Ren intervenes and tells that they will all take action if Riddle deems it fit. This is something very personal and as such, the latter gets to call the shots.

Riddle decides that he has to finally address the flags he kept ignoring. He knew from a long time that something was wrong with his mother. Ren did help him see that. So he hopes to clear everything up one way or another. And if this is the fastest option, so be it.

Still, it came as a heavy hit for Riddle when the metanav confirmed that, indeed, Mrs Rosehearts had a palace. Unfortunately, his hunch was right and Riddle didn't miss a beat on the other words needed for the navigation process.

The group is meet with porcelain towers, over which are engraved different words/scripts, flailing with their colorful velvety flags. They seemed to represent things like 'honesty', 'loyalty', 'kindness', 'wisdom' and the middle one, the tallest, being 'obedience'. The treasure itself was visible from afar, sitting in the place of the top flag of the obedience tower. The towers were way too apart to grapple hook from one another and neither did they have walk-ways or anything interconnecting them at first glance, protected by gigantic spiky walls. Still, they didn't stay much and returned immediately back.

Ren asks again what shall be the call. Riddle stays a bit to think about it, before he demands that the rest of the team take no action regarding this one. Their most pressing issue is the casino heist right now. So everyone leaves it on a heavy note.

Ren tho, wants to have a heart-to-heart with the redhead, asking on why he doesn't want to change his mother's heart. Riddle explains that his mother is a well-respected doctor. It's clear that if her heart gets changed, not only his own living conditions will be revealed to the world, but no doubt suspicious medical records or less than innocent acts could also come to light. He says he fears for the consequences.

Ren tho, begs to different and says that maybe Riddle isn't afraid of the consequences of his mother, rather he fears what he'll discover inside. He offers to assist Riddle in exploring the place itself, promising that they will not change the woman's heart at all.

Riddle tho, admits that if they are going to do this mission together, he wants someone else to tag along too.

As such, one could see the next day the redhead going to Octavinelle. It was a surprise to see him asking for Floyd's presence, not that the latter wouldn't give it in a heartbeat. Floyd was very eager to find out what does goldfishie need so bad out of him. Riddle himself brings up that he wants Floyd to live up to his attendant duty and assist him in a palace.

And while the latter firstly brings up how Jade or Azul would've said a flat no, he wasn't them. And he was still absolved of his position until further action is taken. Clearly he points out what Riddle would even benefit from his presence in there. The redhead does admit that he has little to benefit, but he doesn't doubt that, as an attendant, Floyd would bring on the table something no other persona user could.

Floyd's response still stays yes, although he almost hesitated when he heard a big condition was to not tell anyone about it. Nor Azul or Jade. Still, the answer was yes and that's what truly mattered for Riddle.

Watch Ren's surprise to finally meeting another attendant that wasn't a smol child set on beating him up. We'll... Scrap that, Floyd was tall af compared to the twin wardens. So in his mind, he concluded that if u are tall, you get a shortie attendant, but if u are short, you get a tall attendant. Ah yes... The math is mathing.

Still, Floyd was the same old loose cannon. He had a glossary of personas, able to summon only the ones that Riddle discovered up until now. You could say he was a pelicular flavour of wild card.

Still, first 2 times it was more of sneaking around, seeing the place itself. It was disturbing at best how much everything was in order, nothing amiss, not even a beat or step of a shadow.

A noticeable thing was that Ren also had to drag off the twin wardens to see places they demand to see. So Riddle found it fit to tag along with Floyd as to entertain the guy for a bit and give Riddle peace with the whole 'goldfishie' teasing. One pelicular thing was that Floyd didn't recognise Justine and Caroline, but the 2 knew Floyd as 'Tragedy' and were aware that Floyd had a twin.

Then, you have VDC day. The day that, despite Riddle's initial pesimism, it went well at first. Only some early morning work before the meeting hour. The rest of PTs arrived at the established hour, and St first it was sunshine and rainbows. Going around stalls, talking with each other and having a great time together.

Although, Riddle did passively mention that NRC's VDC representatives are led by Vil Schonenheit, a famous actor and model. The name rings a bell for Makoto, who remembers that while they went in mementos without Joker or Rose, they encountered a shadow of someone named Vil Schonenheit.

-Joker and Rose were investigating the Mrs Rosehearts palace at that time, so the others were allowed to venture through the weaker levels of mementos.

This puts a question mark for Riddle, since Vil didn't overBlot, nor anyone said that he had any change in behaviour. Even the VDC started like normally. Thankfully Riddle managed to smuggle in the rest of the group in order for them to see the performances. Ofc, a vote went to NRC.

Yet RSA still won. Goddamnit Rook. :'3

Everything seemed way too fine. Still they had time until Sae turns back, so the rest of the day was spent goofing around a bit.

At night tho, the 2 wildcards and the attendant are wrapping up their exploration progress. The palace was so in order that it was shockingly easy to reach the treasure, while still seeing every nook and cranny of it. Indeed, as Riddle predicted, faulty medical records, decease notes, organs files, important documents and other medical illegalities were represented towards the bottoms of the towers, where one would find the underground tunnels meant to connect the towers one by one.

Except that in the obedience tower it was someone meant to be kept there: Mrs Rosehearts's cognitive Riddle. A puppet made out of porcelain, just like the towers, representing that just like this palace, Riddle was a product of work in his mother's eyes. The only things truly noticeable were the cracks through which roses would grow out and the strings that were attached to the ceiling, moving via a complicated mechanism over how it was dictated. Some were broken and thus the puppet was left discarded, in a corner of the room, hoped to never be noticed again.

Riddle knew well enough that Crowley had to inform his mother about the overBlot. Clearly she didn't outright tell him, but in her mind, already the redhead was a failure, a defective puppet. The puppet himself seemed to perk at the newcomers and as such he wanted to challenge them, for they aren't allowed to go further.

Rose demanded that this will be a battle in between him and... Well... Himself. So Joker and Floyd will stay on the sidelines as the 2 engaged in battle. Despite the puppet's best efforts, Rose still won and held the cognitive Riddle at rapier's point. He hesitated, which made the puppet mad and demand on why is he spared, why is Rose so weak that he cannot finish a given job.

Rose responds that, fortunately, he learned his wrongs and whatever his mother sees in him as 'obedient' and 'loyal', was truly something that died long ago. Because of this, now the cognitive Riddle is discarded and not wanted anymore. Because he disobeyed. And now is not worth to try and fix anything. The damage already was done and for once, it was a necessary evil.

So he cuts the puppet's head off, making it to shatter in a pile of shards and wilted flowers, who disappeared slowly. Joker does ask if they should go forward, but Riddle says that it's enough. That they won't return here at all. He got what he wanted and there's no more reason to go forward.

Floyd does ask why he is so prompt on not changing his mother's heart. The reply is simple: despite everything, Riddle still loves his mother. And if he makes the change of heart, he'll basically condamn her to jail, to a humiliating punishment. And he he only wants her to at least live in peace. It is no doubt that her actions will catch up with her at one point, but Riddle would rather first cut all the necessary strings in the real life before the punishment will befall her.

And even if he loves her, this was truly a more cruel punishment than simply changing her heart.

So this palace is left alone, to exist on its own and wait until it will destroy itself.

Except that shit cannot be easy at all, because the very next day, Riddle had a club meeting when they get busted by Charons. Despite putting his best fight with magic, the redhead is put down anyway, not after scorching a good chunk of the sports field. :'3

Oh, the other overBlot victims are here, which for some reason has Vil. Riddle asks what happened with Vil, to which the latter responds that he overBlotted, as a consequence of his actions. Not much detail it is given, nor Riddle pushes for more.

-At the end of chapter 5, everyone agreed to keep the overBlot a secret, as Malleus fixed the stage as well.

We are seeing Idia again! Not really the best place to meet your high-school aquitance, but anyway. :'D

Ortho was very happy for the fact that the others are here and they can play video-games together and hang out. Idia explains that they are here only for a few tests, so it won't take long until they'll be back to NRC like nothing happened.

Despite expectations, Idia allows for the others to have their phones, but they didn't have any signal, nor Internet access. Any photo/recording attempt was shut down immediately, rendering these things as absolutely useless.

What was not useless tho, was the metanav. Riddle discovered that since the thing worked with no problem. Neither his messages with the PTs were affected. He could still send them like normal. So it was no surprise that the others were shook at the news that their 2nd wildcard was in the magic FBI rn. :'D

Still, Riddle managed to look over the palaces history. Leona and Jamil still holded their decaying palaces, while Azul and Vil had no more mementos locations, nor a palace.

So with a wild thought, Riddle puts in Idia's name. The guy was pretty apathetic and despite his shy Demandour, he was snarky and mean when provoked. Add to that his high position in STIX.

It's not a hit.

So Riddle puts instead Ortho's name, not expecting much from a robot.

It's a fucking hit. And not just any simple one, but am entire palace.

Of course, Riddle has a hard time guessing what Ortho's distortions would really be. He guessed right that the latter has the entire world as part of his cognition. But what was surprising was that it was distorted as a torture room. He never expected for the kind robot boy who is so happy and cheerful every day to see the world as a horrible place meant for suffering.

Of course, Riddle had a few hours to himself as the results are rounding up post the VR tests. Those were literally the only tests done. As such, Riddle took the liberty to wonder through that palace.

He finds the ruins. A former shell of what it was supposed to be, depicted as a grueling place, where many lost their lives and lie there as decaying corpses. There wasn't any putrid smell, rather it was smelling like Sea-breeze.

This was a sign of overBlot, but something didn't add up at all.

Cue going back to the real world, just as alarms were blaring. This put Riddle on the spot as he firstly found the emergency door and opened it via magic. He did summon his magic pen insanely easy, so changing in his dorm uniform, Riddle got out on the main hall.

Which had him immediately bump into Idia. And not just any bump, the 2 barreled into each other. Of course, Riddle was ready to pin the latter to the ground and almost stab his staff into him, but then he noticed that Idia didn't wear his STIX attire, rather something more similar to his usual school uniform, with a few differences: the hoodie was fully opened and on the left leg it was a holster for a silver revolver. Idia also noticed the redhead holding his phone with the metanav still opened.

Pretty much is that spiderman pointing meme.

Idia insists that he has no time to waste, but Riddle says that he needs to come with him and find the others. Something is going on in the tartarus and currently, the 2 had vastly different priorities.

But, those get put aside when hacked Charons find them and are ready to blast these 2 off. Riddle wanted to use magic, but Idia is more faster in pulling out the gun itself. The redhead expected for Idia to shoot in the Charons, which wasn't that much of a smart move.

Watch his utter horror when Idia puts the said gun to his own temple and shoots with 0 hesitation. Instead of blood, it is heard a glass shattering sound as there is a boom of light and blue flames, before Riddle could clearly see a persona, in real life, which Idia used to put the Charons in their place.

It goes more like:

Idia: look... I know it's wierd, but you'll 100% forget it, so just roll with it for no- Riddle: YOU HAVE A PERSONA?! Idia: Yeah yeah... Detai-... wait... HOW TF DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PERSONAS?!

Screaming 101 with these 2 doofuses. :'3

Still, Riddle insists that they have to find the others, but Idia refutals that it's no doubt futile. Still, while they argue, the others find them, including the group led by the French he-man. Yay! Everyone's in here! :'3

So they bust in the main command room, dragging Idia by the scruff to also follow. Naturally, the whole situation is presented and so everyone has to split up. Idia additionally went with Azul and Riddle.

Upon entering the Tartarus, Riddle immediately was turned into his thief attire, sign that he stepped into a cognitive world. He's so fricking confused and Idia is also losing his shit about it.

Azul's all like: you 2 are done screaming or I'm gonna miss my appointment at 17 too?

The latter clears it up for the 2: they are both wildcards, but they hail from different sources of will. Riddle's persona was manifested because of his rebellion spirit awakened, while Idia hailed from the lineage of death itself, his will manifested as the embrace of inevitable end. As for Azul himself, he's simply an attendant of a 3rd wildcard.

Clearly, Idia and Riddle lose their shit at this new information, but Azul says that mayhaps they should mind their current business, prevent the gate of the underworld from being yanked open and allowing Ortho to crawl out. Riddle, naturally, is very confused, to which Idia explains that the Shroud's curse is a sign of godhood. Except that this godhood is limited by the mortality itself and the sacred duty of guarding the underworld. Ortho was lost long ago to the tartarus, thus his godhood coming in full swing and hence by the real Ortho breaking out without anymore mortality chaining him down, it brings out only calamity. As such, Idia had no other choice but to accept his status as a wildcard and give his own godhood in order to seal his younger brother away. This was the backstory behind Idia building Robo-Ortho, as a way to cope with everything.

Azul, unlike Floyd, doesn't summon any persona, nor shows how his attendant self looks like. He keeps it 'humble' and insists to not give it too much thought about it.

Cue going down and finally facing the true Ortho. The other 2 teams already did do their damage, so it was time for the last 3. Idia had to summon his best persona he had: Hades, which paired with the thunder spear, was enough to knock off Ortho back into the underworld.

Except that he also dragged the robot body and Grim down, which Idia couldn't allow. So you guessed it, the leap of faith. :3

Vil saves them tho. Idia managed to grab Grim, initially saying that he confused him for Ortho. The reason he did that was because grim coughed out Ortho's memory card, which is what Idia felt as his brother.

But old man Vil! Old man Vil! :D

Returning back to NRC, Malleus does one thing right and returns Vil's youth. Lilia was also there, mostly to supervise Malleus, yet he still gave a greeting to Azul, who responded as well before he was bodyslammed by the twins.

For Riddle tho, in a few days, he had to help with the casino heist. Immediately that one goes in the gutter as they are forced to split up and Joker is caught by the police.

But despite that, Riddle still made a slip for 2 days, staying overnight and helping Sojiro with the cafe, while he and Sae got back Ren, via a switcheroo. Get bamboozled, Aketchi. :3

-Post Futaba's palace, Sojiro was made aware of the phanthom thief business along with Riddle's presence and the magic :'3

So the group's new target? Shido! Riddle recognises the name as the name of the man Ren said he got him on probation in the first place, so clearly this makes things personal now.

Usually, the leadership decisions were taken in between Riddle and Ren, but since now it was personal, Ren had full leadership role now.

So they don't waste time. March was just around the corner and so they didn't have much time until the ballout counts will commence. So there was little one could do in this situation. They had a tight deadline and they had to cater to it.

Despite initial expectations, Idia returns after a week, with the brand new Ortho. It seems like, finally, Idia chained Ortho's godhood and real self in the robot body, thus returning his 'mortality' and allowing him to roam the world freely. With that, Idia also offered to repay Riddle for his immense help. And as a fellow wildcard, Idia accepted to join in the Shido operation.

Everyone else in the PTs are losing their shit when they see just how Idia summons his personas. No badass outfit and straight up giving people heart attacks. :'D

Idia and Futaba are now friends tho. :D

Despite expectations, when hanging out in Tokyo, Idia was pretty used to Japanese culture and used a charm to hide his flaming hair and blue lips. When asked about it, Idia admits that it's not his first time in Japan. Although he initially was on Tatsumi Port Island when he was around 8 to 9. That was the time when he sealed originally his brother. And forfeit his godhood for the greater good.

He explains that gods are chained down by the mortality or the cognitive nihilism as a way to prevent them from bringing calamity. The real world would crumble apart along the cognitive world if a god were to fully roam around the normal people, for it couldn't stand an imense power without reprecausions.

Still, the Shido palace has us facing Aketchi again and finally seeing his true look and his real persona: Loki. There's little to do against the cannon so I guess we say bye-bye to the sketchy detective. :v

For the calling card, Idia aided Futaba in hacking on with the video and everything. He wasn't a tech genius for nothing, so finally meeting his match in programming is smth that gets both Idia and Futaba really fired up. Plus they both like animes and can bond over the burden of social anxiety.

So the day of the big heist comes. Shadow Shido is not smth to play around with and everyone realises it when the shadow sees Joker as the deemed leader, so he separates him from the others and takes him on a 1 vs 1.

Joker ofc wins and they have to make a run for it. They think Skull bit the dust, but nah, he's alive! So all is well. :D

Except that once Shido does confess, nothing really changed in the public's opinion. They still wanted Shido to be prime-minister, but with the guy dipping out, clearly it was chaos in the political world.

Meanwhile, back in NRC, Lilia announces his sudden retirement. With things getting so messy back in Tokyo, Riddle didn't pay so much mind to it. Idia did do his part and filled him up on the necessary points, including the bigass farewell party.

So that's going to gutter when Malleus goes delulu and overblots, trapping everyone in their dream worlds. Unfortunately, for Riddle, he finds himself in the Velvet room. Except that Jade wasn't here, but Floyd. The latter admits that he summoned Riddle here as to avoid him falling victim to Malleus's unique magic and get wrapped in a fantasy.

Riddle does ask what is he supposed to do now. He needs to reach Ren somehow, he needs to fight the overBlot and get it over with, but he's bound to this damn chair and Floyd cannot do anything about it.

The latter admits to it, but also adds that these bindings were set for him by a fake god, who wanted ultimate control. And it all dials back to the first wildcard who defied fate: Idia.

Idia's attendant is Jade, the supposed macabre Comedy that Idia has to deal with. With Ortho falling into tartarus and thus being freed from his mortality, Idia had to forfeit his godhood. But that wasn't the entire story. Idia worked with Igor, the master of the velvet room. An entity that lives in between dream and reality. It was a loophole where gods could retreat and live peacefully, yet in solitude. Clearly, not a lot of deities liked the idea, so they either confined themselves by mortality, roaming among normal people or went into the cognitive world, seeking to have their control in there.

One such instance was a rogue entity that created the TV world. Azul was the interlude in between comedy and tragedy, as such he was the deemed attendant for that wild card: Lilia. Being such an old wildcard, Azul had time to shine as an attendant, as such, Igor deemed him to take over the twisted wonderland's velvet room. As powerful as Igor was, he knew that when it came Floyd's turn, there was going to be a tragedy. And it truly did when the fake God of control proposed a game, locking away Igor and denying Azul's soul from entering the velvet room. Jade was forcefully put to be an attendant, as such Floyd had access inside only when Riddle would start to crack from his expected evolution. As such, when tragedy truly struck Riddle, Floyd was able to freely go in and out of the velvet room, releasing his twin from his forced place as an attendant.

-Azul used the contracts to cover his soul with multiple ones as to try and by-pass the said ban condition

The magicless world was meant to have same fates as twisted wonderland. It was a reflection of fates and circumstances that was broken with Idia, maintained by Lilia and now it was Riddle's turn to either maintain the streak or do something else. And Floyd advises that he wants to see what Riddle truly thinks of this binds for now.

And Riddle, trying to break out of his seat, he manages to rip off the ribbons. They still left some nasty marks, but Riddle was free and he felt liberated. Still, he has to warn Ren about it, so he demands for Floyd to lead him up to Ren's velvet room.

The latter says that he currently cannot do this. Something is blocking him. The best he could do is reunite with his twin and Azul and get free from Malleus's dream spell before doing something more rash.

Meanwhile, with Idia and Ortho managing to find Silver and Co after promptly getting trauma dump by the war, Azul also manges to find the group, snapping Lilia out of it (via roundhouse slapping the Mcshit out of him).

-the dream version of Lilia was the general Lilia, henceforth he had to be shook awake from this.

We also finally see Azul's attendant look for the first time. He was more or so resembling some pirate mixed with mafia aesthetics if one wants to pinpoint. But maybe it's because of the frilly blouse. Unlike the twins's hetercromia, which allowed for 1 gold eye, he kept his blue eyes, them changing to gold whenever he summoned a persona or got extremely mad.

So we get to fight Malleus via different dream planes thanks to Silver's Unique magic! :D

Still, once Malleus was snapped out of it, there was one problem: back in the real world, Riddle still was in his thief attire, sign that something was wrong. Lilia admits that he never saw such thing, but Idia says it's akin to the dark hour, which wasn't supposed to happen. The dark hour was abolished, thus separating the cognitive and real planes for good.

Riddle concludes that he needs to go to Tokyo ASAP. But Grim ate Malleus's blot stone and went ravenous, into a gigantic beast.

So Idia and Lilia reassure that they could handle this. Riddle should go and hunt down that pesky god of control that made this mess of their worlds. And for their sake, to beat it up extra hard. >:3

Azul is the one that opens the velvet room prison door, telling Floyd to go as well and tell Igor that he did everything in his power to stop this. The latter doesn't want to go, but Jade and Azul insist that Floyd pulls to the end with his job as an attendant. This is what all of their siblings want.

Idia be all like 'wait you 3 are ACTUAL SIBLINGS?!' Sure... That's what's bothering u rn?

Nonetheless, thankfully Riddle comes into the prison at the time the fake Igor already left and Ren fused the twins into Lavenza. Now that's someone that Floyd recognised as 'his youngest sister'. Lavenza was also happy to be back, yet the threat of the false god hung over everyone's necks right now. Now free in Ren's world, it made the metaverse and the real world to crash into one another. Riddle confirms it by saying that in his world, already this is happening as well. Idia and Lilia are taking care of the overBlot Grim that is causing havoc.

So with finding all of PTs and roaming the new reality/palace of masses, we get to fight the false God.

Now, for the grand finale, imagine a double awakening. Both Arsene and judgement queen evolve into Satanel and Chernaborg respectively, ending with 2 bullets shot. One is through the false God's head, while the other goes through the chest, both killing it and making it to desintegrate as everything crumbles back to normal.

The Aftermath consists of Yuu coming back to their world as the false god originated from twisted wonderland thus by swapping places with Yuu, it allowed for them to defy fate and tip it in their favor of starting that ruin chain. Grim was merely created as a product of that magic exchanged as Idia explained later.

Speaking of Idia, he doesn't have many plans for his 4th year, but he said that Ortho kept insisting to visit around, so he guesses he'll comply to the wish and maybe travel in between his internship and work.

Lilia is still retiring, although he said he'll just go to his favorite town, Inaba, and live in there quietly. He promises he'll visit the Briar Valley from time to time tho. At least Malleus, Sebek and Silver get reassured that in the end it will be alright.

For our Octa trio, the 3 still have to finish their given lives in here before they will fully go back to the velvet room. Doesn't mean they won't stay over at their other siblings more often than not.

As for Riddle and Ren? Well, Ren was bailed out of juvi and will go back to his hometown. And Riddle is settling himself to move out on his own and simply cut ties with his mother for good. Now the 2 do visit each other, via the shells of the palaces that had their rulers ob irl. Those are pieces of metaverse that cannot dissappear and thus are their gateway in between the 2 worlds. Still sometimes the 2 also plan to visit Tokyo and see their friends too.

In the end, everyone was free!

And that's it! :D

It was fun to make a plot line where you don't only include a different take on the usual elements you keep using, but also add sprinkles of lore that tie in much more stories and hint at the other persona games.

Other than that, I'm pretty proud of how everything flowed out.

And a smol tag of @grandstrangerwhispers ! Thanks for permission to use your ask idea for this! Hope you enjoyed this extremely long trainwreck. :'3

Welp! Until next time! Buh bye!

#twisted wonderland #twst riddle #p5 x twst #persona 5 #Guess it's time for new au :3 #There are smol references to my other P5 x Twst aus #BUT no P4 or P3 aus references unfortunately :'3 #This was so fun to write tbh #Like I decided to go in all directions possible :'3

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