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An Easter Chocolate Disaster!

Fufufu, posting this a little late in the day (at least where I am) but happy Easter! I hope you had a fun day, packed full of fun activities like egg hunting! Or, if you’re anything like me and didn’t do anything, then, I hope you had a nice day!

Additionally, happy birthday to Vil! Always and forevermore the prettiest one of them all! Hope you enjoy! No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

"Grim, can you even eat chocolate?" You ask skeptically. 

"Yes, henchman. I'm not a cat dazo." Grim rolls his eyes, reaching for another egg. You swat his paw away. "Okay, I'm just making sure." You frown. It's a total lie. You just wanted the chocolate eggs to yourself. 

"Ding dong!" 

"Henchman, the doorbell's ringing dazo! Go shut it up, go!" Grim shouts, eagerly inching closer to the chocolate eggs. "Fine! Just don't- I see that!" You glare at him as you put down the bowl.

Wait, we don't have a doorbell. The thought only crosses your mind as you walk toward the door. You cautiously open it. There's a box in front of you. For some reason, you're relieved it's not a letter. Though, attached to the box is a little card. 

Hey, little demon! We got a new shipment of lovely chocolate eggs just in time for Easter. My friends on the other side suggested sending over a package to you, for your continued patronage at Mr. S's Mystery Shop! Remember, we've got almost everything IN STOCK! 

Happy Easter!

You blink. You reach down for the box and bring it inside. Unsurprisingly, Grim is caught in the middle of shoving another chocolate egg down his throat. He gulps. 

"Don't blame me if you start vomiting and peeing all over the place." You huff, tucking the box under your arms. "Fygaa! I told you, I'm no cat dazo!" Grim insists. "Sure, sure. Since you had all of those, then this box is all mine!" You smirk and watch as his jaw drops, drool almost forming at his mouth.

"Wha-! I want them too dazo!" He gets up immediately, rushing over to your legs and standing. "Nope, they're all for me. Too bad, too sad." You grin wickedly, you open the box and pop a chocolate egg into your mouth. 

It happens too fast. 

Poof!

A cloud of smoke later, everything overwhelms you. "F-Fygaaa!? Henchman!?" Grim's voice is extremely loud and it's…great sevens. You look up, a gigantic Grim towers over you, looking just as shocked. 

What you're even more surprised at is the face that looks back at you in the reflection of Grim's wide blue eyes. A terrified, fluffy bunny. A loud scream erupts from your throat.

I might post this on Ao3? Not sure. I’ll be releasing individual dorm parts (and then maybe individual short headcanons for the boys) as we go!  If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

I FOUND IT GUYS I SPENT HALF AN HOUR LOOKING FOR THIS VIDEO AND ITS HERE

Leona Kingscholar x Reader: Love Letters (5)

Oops, this was supposed to be done earlier but school got in the way as usual lol

We’ll be meeting Rook soon as well as Trey again! 

Hope you enjoy!

No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 [!] | PART 6 | END

"You scared me. I almost thought you were Rook…" Ruggie shudders, jumping a little. "Uh, who's Rook?" You question him. 

"You haven't felt him yet? I think he's been watching you for most of the day. It's better for me if he targets somebody else anyway, shishi!" He gets up, dusting off his pants. "Oh, the weirdo in the…yeah, right! The letters! It was you, right?!" You accuse him.

He raises an eyebrow before a look of shock crosses his face. Ruggie bursts into another round of giggles. You glare at him, embarrassed. "It's not funny, dude! Just tell me." You huff.

"Hahaha! Ah-" You swear to the great sevens, Ruggie was clutching his stomach, wiping tears from his eyes. His reaction almost made you crack up as well. "You- You're so- Ahaha! I can't believe you…you think it's me!?" Ruggie sneers, his tail wagging slightly, "Just wait till he hears this!"

"He?!" You look at him incredulously. "So, you know who it is! Tell me!" You shake him roughly by the shoulders. 

He pushes out of your grip rather easily, much to your disappointment. "Nope, can't do that. Unless you have more than he's paying, my lips are zipped." Ruggie grins. You glare at him, it totally seems like he's teasing you. Almost everybody at this school had heard that you lived in a ramshackle dorm, therefore it was only natural to assume you have zero cents to your name as well. 

"Uh, what if I hurt you?" You wince upon hearing that come out of your mouth. You know how ridiculous you sound. 

"Shishishi, what are you going to do? You're in a bad spot, y'know." He taunts you. "Hm. If I give you a hint, will you call off your red blue duo and your cat? We can call everything forgiven, right?" This Valentines day has been torturous. It's really not that much to ask in return for information. You're sure he probably has an ulterior motive.

"Um, I can try. They don't really listen to me, and Grim's not a cat!" You scowl, wary. "If you're so sure about that. You better try real hard! Shishishi, if I tell you, maybe he'll start treating me better." He giggles the last part to himself. 

"Right! You've met him before. Pay attention to his face, he's exceptionally handsome and has green eyes." Ruggie tells you, you nod frantically along. 

You only knew about two people with green eyes at NRC that you had talked to. That would be Cater and some random first year who had matching green hair. You really doubted it was Cater and you hadn't talked to that other guy enough to warrant gifts and love letters. 

He also seemed to dislike you, for whatever reason. 

"I gotta go before that Rook finds me. Cya, shishishi!" He picks a handful of dandelions and runs off before you can even get a word in. "T-Thank you?!" You shout after him. "You and him owe me one now!" Ruggie cheerfully waves with his free hand. Then, he's just gone. 

In the distance, you see a red and blue blur approaching. 

"[Name]...stop…running off everywhere!" Ace yells as he sharply inhales, "I don't understand this crazy track-head." 

"Track-head, really? Track is a great sport to build endurance!" Deuce is a little out of breath but otherwise seems to be in better shape than Ace. "[Name]! You were so fast! Are you sure you don't want to join Track?" He turns to you excitedly. 

"Henchman! My legs are all wobbly, I'm so tired dazo!" Grim promptly falls on your feet. You pick him up with a sigh, "I can't, I'm already in the taking-care-of-Grim club."

"Are you sure that isn't a full-time job?" Ace snorts. "Nope, that's why I'm handing him off to you guys after school. Grim-sitting is on you guys in the afternoon." You smile. 

"Why can't I come with, henchman dazo?" Grim whines. "Because I'll be studying and doing boring things. It'll be more fun with ADeuce." You gently convince him. "ADeuce? You better not make that a thing." Ace huffs. "Ever since Cater called us that…I don't want to be associated with him." Deuce shudders. 

"You think I want to be associated with you? Please, you're not very good at making jokes."

"These two…" You and Grim share a look. "Class is probably starting soon, we should get going." You hope to distract them from chasing down that beastman.

 "Yeah, we'll avenge that lost deluxe menchi katsu sandwich dazo!" Grim exclaims. "Maybe you should focus on class more." A lying hypocrite you were. It was a miracle the two of you got the marks you did. Under your collaborative effort as a singular student, you both pass with decent grades. 

"Considering you two barely keep up, it's crazy you two haven't failed yet." Ace snickers. "Don't worry! If we work hard enough, we'll become honor students!" Deuce smiles, a look of determination on his face. You can't deny him. 

"I'll become the greatest magician dazo!" 

"Oh yeah, by the way, I got a hint bout my uh…admirer." You tell them as you all walk back. "Was it that — what did Cater call him again? — guy then?" Deuce curiously asks. "No, I don't think so. Ruggie told me he's attractive with green eyes and that we've met before." You explain.

"Wow, that narrows it down by a lot."

"Shut it, Ace. It's not my fault almost all of the students here are attractive."

"Green eyes…You don't think it's Cater, is it?!" Deuce gasps. "No way! Since that Ruggie guy seemed familiar with him, I assumed the…admirer…would be a Savanaclaw member." You suggest. "What, so you wanna go around Savanaclaw, looking into people's eyes?" Ace questions, clearly doubtful. 

You hadn't planned this far. "Uh…maybe?" You shrug. "And if it's some random Savanaclaw member, what'll you do about it, huh?" You hate to admit that Ace is making valid points.

"There's someone else who we could ask about this." You snap, a light bulb going off in your head, "Do you guys know a guy named Rook?"

Deuce's eyes widen in realization.

"Ah, I think I heard Trey talk about someone named that before!"

Your next lead would be the mystery stalker, Rook.

Ao3: HERE

If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

LITERAL. LIVESAVER. TYSMMM

Obey Me VOL I

*intended for educational purposes with no intent of financial gain as is stipulated to be fair use by law*

This is to help everyone with their research for fan fictions, analyzing, and blogs. This link is for a personal file of the written version of the contents of volume one

I use this to help me find specific moments in the game and I hope it helps you too

I don't Eliza has ever heard of consensual marriage before. I honestly never liked her. First, she and her ghosts invaded NRC- a place that didn't belong to them and terrorized the students. She KIDNAPPED poor Idia and forced him to be her groom without asking what he wanted. Third, she slapped all the boys who were attempting to rescue Idia (who ungratefully trash talked them in the process). And then there's Eliza's old-fashioned ideals. I could go on, but it'd get too long eheh

!! 👀 No, no! This is actually a really interesting topic of discussion, lemme word vomit my thoughts out, Anon!

I have a lot thoughts on Eliza and on the Ghost Marriage event itself, so I'd like to take this chance to share them. Please take what I say with a grain of salt, as much of it is personal interpretation based on the information presented to us in game.

***Ghost Marriage event and Groom-for-a-Day card(s) spoilers ahead!!***

You're perfectly valid in saying that you dislike Eliza. Everyone's allowed to like and to not like whatever characters they want.

I agree that many of the things she did and said were over-the-top and unwarranted, but I think that was the entire point of Ghost Marriage: to be a parody of the "traditional Disney fairy tale romance", much like how the film Enchanted was. There were just too many not-so-subtle jabs at common romance tropes for it not to be.

For example, Eliza has unrealistic expectations of her future husband, and she thinks everything will magically work out, even though Idia is clearly distressed and against the marriage. Later, when the other boys are deployed to rescue Idia, there are even more jokes made using Eliza's extreme ideals as a springboard to jump off of. Yes, it was wrong of her to slap people around, but it was played off as something to laugh at because she would always be set off by the smallest things.

The highlight here definitely has to be Leona and Trey's attempt to woo her with song. Disney is especially known for its songs in movies, and Eliza just takes that idea and runs with it. She expects her ideal prince to perfectly finish any song she starts/serenade to her, as if they're actually in a Disney musical number. Obviously, if anyone attempted that in real life, you'd react the same way the TWST boys did: with confusion.

I think Idia trash talking the rescue attempts is meant to add to the humor. There's a huge contrast in how the boys of NRC see this courtship and "romance" and how Eliza sees it--that's where both the event's conflict and where the bulk of the humor comes from.

What I personally appreciate about Ghost Marriage is that it offers a realistic portrayal of love and marriage when you look past all the silliness of the event. Well, not on Eliza’s part, but on the part of the TWST boys we all know and love.

A mistake that people outside of this fandom often make is that TWST is an otome game, based simply on the fact that the cast is all male and full of pretty boys. However, despite TWST not being an otome, the fandom is very yume-centric and romance focused, because the characters are so appealing. The fact that TWST is based on Disney properties--Disney, who is known for their interpretations of classic fairy tales and their stereotypical happily ever afters--has set up this expectation of romance.

But Twisted Wonderland, the game itself, has a very nuanced and realistic approach in how it addresses romance. It’s played mainly for laughs in Ghost Marriage (and the main story does a good job of highlighting the boys’ unsavory points), but delve into the lines spoken by the characters and the Groom-for-a-Day personal stories, and you’ll see even more of this.

The most obvious example here is our groom, Idia. From the very beginning, he expresses not wanting to marry Eliza, but it seems that this sentiment extends to beyond just Eliza. He has a very negative outlook on romance in general, which is corroborated by many of his Groom-for-a-Day lines. Idia mocks the concept of living “happily ever after” and “eternal love”. He remarks that love is an illusion created by the brain, and even points out that everyone is still a student, so they should prioritize their studies over romance.

While Idia does seem to enjoy romantic materials (games, anime, etc), Idia himself has a very cynical view of “real world” love, and he makes that abundantly clear. To me, Idia represents the person that enjoys romance in media, but is not interested in the pursuit of romance himself. He can enjoy it when he’s an observer, but to actually be involved in romance is a big turn-off.

Okay, but about Idia’s rescuers?

Let’s start with Rook. Of the TWST cast, I would say Rook is the most positive in regards to love. He’s always willing to help others out, and he’s always appreciative of things, even when they’re grim or the circumstances aren’t in his favor. Ace points out to Rook that when he goes around praising everything, it makes Rook seem less trustworthy. To this, the huntsman only says they are his true feelings--he wants to love everything equally.

Rook is a free spirit. He loves whatever and whomever he wishes when it suits him. He can be fickle, but he can also find goodness, something to admire, in everyone and everything. Rook’s love is an all-encompassing and unconditional kind.

Riddle’s personal stories don’t revolve around love in an super overt sense. It’s about him running into Malleus and discussing what makes a worthwhile leader. See, Riddle is a traditionalist (which suits his personality). He expresses that if he gets married, he wants to have a marriage like that of the Queen of Hearts and her husband, which to him was a “loyal” marriage. He wants to have a textbook definition of marriage, and that’s perfectly valid.

Riddle’s personal story also reiterates something that is mentioned briefly in the Ghost Marriage event: that Malleus is royalty, so his proposals are not to be taken lightly. 

This is a feature that helps to define Twisted Wonderland as its own separate entity from other Disney titles and properties. In Twisted Wonderland, being royalty means something. In almost all other forms of Disney media I can think of, being royalty equates to dressing fancy, being rich, and having all the power without any responsibility. But in Twisted Wonderland? They remind you every so often that this character is royalty, and there are strict terms of service and rules that come with that position, including being sheltered and burdened with royal duties (actual politics and governing), and not being able to just “love” whoever you want, even if just for a rescue mission.

Moving on to Epel! In his personal stories, he’s questioning if the “ideal prince” even exists. The line that pops out to me the most is that “the bride seems to care more about the image of an ideal prince than blood lines or family names”. This ties back into how the rest of Disney media often portrays romance as opposed to how TWST portrays it. Heck, in recent years, Disney has tried to subvert its own standing on romance (example: in Frozen, Elsa tells Anna “you can’t marry a man you just met”, whereas in Disney classics like The Little Mermaid, the plot revolves around quickly getting the main couple together).

Obviously, characters can be “perfected” with the magic of media. The image of an “ideal prince” DOES exist because of media, but Epel’s pointing out that it’s not realistic. He’s implying that Eliza is in love with the idea of perfection, and she has lost sight of things that should be important, like blood lines (genetic dispositions and diseases that could carry over to children) or family names (meeting your spouse’s family, getting to know them, etc.). It’s a criticism that can be easily overlooked while you’re too dazzled by Epel riding in on a white horse.

Lilia represents another type of person in regards to love. He’s the person that knows exactly what he wants, but not in the traditional sense. At no point does Lilia ever detail his ideal life partner. Instead, his personal stories are littered with subtle hints that Lilia has no plans to settle down. He never outright says it, but he implies it in other ways, like saying how it’s a shame that Sebek and Silver will never get to see him in a groomsuit.

I don’t think Lilia is as bitter or cynical about love as Idia is, but I think he definitely has his own reasons for not pursuing love. I don’t think it’s related to his age, since Lilia has always marched to the beat of his own drum and done whatever he likes, regardless of his age. He acts super youthful for a fae that’s several hundred years old. No, I believe Lilia just... isn’t ready, nor does he want to, commit.

I don’t have concrete proof or any real information to go off of, but Lilia was able to raise Silver just fine on his own. He may very well just be used to doing things alone, seeing as he enjoys traveling the world by himself. Not to mention, he’s a war veteran. He must have seen many of his loved ones perish in combat--so maybe that’s made him hesitant to be tied down, in case he loses more of them. The reason could be more innocent than that, like maybe Lilia just wants to focus on his duties as Malleus’s retainer, or he just likes his solitude.

In any case, Lilia lacks Idia’s cynical views on love, but he, like Idia, doesn’t plan to get married... and that’s okay. We can see that Lilia is totally happy with himself without romantic love. He has his family and duties to keep him feeling fulfilled. Lilia is a demonstration that platonic love--specifically familial love--is just as valid as romantic love.

And finally, we have Ace.

ACE.

Okay.

You can call him an asshole all you like for ghosting his ex-girlfriend, but honestly? Hats off to Ace. I’m not saying what he did was necessarily right (it’s definitely a jerk move), but it’s realistic.

First of all, it’s pretty rare in these types of games to mention canon romantic relationships at all. I think the reasoning for this is because the mere MENTION of another person being with a character that is pulled from gacha takes away from their “worth”, their “availability”. You’re less incentivized to pull for your waifu or husbando because they’re already “taken”, so good on TWST for changing it up a bit.

Alright, back to Ace’s asshole move. Remember that this dude is 16. JUST 16. Ghosting your S/O or losing interest in them is perfectly reasonable for an immature teenager to do. You’re still young and learning--and heck, many adults still do this. No one is a perfect prince. To quote Trey, “I’m just a high school boy. What do you expect from me?”

Ace is an imperfect boyfriend, despite that speech he gives to Eliza about what the “ideal” partner is like. Ace may know what he wants in a partner, but there’s no guarantee he’s prepared for a relationship himself—and that’s a reflection of what happens in real life. People are imperfect, they fuck up in relationships.

After all, real relationships are the antithesis of Eliza’s ideals.

Real relationships don’t involve one person aggressively imposing their will on their partner. It should be equal parts give and take, and it shouldn’t be rushed or forced.

Real relationships aren’t perfect. Your personality won’t fix itself because of your partner, and your partner’s personality won’t fix because of you. You’ll disagree, you’ll fight, you’ll make mistakes. That doesn’t make the relationship necessarily a bad one, it just depends on how you work together to resolve your differences and move on from the disputes.

Real relationships don’t involve perfect people, either. You’re individuals with your own strengths and weaknesses. You shouldn’t cling to your partner and act like they’re infallible--and neither should they to you.

Real relationships take time and work.

With all of that being said, we can see that TWST has a very unconventional approach to love and romance compared to its contemporaries. They make fun of many common tropes and actually have a more realistic portrayal of “love” than most other mobage I’ve seen. There are some subtle things they do that also lend to this, like not running a traditional Valentine’s Day or White Day event in February/March (instead giving us Vargas Camp), or the Halloween Groovies being actually scary art rather than being traditional fanservice art.

I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to express my appreciation of minor details like that. Ever since the Ghost Marriage rerun, and the addition of the Idia and Lilia cards, I’ve been thinking long and hard about all of this, because I personally resonate a lot with those two in their views on love. I really like the lore and the representation that their Groom-for-a-Day cards add to TWST, that love isn’t treated like this infallible solution for everything like in so many other Disney properties. 

You can praise TWST for a lot of things, but I feel this is something that isn’t appreciated enough... So I wanted to express my gratitude for it.

Leona Kingscholar x Reader: Love Letters (2)

I think I might just start posting stuff on Ao3 before Tumblr? Just because Ao3 is easier to access and post stuff on the go. Also, I’m just more familiar with Ao3 :)

Anyways, here’s the 2nd part!

Hope you enjoy!

No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

PART 1 | PART 2 [!] | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | END

SUMMARY: You think about the identity of your possible...admirer. Or is this all a cruel prank? You best keep your guard up at NRC after all!

"Food dazo!" Grim cheerfully leapt forward. He hops onto your desk, tail swaying as he picks up a pouch. 

"Uh…" You could only mumble. You weren't quite sure what to do with this information. Was somebody threatening you by sending you these ominous letters or…? Nope, it was a good idea to just shut down that idea completely. Falling for any of the pretty boys here was going to be a bad idea. One that you'd regret so badly. 

You really couldn't help yourself though. 

"Open it, open it!" Ace urges him excitedly. Grim pulls open the pouch. "Hearts…?" Deuce looks from above, confused. "Haha, somebody's got a secret crush on you!" The red head begins laughing even harder. 

"Candy! Don't mind if I do dazo!" Grim pops one in his mouth. "What if it was poisoned, Grim? You can't just put random stuff in your mouth!" You scold him, taking the pouch from him. "Fygaa! You think it's poisoned?! Ack-" Grim's eyes widened in disgust as he tries to cough it out. You try to help to no avail and he simply swallows it. 

"Tastes pretty good dazo!" 

"Candy hearts for the prefect? I think someone has a little crush on them!" Ace teasingly comments. "Shut up, do we really need everyone to know?" You huff, a blush slightly creeps up your face. It's embarrassing! What did the gifter think they were doing? 

You look around the class to stare down any eavesdroppers. As soon as they realized you were looking at them, they quickly looked away. Huh. Usually, they'd snicker in response. They didn't have the decency to even pretend they weren't listening because they knew. What could you even do against them? 

Either they finally realized your might or it was the person behind the letter and candy. You don't know if the thought relieved you or just made you more wary of the gifter.

"Hey, you. Did you see who put this here?" You decide to ask a classmate. He's a Savanaclaw member and it's obvious even without the arm band. 

He looks like a deer caught in the light for a while before his expression snaps into a glare. "No, I don't have to say anything!" He growls at you. You blink and just turn around. 

Your other classmates look jittery and nervous as they try to look anywhere but you. 

"Is it just me or is the class acting strange?" Deuce whispers. "I bet they know something about this but we're threatened to keep hush. Ooh, what if your admirer is someone powerful?" Ace theorizes with a grin. "As long as they give me food, they can have [Name] dazo." Grim nodded. 

"Grim! I can't believe you'd sell me out like that! If someone gave me stable living conditions and some love, I'd leave you too!" You gasp, pretending to be offended. 

You are sweating bullets. You hope Ace isn't right. He's usually not right anyway, right? You reassure yourself.

"Puppies, settle down! Class is starting." With professor Crewel's entrance, everyone quickly takes a seat and the room falls silent. During his lesson, you play with the strings of the pouch in your pocket.

You try to imagine who this admirer could be. Was it somebody you knew? If it wasn't, was this some cruel prank? And if it isn't a prank…there's a certain charm to a random stranger falling in love with you. 

Would he be as bold as Ace? As compassionate as Deuce? As cheerful as Cater? Maybe perhaps as strict as Riddle or even as caring as Trey? 

You just hoped this admirer didn't have the worst traits of them all. Knowing your luck, they really might. You racked your head, trying to think of more possibilities as to who this could be. You didn't really think it was in line with what you knew them to be to do this. 

By the time you start focusing on the lesson again, it's already over. You blink and shake your head. Oh no, you hope you didn't miss anything important. You'd just ask Ace or Deuce later. 

You head to your next period after that. It isn't until lunch that you finally get the chance to read that card. It's simplistic but you get the feeling it's quite expensive. You're so confused.

You pass Grim the pouch of candy hearts after you check if it's poisoned or cursed. He munches on them while you all walk to the cafeteria. The halls are weirdly devoid of students, only a few students still loitering around. It made sense since it was lunch time but there tended to be more people outside. 

"Ugh, I'm going to get mugged or something while walking home today." You groan. "Don't worry, the Great Grim will protect his henchman dazo!" Grim proclaims proudly with a grin. You smile. "Do you need me to walk you home, [Name]?" Deuce asks, cracking his knuckles with a dark look. "You triggered his bad boy switch." Ace accuses you with a frown. 

"Knock it off, you jerk-"

"It's okay, I'll be studying in the library after school anyway. You guys can watch Grim for me, right?" 

"Oh, su-" Ace claps a hand over his mouth, leaning forward. Upon seeing his eager face, you sigh and roll your eyes. 

"What do you want?"

"So, I heard today there's this super popular bakery in town that comes to promote themselves once every month." Somehow you already have a bad feeling of where this was going.

"Ah, I remember Cater mentioning that! They sell our real quick, right? I saw the picture of the egg salad sandwich he posted." Deuce adds excitedly, pulling Ace's hand away from him.

"So?" 

"Get us the deluxe menchi katsu sandwich!"

Ao3: HERE

If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

hi miss raven I have a question to ask. do you know the timeline of each chapters?? like I know the prologue was held at the start of the new academic year, but what about the other chapters? it's been bugging my mind since a long time ago but I just remembered about it😭

The main story gives ample hints that indicate what time of year each episode takes place in! A quick summary for you:

The prologue takes place at the start of a new school year (very late summer, early autumn). We know this because Yuu is isekai’d into Twisted Wonderland around the time of the school entrance ceremony, and due to the timing of the other episodes of the main story.

Episode 1 takes place in early autumn, as we follow the students starting a new semester and getting acclimated to their school lives.

Episode 2 takes place in autumn as well. If I had to put a more specific estimate to it, I would guess October, since this is when many homecoming games in the real world take place (and assuming that the Magift/Spelldrive tournament mentioned in this episode is the TWST equivalent to that).

Episode 3 takes place in late autumn (November) to early winter (December). This is implied via the mention of “final exams” for the semester, as well as Crewel mentioning that people that don’t do well on them will need to take supplemental lessons during winter break.

Episode 4 takes place mid-winter, as Jamil and multiple other characters make explicit mention of winter break, which I assume is the real-world equivalent of that long stretch of no school between Christmas to New Year’s. It being winter break also serves to explain the absence of several characters like Ace and Deuce.

Episode 5 takes place at the start of the New Year and into mid to late winter (January, February). The end of episode 4 has Adeuce mentioning that it’s a new year and a new semester, which means at the earliest, episode 5 opens January 1st. When we factor in the fact that VDC training camp takes place over the course of a month, this brings us roughly into February.

Episode 6 takes place a few days after VDC, as the boys have now been awarded their second place prize money and Crowley mentions calling STYX following Grim’s rock eating incidents; there also appears to be a significant time skip later in the chapter to account for Ramshackle’s renovations (don’t quote me on that second half of the sentence). Sooo let’s just be generous and say that episode 6 takes place over the rest of winter and maybe early spring.

From all of this, we can probably guess that episode 7 will take place squarely in the spring time.

Every adventure requires a first step.

Vil Schoenheit x Rook Hunt: Shrinking Potion

My first time writing a proper one shot! Writing this gave me second-hand embarrassment lol

Hope you enjoy!

Contains spoilers for Episode/Book 5. Might be OOC.

SUMMARY: Vil stumbled upon a shrinking potion in the snow. Rook comes to the rescue.

---

Vil was merely taking in the winter sights when his boots hit an object beneath the snow. He winced slightly but didn't make a noise. Hopefully, it hadn't ruined his boots. 

He was about to leave when Vil caught a glimpse of pink beneath the fresh white snow. Hm? He crouched down and pushed aside the snow gently with his gloves. 

There appeared to be a bottle of pink liquid. Probably a failed potion. Vil concluded upon not recognizing it. He scrunched up his nose, disposing of a failed potion like this was just distasteful.

With a sigh, Vil carefully handled it and walked toward the nearest trash can. What he didn't account for was the lid not being on properly. A single drop of it on his sleeve was all it took. 

The world suddenly began to spin as the world grew. 

"Oh, please!" He groaned. Thankfully, his voice did not become cartoonishly high. That wasn't one of his main concerns though. 

Vil took his magic pen from his coat pocket and cast a controlled fire shot. The snow melted only for the snow above it to replace the small hole he had made. He knew he wouldn't have enough magic to make his way back to the Hall of Mirrors.

With no other choice, he took his phone next. "Mira Mira, call Rook." Vil sighed. The phone sparked to life as it dialled his vice dorm head. He didn't have to wait long for him to pick up. 

"Vil! I was wondering where you'd gone." Rook gasped. "I was trying to dispose of someone's shrinking potion when it fell on my sleeve." He explained, the irritation slipping through his voice despite his attempts to keep calm. "I will find you immediately, don't worry! I See You!" Vil could hear him cast his unique magic.

Rook had given him a marked matching apple keychain a while back and Vil had taken to carrying it on him at all times. Sure, it was an incredible amount of trust to put in a person but Vil trusted Rook. Maybe sometimes too much. 

To his credit, Vil felt the ground trembling and heard Rook calling out for him quickly. "Roi de Poison! My beautiful Vil!" His frantic shouting rang out through the cold winter air. 

"Down here, by the trash can. Don't step on me." Vil said through the phone. He saw his brown boots before his golden locks and foxy emerald eyes came into view. Anyone seeing that would be terrified but it was Rook. Vil wasn't scared of Rook. 

Rook would only hurt him if it were for his own good, such as during VDC. He couldn't help but recall the way his heart sank as tears welled in his eyes upon the revelation that Rook had voted for Neige. Vil Schoenheit doesn't cry. 

"Let us return now, Roi de Poison!" Rook offered a gloved hand. Vil climbed on gracefully. "Rook, do I seem different?" Despite his obvious state, Rook only smiled in understanding. 

"My beautiful Vil, you retain your beauty no matter what form you take. I will always follow you." Rook lifted his palm up to his face, their eyes met. Suddenly, it all became so very clear to him.

"Kiss me."

A brief look of shock crossed those sharp green eyes of his. Vil closed his eyes, their lips gently touched. His world spun again and Vil found himself in Rook's arms. "True love's kiss, of course." Vil scoffed. Rook merely chuckled in response and Vil couldn't stop himself from joining him.

Ao3: HERE If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

Very interesting! Thank you very muchh! Also, Vil having a peacock emoji is hilarious

If I may add on about the ships, There are specific emojis that indicate that an artist likes that pairing. Examples: 🐉♦️ ; ♣️🌹 ; 🏹👑 in their bio.

Telling this because I had a mutual in the fandom before complaining about it but not directly to the artist thankfully that she didnt know that the artist she likes ships a certain pair when there is the emojis in the artist profile.

I can give examples of twitter artists that makes content for ships but it’s the ones I know of.

Rook x Vil (@Hrmkkuuyo) (@vv_rv0)

First one makes manga type stories and second ones makes cute baby arts. (≧∀≦)

Trey x Jade (@clodol333)

I like that artist artstyle and their coloring method. I look forward to their art a lot. They make kind of story-like content too. (o^^o)

Ace x Deuce (@neterumitai)

I don’t exactly ship them but it seems like a lot of people do judging by their following and likes of Adeuce.

I didn’t give a lot since I prefer self ship so I am not focused on character x character ships but still love it. Hope this helps. ☆彡

[Referring to this post]

Oh shit yeah! This is so useful. Often, artists may use emojis in place of ship names, which will help more with your search.

Each character has a certain emoji or two commonly used, which will greatly help you in sifting for all kinds of fanart. Here’s a list of the emojis used for each character:

NOTES TO READ

As far as I know, most dorms do not have a dorm-specific emoji except for Octavinelle. Octavinelle uses 🐚.

Some characters have more than one emoji.

Ruggie, for example, also has 🐆, though I’ve seen donut being used more often.

Kalim is a special case for having at least 6 emojis for him. 😂 The emoji listed on the image is ☀️, but I’ve seen 🦦, 🕌, 🏝, 🦂, and 🏜.

Vil also has 🦚. Personally from my experience, I’ve seen 👑 used more often, but apparently, 🦚 is common.

Idia also uses 🔥. I think same goes for Ortho.

Sebek’s emoji is actually ⚡️. I’m not sure if people use 🐊 for him.

Silver’s emoji is actually ⚔️. I don’t know if 🗡 is used. He may also have 💤.

Crowley also has 🎩, which might be more commonly used.

Crewel also uses ⚗️. It might actually be the more common one.

Trein’s emoji is also 📖. I hope I got the right book emoji. 😭

Sam also has ☠️, which might be more commonly used.

This completely changed my view on Sebek and now I really just wanna give him a hug D:

Also, his dad seems like a cool person

Idk why but seeing Sebek so high on your tier list made me inexplicably happy. He kind of annoyed me when I first started playing, but that was before I read his personal stories. Man I was a fool because he’s now one of my favorites (I’m a first year squad stan and he’s one of my faves of the group). Like he’s so serious as a person but a lot of his moments are actually pretty funny. Anyway this has been Appreciate Sebek Hours and I shall raise a carton of coffee milk to him

[Referencing this post!]

Like coffee, Sebek is kind of a strong and acquired taste.

I totally get why a lot of people are initially turned off by him when he’s so brazen, loud, and obsessive. I know that I personally started TWST not expecting a lot out of Sebek; I couldn’t really take his pastel green Phoenix Wright design that seriously, and I didn’t like his personality since a lot of the early promotional materials marketed Sebek as being defined predominantly by his devotion and worship of Malleus. I’m relieved to see Sebek having character outside of his reverence for his dorm leader and prince.

I feel that since Sebek takes himself so seriously despite basically being a dumb and childish kid himself, it plays off well with other characters that clearly don’t have the same intense viewpoints as he does. That contrast creates a lot of ridiculous and comedic moments like the time Sebek cried because a cookie Malleus gave him got crushed, or the time Sebek threw a tantrum because he didn’t end up on the same team as his lord. He tries so hard to be cool and mature, but it just comes off as either really smug/condescending (ie shouting about how no one can be as majestic as Silver) or weirdly pathetic (ie stumbling over his words when Malleus tells him to be off to his next class instead of standing around and shouting at Ace and Grim) 😹 Sebek really embodies the cringey way real teenagers act sometimes... too much in a rush to grow up and prove himself to those he looks up to, not realizing how his words and actions can come off to others as hurtful or as just plain silly.

I think Sebek’s biggest deterrent is probably his... discrimination against humans (or basically anyone that isn’t fae). I can see why that would make people uncomfortable when they consider his character. Racism is just plain wrong, end of story. However, I believe that Sebek is purposefully written as such so the main story can correct his behavior and show him the error of his ways (similar to how chapter 5 has Vil teaching Epel that his traditional views on masculinity and femininity are outdated).

Actually! What I find really interesting about Sebek is that his situation seems to be poised to address an issue that isn’t often mentioned in popular media, and I think it’s important to discuss it. Soooo, without further ado--

***Content warning: discussion of racism (more specifically, internalized racism) and mentions of war below the cut.*** ***Please note that I am in NO way condoning racism or war; I am speaking on these topics in an analytical manner. My only intentions in writing this post are to theorize and to educate. I am NOT defending Sebek or his actions, but rather critically commenting on how his circumstances may have played into his current characterization.***

We learn that Sebek is half human and half fae from Silver in chapter 5. While Sebek is busy chiding others and (once again) referring to them as “humans” (derogatory), Silver points out that Sebek himself is half human. Then, through Sebek’s Birthday Boy vignettes, we indeed learn that his mother is a nocturnal fairy while his father is a human.

So if Sebek is half human, then it begs the following questions: why does he seem to hate humans so much? Why does he never make mention of his own heritage, and instead chooses to exclusively extol fae?

Two words: internalized racism.

“Hold on!” I hear you saying. “What is internalized racism, and how does it differ from the regular definition of racism?”

Well, according to the Oxford dictionary, racism is “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized”. Internalized racism is when those minorities or marginalized groups turn the oppression inward, which results in hating their own group. In Sebek’s case, this hatred is directed at humans--the side of himself that he seems to resent and be ashamed of.

It’s completely believable that Sebek would end up the way that he is. From what little we know of the Briar Valley and of fae in Twisted Wonderland, we can make many inferences and come to this conclusion. The population of Sebek’s home country is said to be predominantly fae, and they often use magic rather than technology to complete everyday tasks. (For example, if they want to go somewhere, the preferred “mode of transportation” is flight instead of cars.) The Briar Valley appears to be a very traditional, old-fashioned nation that is set in its ways.

Furthermore, it seems that most fae, as diverse as they are, seem to be exclusionary to other races (though we learn in Fairy Gala and FG: What If that, even among fae, there can be conflicts and discrimination; for example, nocturnal and diurnal fae do not get along). We somewhat observe this in Malleus, as he casually talks about the feats he is able to perform, whether magical or physical. At the same time, the tone he takes when addressing his peers, even fellow third years and peers, is somewhat haughty (referring to humans as “child”/”children” of man as if to imply they are juvenile and inexperienced, outright saying that everyone is “like a baby” compared to him, and brushing off their magic as though it is nothing to him). These can be perceived as microaggressions, or “commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes towards others of a particular group”. The fairies we see in Fairy Gala and even Vargas CAMP! also reflect this, as they chase out humans from their event and/or territory. In Fairy Gala in particular, it’s implied that the fairies will reject or be hostile towards those not perceived as fairies at their gatherings, which is why the boys have to cover themselves with Fairy Dust to “blend in” and pass as fairies. It wouldn’t be too strange to assume that similar exclusion occurs in the Briar Valley, especially considering that fae are the majority and humans are the minority.

I want to take a brief moment to note that the behavior discussed in the previous paragraph is exclusive to fae. Beastmen and merpeople, two other races, engage with humans in a far less antagonistic ways.

We do sometimes see beastmen talk down to humans, typically on account of believing that humans are weak, but the beastmen we’ve observed so far have never attacked others simply due to not being of the same race as them. It seems that beastmen discriminate based mostly on whether or not they believe another person can hold themselves in a fight--it’s a very “survival of the fittest” viewpoint. Interestingly, Ruggie is said to be lacking in physical strength, but commands respect due to his reputation of being Leona’s (someone who is significantly stronger, and considered the “leader of the pack) right hand man. I wonder if hyenas (who appear to be on the lower social rungs of the Sunset Savanna) are also seen as somehow “weaker” than other beastmen, which may explain their place in the hierarchy (as the beastment we’ve seen so far seem to value physical strength).

Meanwhile, merpeople have arguably been the most amicable with humans and by far the most open to the idea of integrating with human society. This goes back to their history, which tells the tale of a curious Mermaid Princess that made a deal with the Sea Witch to obtain legs and explore the world above. That same Mermaid Princess would go on to establish a program for young merfolk to come to the surface to study and learn about land culture. There’s even a special bureau that hands out free potions that give merpeople human forms (1 potion lasts anywhere from 7 to 10 days), so long as those merpeople wish to migrate and/or establish careers in the world above. However, I do want to point out that merfolk DO seem to discriminate within themselves based on traits such as how fast they can swim (as Azul cites being bullied because he had bulky limbs which made him a slow swimmer). Again, this is a very “survival of the fittest” mindset, which I believe makes sense for both merfolk and beastmen, who are “wild animal” based races subject to the whims of Mother Nature.

It is only fae that appear to discriminate against non-fae (specifically humans) so intensely, and on a basis that extends beyond the “survival of the fittest” belief. They live in their own closed-off circles and believe that their own kind are “better than” those outside of those circles. Living longer, fae have more wisdom. Using magic all the time, fae have more skill. No human could hope to compare.

This part is pure speculation, but there have been mentions of a human-fae war in Twisted Wonderland’s history, and I wonder if the Briar Valley played a significant role in that (seeing as Lilia is described to be a decorated war veteran). If so, this may also be more evidence toward the internalized racism Sebek has developed. Regardless of who won or lost this war, if the Briar Valley took part in it, then its fae residents would definitely hold prejudice toward humans, who were on the opposing side. There might have been intense fear that developed concerning humans who have lived in the valley for generations, simply due to being of the same race as the enemies the fae were fighting. Such paranoia could very well have led into racist legal measures being implemented against humans, or fae turning on their human neighbors and reporting them under suspicion of being spies or traitors. This can go right down to what is taught to children in school: view the enemy and those similar to the enemy as outsiders, even hate them, while building up your own country and your countrymen as shining beacons. As horrible and as scary as all of this is, these are all real things that have happened and are happening during wars in real life--and children, being as pliable as they are, can easily buy into wartime propaganda.

When Sebek tells us about his parents, he mentions that “there were many among [my mother’s] peers who opposed her marriage to a human”. In other words, there was a distinct social push against the union of people from two different races (which isn’t that hard to believe, especially seeing how “old-fashioned” the Briar Valley is implied to be and how fae appear to discriminate against other races in general). As offspring resulting from that union, Sebek may have faced considerable hardships in his childhood. He’s not like the other children (most of which, I’d presume, are either fully fae or fully human), he’s an anomaly. I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that Sebek might have been ostracized because of who his parents were. On top of that, he grew up in a society that seems to heavily favor fae and those capable of using magic--traits that don’t apply to his father.

Of course he would develop great shame for the half that is looked down on by seemingly everyone outside of his immediate family. Of course he would embrace the “superior” side of his heritage, the culture and air of righteousness that pervades his country. Of course he would shun his “inferior” side, going so far as to make no mention of it to others (note that it was Silver, who is fully comfortable being a full-blooded human raised by a fae, who outed Sebek’s half bloodedness, rather than Sebek himself). Of course he would worship Malleus, the epitome of the power and might that fae can wield.

I propose that this is how Sebek has learned to cope with the struggles of growing up half human, half fae: by rejecting his humanity and aggressively embracing being fae. All his boisterousness and the acting out he gets up to is him denying a part of himself. He’s projecting it to the world to see and hear--because if he says it enough times, and says it loudly enough, then surely he can convince himself that he isn’t somehow “less than” his fellow countrymen, right? (Or so that’s probably what Sebek tells himself.) It might not be the best way to cope, but it was, perhaps, the only way Sebek knew how to cope. When most of your country looks at you like you’re the strange one, how is a child supposed to fight back? He can’t--so with little to no other options, his psyche turned that hatred inward as a defense mechanism to protect himself and his ego.

This internalized racism helps explain why Sebek’s relationship with his dad seem so... strange (well, at least from the kid’s end). Sebek’s grandfather (I believe from his mother’s side) is a retired captain of the royal guard. His mother is also said to be highly proficient with magic since a very young age, and boasts strong principles and unbending conviction. Sebek is very proud of these parts of his family while expressing confusion at and criticism of his father, who is, by comparison, unremarkable. He notes that his father buys him sweets and snacks unprovoked, and showers the kids with attention and praise. It’s strange; Sebek constantly shouts about humans and how weak and insignificant they are at school, then in the same breath Sebek can communicate that he doesn’t “understand” his father, but he never directly insults him.

I don’t believe that Sebek hates his dad, but that his odd behavior toward him is a result of cognitive dissonance. Sebek (theoretically) resents his human blood because of how it is looked down on in the Briar Valley, but he cannot find it within himself to resent his father for it. How can he, when his dad has been nothing but doting and supportive to his entire family? Yet Sebek’s pride won’t allow him to outright acknowledge his love for his father, won’t let him show weakness or bend a knee to a “mere” human.

There’s also another angle to Sebek’s cognitive dissonance. How can his father—magicless and utterly unremarkable—be so carefree and content when Sebek has been told his entire life that magicless creatures are second class citizens? How can his father be so genuinely supportive of his children, who are capable of magic without becoming jealous? How can his father be so comfortable with himself, despite not being fae, despite not being able to use magic? By all accounts, the way his father lives and is satisfied with what he already has flies in the face of everything Sebek has been taught by the Briar Valley, and this totally baffles him.

In Sebek’s Union Birthday vignettes, we see just how much he really cares for his dad. When asked who he would pick to be with him on a deserted island (and it can’t be anyone from his own dorm), Sebek replies with Trey. Why Trey, even though he doesn’t seem to have any skills for surviving in the wilderness? Because (as Sebek himself states), Trey reminds him of his father. “No matter what I say to him, he would always talk to me without being fazed whatsoever.” Jack, Sebek’s interviewer, points out that his dad must have a big heart, and that he must be someone Sebek can rely on. To this, Sebek reacts with embarrassment and insists that he does NOT rely on his father, then rushes to move on to the next question.

It’s probably very strange to Sebek that his dad loves him so much, as it is likely a strong contrast to how those outside of his immediate family perceive and treat him. Society has taught Sebek that humans are inferior to fae, and yet here is a human that doesn’t care what he or Sebek is or isn’t. He just loves his family, and loves Sebek, regardless of what everyone else says or thinks of them. Sebek doesn’t know how to react to that, and it’s so off-putting. His dad gives him such pure and unconditional love, and I think that Sebek recognizes that, but he feels too ashamed to express his gratitude and reciprocate that unyielding love (which, I suspect, is due in part to all that internalized racism). If you think about it like that, Sebek is not only hurting those around him, but he’s also (unintentionally) sabotaging himself and his relationships. It’s proof that racism is terrible for everyone involved, even the people perpetuating it.

So why did I spend several paragraphs detailing Sebek’s internalized racism to you? Because, as I’ve said earlier in this post, this is something that happens in the real world and it is not discussed enough in a lot of the media we consume.

I feel like Sebek’s dilemma can be very relatable, particularly to those struggling with an identity crisis of their own, be it those of mixed race, those hailing from unconventional family structures, or anything else which may make them “different”. Of course, this is NOT a blanket statement. Everyone does not go through the same struggles, and every person’s experiences are unique. I am only presenting my own speculation on how Sebek’s situation relates to the real world.

I know that I’ve personally gone through an identity struggle that looks a lot like how I theorized Sebek’s to be, so his character really hits close to home 💦 Without getting into too many specifics, I’m considered a minority in my country, and I’ve received a lot of ridicule because of it. I cannot count the number of times I’ve seriously been asked if I “eat dogs”, told that my native language sounds “weird”, been made fun of for my appearance (particularly my eye shape), stereotyped as smart just because of my race, or called insensitive nicknames. It got to the point where I started to resent my heritage (refusing to eat our foods, refusing to speak our language, refusing to learn about our history), which I saw as alienating me from my peers--but it seemed that no matter what I did, neither culture that I was a part of fully accepted me. The people I was trying to fit in with never considered me part of their group, and my extended family thought I was “different” from them since I was not born and raised in our home country. I was disconnected from my peers and my relatives. It felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I can really understand what Sebek is probably going through, because I’ve lived it myself.

Now that I’m older and wiser, I look back at that period of my life and realize how toxic it really was. I’m reconnecting with my roots and coming to embrace and love the culture I grew up in, and the culture of the family that I was born into--both sides. But here’s the thing: people don’t always identify internalized racism and recognize it as something that is harmful (both to themselves and to the people around them). That’s why I’m hopeful for Sebek, what chapter 7 can do for him, and the important message it can send to the fandom.

It’s so, so easy to dismiss Sebek as a hypocrite (which, don’t get me wrong, he definitely is), but there is likely so much more nuance to it than just “he hates on humans even though he is half human himself” or just “he’s a racist and that’s all there is to him”.

Obviously, racism is wrong and should be condemned, but I don’t believe simply depicting a character as racist is necessarily promoting racism. As long as media is not outright glorifying it, racism can be used as a literary device to deliver an important message (which is, more often than not, an anti-racism one) the audience.

It’s made pretty clear that no one takes Sebek seriously when he shouts about humans or acts hateful toward them. Other characters consistently either make fun of Sebek for acting so outrageously, or they outright call him out for his discrimination.

To me, this all reads as very blatantly and purposefully setting Sebek’s racist beliefs up to be shattered and proven wrong later. He’s representative of a social problem, and I hope that TWST will use Sebek to promote a positive message when his time in the spotlight comes around.

What message might that be?

To learn to love and accept yourself, and where you come from, in its entirety.