#I really wanted to give writing the twst prologue a try

[thelazyhermits]

Welcome to Twisted Wonderland!

After falling down the Twst rabbit hole and dealing with Twst brainrot for the last few months, I finally decided to give writing for this fandom a try. I’m not the most confident, but hopefully, what I wrote is not too bad lol

I made this a Reader Insert since that’s what I’m used to writing, but it’s written with my Yuu OC in mind. She’s from the BNHA world which is why Quirks, which are basically super powers, are mentioned. You don’t really need to be familiar with BNHA to understand this.

Also, while my Yuu is female, her pronouns aren’t ever mentioned here, so the Reader is technically GN.

Where am I?

When you open your eyes, you find yourself standing in a dark room, facing a large mirror that has many coffins hovering ominously around it.

You’re immediately on your guard once you realize you have no recognition of the room you’ve found yourself in, especially since you can’t even remember how you ended up here in the first place.

Your mind frantically races as you try to think back to the last thing you remember. I remember winning the cage fight that was scheduled for tonight, but after that, my memory gets hazy. Did someone use their Quirk on me and kidnap me?

But that doesn’t make sense. Who would dare lay a hand on you and risk incurring your manager’s wrath? Everyone in the underworld knows how well connected Mumei is, which is why they avoid doing anything to get on his bad side.

A sudden chill runs down your spine. Unless this kidnapper is even more well off than Mumei. Could it be that someone has a grudge against him and is going after me because I’m his largest source of income?

That’s the only explanation that makes sense. After all, why else would someone go after the likes of you?

As your heart rate drastically increases, you frantically start looking around in hopes of finding an exit. For some reason, you haven’t been tied up, so you need to make the best use of this freedom to escape whatever your captor has planned for you.

Unfortunately, despite all your efforts, you’re unable to find any doors or windows, which only increases your unease. Just what kind of place have you been brought to?

It’s at that moment the mirror before you suddenly lights up as green fire appears in its reflection. “Ah…My dear beloved.”

With a gasp, you quickly try to find the owner of the unfamiliar voice you just heard, only for your search to come up empty. There must be some kind of intercom system in this room. That would explain why I can’t identify where exactly the voice came from.

Your hands clench into tight fists. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

As if not hearing your questions, the strangely jovial voice continues, “A lovely and noble flower of evil. Truly, you are the most beautiful of all.”

Could it be that the intercom system only allows your captor to speak into the room? They can’t hear you? Or are you just being ignored?

You can’t decide if you should feel annoyed about the prospect of being ignored or creeped out by what your kidnapper is saying. Am I actually dealing with some kind of stalker rather than an enemy of Mumei’s? 

If so, you might be in even more trouble than you originally feared since a stalker can be extremely dangerous, especially one that sounds as delusional as this one. 

You scrunch your nose. “Noble flower of evil? What the hell does that even mean?”

Once again, your question goes unanswered. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, please tell me. Who is the…?”

For some reason, the voice cuts off before that last sentence can be finished. You patiently wait for the speaker to pick up where they left off, but they never do.

As silence permeates the air, you raise an eyebrow. Ooookay. Sounds like I’m dealing with a real weirdo here.

A sigh escapes you as you tiredly drag a hand down your face. Great, just great. Just what I needed.

Your weary gaze focuses on the mirror, which is still glowing an ominous green. Soon after, recognition dawns your features. Wait a minute. I’ve seen that mirror somewhere else before, but where?

After racking your brain for a moment, you remember what your captor last said, and your eyes widen. Mirror, mirror on the wall…That's from the movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. That’s where I’ve seen this mirror!

Which means my stalker-slash-kidnapper must have an obsession with that movie for some reason. They were talking about beauty earlier, much like the queen does in that movie. You think to yourself. I just have no idea how this all applies to me. After all, I am no Snow White. If this creep is looking for a pretty princess, he went after the wrong person.

Just as you’re considering saying as much out loud to see if that would garner a response from your kidnapper, you suddenly hear what sounds like a horse approaching with a carriage.

Bewildered, you once again examine your surroundings, and of course, find nothing that would explain where the sounds came from. The only explanation you can think of is that the sounds came from the intercom system, which you have yet to find.

Filled with unease, you swallow nervously. This stalker is getting weirder and creepier by the second. I seriously need to get out of here.

Since the only part of the room you haven’t checked out is what’s behind the mirror and floating coffins, you decide that’s where you should head, even though going near those eerie coffins is the last thing you want to do.

Right after you start slowly moving forward, the unfamiliar voice from before finally breaks its silence. “Those who are guided by the dark mirror, as long as your heart desires, take the hand that appears in the mirror.”

Wide-eyed, all you can do is gape as a literal hand appears amongst the green flames in the mirror’s reflection and proceeds to extend outwards until it completely protrudes through the glass. 

With a yelp, you scuttle backwards. “What the hell?! What kinda Quirk is this?!”

A Quirk has to be behind this. After all, hands can’t just magically appear through mirrors.

It’s either that, or this is all just a very creepy dream. There’s no other plausible explanation. 

When the possibility of this being a dream crosses your mind, you find yourself wondering if that is what’s going on here since that would explain how you suddenly found yourself here and why you can’t remember the events leading up to your arrival in this strange place.

Quickly, you pinch yourself as hard as you can and promptly wince. Either this is a very realistic dream, or I really am awake.

After trying a few more times to wake yourself up and failing, you sigh. Guess I’ll just return to my plan of escaping this room and hope I’ll either wake up soon or find a way out.

The only thing you do know for sure is that you will not be going near that hand in the mirror. There’s no telling what would happen if you do, and you have no interest in finding out.

That said, you unfortunately have no choice but to head in the general direction of the mirror since that’s the only part of the room you haven’t examined.

Warily, you slowly start walking forward, making sure to keep your eyes on the mirror at all times, just in case any other developments happen with it. You also keep an ear out for any suspicious sounds, not wanting to risk someone sneaking up on you while you’re distracted. 

For some reason, your kidnapper hasn’t said anything since instructing you to take the hand that appeared in the mirror. As a result, the room has gotten very quiet, so quiet that the only things you can hear are your footsteps against the dark marble floor and your breathing.

You fight the urge to shiver. This place is so creepy. Why are there coffins just floating around? And what is up with that crazy mirror?

From what you can recall, the mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs didn’t do anything like this. All you remember it ever doing was talking to the Evil Queen via the green face that would appear behind the glass.

What’s really eerie about this situation is how the hand in the mirror hasn’t moved since emerging from behind the glass. It just continues to remain perfectly still, like it’s a part of a statue.

If you hadn’t seen it move earlier, you would’ve thought it was a fake arm since there’s nothing about its appearance that suggests it belongs to a living being.

Doing your best to ignore the creepy arm, you move past the mirror, so you can examine what’s in the area of the room located behind it.

Regrettably, no matter how thoroughly you search, you fail to find any kind of exit. There really is nothing in this room aside from the mirror and the coffins.

Your brow furrows. But that’s impossible. There’s no such thing as a room without some kind of entrance and exit. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain how I got here.

Sure, a teleportation Quirk could’ve been used on you, but that would mean someone used their Quirk to put these coffins and mirror in this room, which makes absolutely no sense.

When the mirror returns to the forefront of your thoughts, a theory comes to mind. What if that mirror is the only way to get in and out of this room? I just witnessed that hand come through it, so it obviously can be used to bring things into this place. And that hand came out expecting me to take it, which makes me assume it intends to take me somewhere else.

Of course, that begs the question of why you were even brought to this room in the first place if your captor wants you to go elsewhere. Did they just want to toy with you first, or is there another reason for why you were brought here?

You frown. Does this mean I really have no choice in the matter? It’s either I stay here trapped forever, or I go wherever that hand will take me?

Neither of those options are the least bit appealing to you, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you have much say in the matter.

Honestly, you really shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like you ever have a say in anything anyway. Why should this situation be any different from everything else that goes on in your life?

With a scowl, you reluctantly move back toward the mirror and come to a stop in front of it, making sure to put some distance between you and the still extended hand, which looks as lifeless as ever. 

Just as you open your mouth, intending to chew out the bastard who put you in this horrible position, you hear a voice coming from the mirror, a voice that’s completely different from the one you heard earlier.

“There you are, Yuu. I’ve been waiting for you. What kept you so long? You know how I feel about tardiness. Don’t tell me you found yourself caught up in trouble again thanks to those card soldiers of mine, not after I had just warned them that it’d be off with their heads the next time they caused another disturbance.”

Your earlier anger immediately vanishes due to the confusion those strange words evoke. “Huh? Card soldiers? What are you-?”

Before you can finish that question, another unexpected voice addresses you. “You’ve got a lot of nerve keeping me waiting, Herbivore. Just because you’ve become comfortable in the lion’s den doesn’t mean you can just do as you please. Don’t get cocky.”

All you can do is stare, your confusion steadily growing. “Herbivore? Lion’s den?”

“My, my, Yuu-san, it seems you’ve once again found yourself in a predicament. Shall I lend you my services? Since you’re such a valuable employee, I’ll even offer you a discount.”

When another voice joins the fray, you take a nervous step backwards. There are multiple people involved in this kidnapping? 

Your face pales. Don’t tell me all these strange people are a part of some crazy cult. That’s even worse than a stalker!

While it might seem like a bit of a stretch to go from delusional stalker to crazy cult, you can’t deny that it’s a possibility. After all, that would explain all the oddities of this room and all the weird statements you’ve been hearing since waking up. 

Thankfully, before your wild imagination can get the better of you, you get distracted by another voice.

“Yuu? Are you alright? If you’re feeling down, you should come over to Scarabia! I’ll throw a big party for you! That should cheer you right up!”

This new voice sounds completely different from the others. It’s so friendly and warm, so unlike the voices you’re used to hearing at home.

While you’ve dealt with people who pretended to be nice, who used a cloyingly sweet tone in order to get what they wanted, before, you know that’s not the kind of person you’re dealing with right now.

No, this person’s voice is completely genuine. You can tell just from listening to them that this is not the kind of person who’s capable of deceit.

They remind you a lot of All Might, the pro hero whom you admire more than anyone, and for that reason, you find yourself unconsciously relaxing. This isn’t the kind of person who hurts others. Either they’re someone who has been brainwashed into helping people they wouldn’t otherwise associate with, or…

Or there’s more going on with this strange group of people than you first thought. 

You take a deep breath and slowly release it. I need to keep my cool. Getting worked up by all this craziness will only hurt me. I need to keep my wits about me if I hope to figure out what the hell is going on. 

“That’s a good potato. If you stress yourself out unnecessarily, you’ll only give yourself wrinkles, and we can’t have that, can we? I won’t allow you to ruin all my efforts to bring out that potential of yours.”

You raise an eyebrow when you hear how this new voice addressed you. “Potato? What kind of nickname is that? If it wasn’t for the rest of what you just said, I’d think you were insulting me.”

It’s at that moment you realize something very important, something you can’t believe you took this long to notice. Hey, wait a minute. Most of the people that just spoke referred to me by my actual name. How the hell did they know my name was Yuu? No one knows that except for Tokumei and Mumei.

Normally, people always call you by your stage name “Prophet”, your manager included. The only one who refers to you as Yuu is Tokumei who was the person who gave you that name once you came to live with him and his twin brother, Mumei, since he thought it was impractical for a child to not have an actual name.

For all these years, Tokumei has been the only one to call you by that name, yet here are these total strangers using your name so casually, acting as if they’ve known it forever.

What in the world is going on here?

“Y-Yuu-shi, can we go already? You know how much I hate leaving my room. My HP is almost at zero; I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

Despite yourself, you can’t help but feel amused when you hear this new voice since there’s a slight whine to their tone. Whoever this person is, they are obviously not enjoying themselves right now and want to get back to their room as soon as possible.

That definitely doesn’t sound like a crazy cultist. It sounds like a teenager who has had enough of whatever they’ve been dragged into, and you can sympathize with that sentiment wholeheartedly. 

The remaining tension in your frame begins to fade. Now that I think about it, none of these voices have sounded the least bit threatening. I don’t know if I’d use the word friendly for all of them, but they definitely don’t sound like dangerous kidnappers.

Not to mention, you don’t think you’ve heard a single lie out of any of them. It’s a little surreal for you, considering you’re used to dealing with people who lie as easily as they breathe on an almost daily basis.

While you wouldn’t be so reckless as to write all of them off as being non-dangerous, you can’t help but wonder if these people are actually completely different from the people you first assumed them to be.

“Child of Man, you need not worry. I will not allow anyone to harm you. As long as you are under my protection, you will be safe.”

It’s the latest addition to this strange vocal cast that has your breath hitching. “Y-You…”

The rational part of your brain tries to convince you that it’s an empty promise, just pretty words to get you to let your guard down, but even though you are normally quick to listen to that rationality, you find yourself hesitating this time.

Because that person wasn’t lying.

Whoever that speaker was, they truly meant it when they said they’d protect you - that you’re safe with them. 

There was nothing but warmth and assurance in that voice - two things that are very foreign to you because of the place where you’ve spent the last ten-plus years of your life.

Before you even realize it, you find yourself raising your hand toward that voice - toward the hand still outstretched before you. 

However, after remembering how often you’ve been disappointed in the past, you find yourself hesitating. What if this is all just a cruel lie - a charade that you can’t see through?

What if this person really is just like everyone else?

“Yuu-chan, you’re too tense! Relax, relax! Let’s have some tea and unwind. I’ll find some cute cat pictures on Magicam for us to look at together! I know how much you love those!”

Another cheerful voice enters the fray, this one sounding just as energetic as the one that had first caught your attention. 

Immediately, you find yourself wondering what Magicam is and how this person knows of your love of cats.

Before you can bring yourself to ask, a new, much calmer voice says, “If you need help unwinding, you can join me in the kitchen, Yuu. As per tradition, I’ll make sure you get the best bite as thanks for your help.”

And apparently, this person knows about your love of cooking. Just how much do these people know about you?

More importantly, just how many of them are there?

“Geez, ya really are a handful, aren’t ya, Yuu-kun? How about ya come with me to see if Sam-san’s got some work for us to do? That way I can keep an eye on ya, and I’ll get to enjoy the pay raise that Sam-san always offers on the days you’re working at his shop. Shishishi.”

While there’s a mischievous tone in this new voice, there’s no mistaking the underlying fondness that you hear, which just makes you even more confused. Just who is this person, and who in the world is Sam?

“Shrimpy, I’m bo~red! Let’s get outta here and do somethin’ fun! You don’t wanna be here anymore, right?”

“You do seem to be quite tired of your current circumstances, Yuu-san. Being the benevolent people that we are, my brother and I would be more than happy to do whatever we can to assist you. Let us help you find a much more interesting way to spend your time. Fufu.”

For some reason, a chill runs down your spine when you hear those two particular voices. While they don’t exactly inspire fear, there’s just something about them that puts you on your guard.

That said, you also can’t help but feel a little amused when you hear your newest nickname. “Shrimpy? Where are all these weird nicknames coming from?”

As expected, you don’t receive an answer to your question. Instead, someone else’s voice pipes up. “Yuu, it’s good to be cautious, but you don’t want to let this opportunity pass you by. Only a fool would give up the chance to obtain the freedom they’ve been seeking all their life. Don’t you agree?”

Your eyes grow large. “Freedom?”

By freedom, do they mean real freedom? As in you don’t have to return to your previous life and never again have to suffer at Mumei’s hands? You’ll be able to do whatever you want with your life without fear of punishment?

Surely, this is too good to be true. They’re just trying to whittle away at your defenses in order to finally make you give in and go along with whatever scheme they have planned for you once you take the hand that has been offered to you.

You bite your lip. But is anything really worse than what I already deal with? Even if they don’t give me the freedom that I want, they’re likely to still be better than Mumei. After all, I can’t imagine too many people actually being worse than him.

“Oh, my dear Trickster, it pains me to see you struggling so. You are in good company here, I assure you. We all truly want what’s best for you and wish to see you experiencing the kind of joy you deserve, because you are our beloved friend. No one wants to see a beauté like you hidden away in the shadows where no one can enjoy your brilliance.”

If it wasn’t for the genuine tone of this person’s voice, you’d think they were just trying to butter you up by using such flattery, but since you can detect no deceit, you have to accept that this person truly means every word that they say despite how hard it is for you to believe.

It’s steadily becoming more difficult to refuse the tempting offer before you.

“You truly are a fighter, Yuu. Even now, you have your guard up, and I cannot fault you for that. However, even the most highly seasoned warriors know when it’s time to reach out to those around them, and I hope that you too will learn to rely on others rather than continue fighting all of your battles on your own.”

“Yuu, you can rely on us. We’ll help you in any way we can, because you’re our friend and we care about you.”

Your legs grow weak at their words, causing you to fall to your knees. Tears cloud your vision as you brace yourself against the cold, marble floor. “I…I don’t understand. Why do you all care about me? Why does it matter to you what happens to me?”

For as long as you can remember, no one has ever shown such care toward you, so why are these people different? 

While you’d like to rationalize this as them just putting up a caring front in order to earn your trust, you know that’s not the truth, because all of these people have been nothing but sincere. When they say they care about you, they genuinely mean it.

And you have no idea why.

For a while, you remain in that same position, trying to collect yourself and figure out what your next move should be. All the while, the mirror remains strangely silent, making you wonder if all the members of the group involved in your current predicament have finally said their piece.

You’re incredibly conflicted about this. On one hand, you don’t want to play into anyone’s hands, but on the other, could that really lead to circumstances that are any worse than what you already deal with on a daily basis?

This situation has “deal with the devil” written all over it, but considering the demons you’re used to facing, you can’t bring yourself to feel too scared. Surely, anything has to be better than the life you’ve been living for all these years.

….right?

“Grrrr…”

Your body stiffens when you hear a loud growl coming from behind you. With great trepidation, you turn to look over your shoulder and promptly blanche at the sight before you.

In the area that was once completely empty now stands a large, four-legged monster with black fur and a mane of blue fire. A chill runs down your spine when you look into its piercing blue eyes.

Without thinking, you unconsciously scuttle backwards across the floor, wanting to put as much distance between you and this creature as possible, not caring if this means you’ll consequently make contact with the mirror.

Strangely enough, your back never makes contact with anything despite your close proximity to the mirror. This prompts you to reluctantly pull your eyes away from the monster, so you can look behind you.

Much to your surprise, when your gaze eventually falls onto the mirror, you see that it’s now several yards away from you, on the other side of the large clearing you’ve somehow found yourself in.

Your mind races with questions as you try to make sense of what’s going on. First, this monster comes out of nowhere, and now, the room has turned into some kinda dilapidated clearing, as if this monster just blew out all the walls, but that doesn’t make any sense! 

Nothing about this situation makes any sense unfortunately, and you don’t think you’ll be getting any answers anytime soon. 

Realizing there are more important matters to worry about, you hurry to stand and start steadily backing away from the monster, hoping it won’t pursue you if you avoid moving too quickly.

All the while, you assess the threat before you. There is no way I can fight this thing. Even with my fighting experience and my Quirk, this isn’t an opponent I can handle. One swipe from its paws will be enough to do me in, so I can’t afford to let it get close to me.

Which means escape is the only option you have. The only question is: Will you be able to outrun this monster, or will all your efforts be futile?

You clench your trembling hands into fists. I will find a way to escape. I refuse to die a meaningless death here. I’ve survived this long, and I have no intention to let everything I’ve done up until this point to stay alive go to waste because of some crazy monster.

Now, you just need to figure out how to ensure that your escape will be successful. Should you try to tire out the monster first before making a run for it, making use of your great stamina, or would another strategy be better suited for this situation?

Before you can ruminate on this matter for too long, you get distracted when you hear a playful voice coming from the mirror.

“Hey, Yuu, don’t you think you’re thinking a little too hard about this? It’s pretty obvious what you need to do here. Don’t tell me you need me to spell it out for you.”

Your brow furrows. “What are you-?”

Before you can finish your sentence, you get cut off by two new voices.

“Yuu! You can rely on us! That’s what best friends are for! We’ll always have your back!”

“While it probably makes me sound like a hypocrite, I do think you try to do too much on your own, Yuu. Why don’t you follow the advice you’re always giving me and ask us for help for a change? Being a lone wolf doesn’t suit you.”

“Ask for help?” You incredulously whisper, “That’s…”

Completely foreign to you. When was the last time someone offered to help you because they genuinely wanted to? Without expecting something in return?

You’re drawn out of your thoughts when three new voices chime in. 

“We know how strong you are, but you shouldn’t have to do everything on your own. I’d much rather have my friends rely on me when they need a hand, so don’t hold back, Yuu-san! You can count on me anytime!”

“You’re not alone, Yuu-san! Nii-san and I are on your side, just like everyone else, because we’re friends! And friends are always there to support each other through thick and thin, just like what the protagonists do in all of my brother’s favorite shows!”

“Hmph. As always, you’re causing trouble, human. Fortunately for you, I am feeling very generous today. That’s why I will graciously offer you my aid. Be grateful! As long as you have my protection, you have nothing to fear!”

For some reason, after listening to those six voices, the tension in your frame has completely disappeared. Why does your heart feel so at ease thanks to them?

While you can’t answer that question, you at least now have an answer to the question of how you can escape the monster, which has miraculously not started attacking you yet. 

After taking a deep breath and releasing it, you turn around and promptly start sprinting toward the mirror, doing your best to ignore the loud roar you hear behind you. 

Quickly, you activate your foresight Quirk and focus all of your power on predicting your opponent’s movements. This allows you to see that the monster is capable of firing blue fireballs from its mouth.

Blue fire starts appearing all around you thanks to the monster that’s now on the offensive, but thankfully, none of its attacks manage to hit you, because you’re able to foresee its attack pattern and dodge accordingly.

All the while, you determinedly keep running forward, straight toward the mirror. “I really don’t understand you guys! I don’t understand why you act so familiar with me or why you seem to actually care about me, but....”

Your heart pounds violently inside your chest, both out of fear of the monster and of what could happen to you if you take that hand that’s still extended toward you. “But I want to! I want to understand! So, please!”

You reach out to grab the hand in the mirror as soon as it’s within reach. “Please take me to wherever you are!”

Take you to a place where you can get a taste of what freedom is like - where you can be around people that actually give a damn about you

Take you to a place of safety that’s far away from the “home” you’ve been trapped in for as long as you can remember - to a place where your future is bright rather than bleak and hopeless.

Behind you, the monster releases another powerful roar, but you pay it no mind, too distracted by the warm hand you’re now holding that comes to life as soon as you make contact with it.

Before you can even so much as blink, the hand tugs you forward with an impressive strength, knocking you off balance and causing you to fall straight into the mirror.

Rather than hit the glass, you pass right through it and find yourself completely submerged in an endless sea of darkness.

For some reason, a strong wave of exhaustion immediately washes over you, and you find yourself unable to fight against the irresistable urge to close your eyes and fall asleep. 

Just as you’re on the verge of losing consciousness, you hear all twenty-two of the voices that spoke to you from the other side of the mirror address you in complete sync.

“Welcome to Twisted Wonderland!”

[sandycookie]

POTI QnA

QnA attached below! Thank you to those who've sent questions!

NoOneImportant17 asks:

I don't follow you on Tumblr or use it but I'll ask: did you plan to have this story be so long? Cause it's been awesome so far & I think it's cool you've managed to write a story this long & stick with it when so many give up.

Yes, for as much as I do talk about ballooning word counts and trying to reduce it, this was always imagined to be a longfic. In fact, on my blog, I made a rough estimate of what the Heartslabyul arc’s word count will be: 80k. Currently it’s only 36k, and the prologue is 49k. And it’s only going to get bigger and bigger, since at this point in the story there are crucial elements of Twisted Wonderland that haven’t yet been fully unearthed. Not to mention that each Episode is just longer than the next; plus, I also plan to include some content outside the Main Story. AND going through each Episode ALSO means establishing more relationships between characters (primarily Alex, but you get the point). So…we really haven’t scratched the surface. I’d say we’ve only just grazed it, to say nothing of standing on it. At this rate, I won’t be surprised if this fic ended up at one million words, but it could easily make two million depending on how the Main Story develops (at the time of writing, we’re only at Part 5 of Episode 7 and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended at two or even three hundred episodes; for context, the longest Episode we have is 6, which is 167 chapters; this includes the three towers with the different teams). And there’s no way TWST is ending at Episode 7, not by a long shot. One, because why would you give up on a cash cow after only 3 years. Two, remember, there’s an entire WORLD out there to explore. Not just NRC. You could say we’re only at an ‘academy arc’ currently. But that’s enough conspiracy theorying lmao, if I go any further I might start to fearmonger about the snail people that totally live on the moon.

There are a couple reasons why I made the decision to make this a longfic:

I wanted to cover all of the main story, but I also didn’t want to make this some sort of boring summary

The sort of ‘genre’ of this fic sort of makes it required, at least in my eyes. This fic is a self insert in many ways, mostly because I really love self insert fics where the main character gets transported into another world. I’ll expand on that a bit more in the next point. 

But I wanted to cover the many ways someone can interact with this world, live in it, breathe in it too. A flaw I’ve seen in some of these of self/OC-inserts is that the central character is just…sort of there. They don’t necessarily have to change the plot drastically, but you can also take them out of the very story about them and nothing would change because the interactions they have with the world are so superficial. So, covering the main story is the bare minimum. What I must do as a writer is to make Alex have a place in this story, and so this means ‘expansion’ of the main story, so to speak.

2. I wanted to focus on ‘mundanity’ and ‘the everyday’

In general, this is sort of something I fixate on in the stuff I make. The concept of mundanity is just…sort of enthralling, to me. There’s something so peaceful and dooming about it, about living in an eternal peace at the cost of that something greater you see so many people dream about, see a handful of people reach. Sometimes it feels like it’s an eternity. Sometimes it feels so elusive. It’s a little maddening, in a way. In general, I like to include some flavor of ‘mundanity’ into my works. 

So, it’s connected to my reason earlier, as that ‘expansion’ is also integral to executing the ‘mundanity’ of the fic. 

And maybe, it’s for the illusion of intimacy. The illusion of consistency. The image of utter omnipotence. 

Wowie we got obtuse and fake deep right there! Let’s get a drink of water. 

Anonymous asks:

Why did you want to write this fic?

Let’s cover some background first. 

When I first got into fanfiction, it was through JJBA stories on Wattpad, as that was my current hyperfixation. In particular, I adored the ‘I got isekai’d into Part 5 AHHHHHHHHHHH’ stories (which was the start of my self/OC-insert bias in fanfic) and I wanted to make a story of my own like that. I was also really into RWBY at the time, and I was really into all of the videos that roasted the hell out of its writing and fights post-Volume 3. I saw both of these, and there formed an ambition of unholy desire.

I would create a JJBA Part 5 and RWBY crossover. Oh, but no, I wouldn’t stop just there. I would have an OC-insert (which really, was just me but with martial arts moves and depressive suicidal ideation because I had the parents die in a car crash and the sister OC mysteriously disappear. Yeah, I’ve always had a taste for the more depressing and maybe fucked up things in fiction) there, along with ANOTHER OC (the sister) with an extremely intricate and depressing backstory that involved child experimentation, mutilation, child soldiers, depression, battle royales, an unending cycle of life and death and finally dimension teleportation abilities. It was somewhat batshit insane, even by my standards today. And not only that, I would FIX RWBY’s awful story! 

Of course, this was also at the time when my writing was at a state that the only things moved or inspired by it were the little sentient cotton balls I created in my mind and my grandma, who I’m pretty sure was pretending so as not to mentally damage a middle schooler who got air dropped into a school where she knew absolutely nobody. 

Despite my ambition, and my dreams of it garnering the critical acclaim of young, naive Wattpaders (even though I knew that I’d be lucky to even get 1 reader with how oversaturated everything was plus the crossover aspect plus the fact I put in ‘no romance’ very explicitly in the description), and despite me updating at a whooping rate of once per week, with chapters 2-4k in length, all my efforts were for naught…

So, suffice to say, even though I attempted to do a full on rewrite (even having the first chapter beta read by a good friend), the cripplingly low engagement and my general lack of interest in the whole thing along with both shows ended with the whole thing being discontinued. And for a long time, that was that. I stopped writing for, maybe a year or so after that, although I did begin to start writing short oneshots for some stuff. But the ambition of it still lingered in my mind. That ambition of starting a self/OC-insert, of having that character be immersed in the world, go through internal strife and their own ups and downs, it wasn’t completely extinguished. 

Twisted Wonderland reignited that flame in full. So, after being in the fandom, I slowly started working on the first chapter. 

A lot of this fic, and my main motivation for it, is to fulfill that dream I used to have, because for all I disdain that version of myself at times, I am also appreciative and fond of that time in my life. 

However, this fic isn’t just for the memory of me. It’s also for the me of now and future, who will change as the years come to pass by. 

And hey, I have to leave a mark of my ‘degeneracy’ on the internet somewhere ;)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! How are you?🥰

What do you think about the changes made in the English version of the game? I see very divided opinions, I decided not to download the game and stick with the Japanese one but I see many people complaining on facebook and tiktok😩

Btw, I really like what you write💕 Take care of yourself!✨

Hihi, thanks for checking out and supporting my blog!

Mmm, I have a lot of opinions on the localization! Since there's a lot I want to say (many of it spoiler-y), I'm going to place it all under the cut. I may reblog/add more thoughts later, since I'm still playing through chapter 2 right now.

Please feel free to share what you think as well, dear readers! I'm curious to hear what others' reactions are to the localization. It'd be cool to get a discussion going.

My Thoughts on the TWST Localization:

Firstly, I have to say that I like the general look of the game. I think the fonts are nice to look at, and I appreciate the little flourishes they added here and there. For example, they kept the original Japanese names of locations under the English names when we transition to new areas. The one thing I have to say I dislike is the size of the text bubbles. They are much bulkier than the ones in the Japanese version and take up like a third of the screen. The text bubbles were much slimmer in the original, so that will take some getting used to.

They translated the Tree element as Flora and Null as Cosmic. They also changed a card’s Attack stat to POW (like... Power?). These don’t really affect the story, but they do feel a little odd to read for gameplay purposes. Ultimately, I don’t mind these choices. I definitely enjoy Flora (like the fairy from Sleeping Beauty?) more than Tree, and Cosmic makes sense as a replacement for Null (since Cosmic encompasses both Light and Dark magic).

Now onto the meat of my thoughts!

Something that I noticed immediately was that there seems to be a lack of consistency with terms used. For example, Floyd uses both “Lil’ Goldfish” and “Goldfishie” to refer to Riddle. Another example is in the prologue, when Azul uses the term “dorm leader”, whereas “housewarden” is used everywhere else. At the very least, “headmage” seems to be more consistently used.

I also noticed a few mistakes, which tells me that whoever did the proofreading did not do it well. For example, Ruggie calls one of the Scarabia boys (I believe Kalim) Kamil. Let that sink in. KAMIL. Not Kalim, not Jamil, but KAMIL. That’s a mistake that I would expect a first time TWST fan would make, not an official localization. Another big one was during chapter 1, when Cater is explaining Split Card. In reference to his clones, he says “I have no siblings”. This is false and actually contradicts canon information, as Cater is said to have a few older sisters in the Japanese version. There are also some punctuation/grammatical errors, like “gotall” (spoken by Trey in chapter 2) missing a space. It’s just... confusing and at some points unprofessional. Like, these things should have been caught and fixed earlier.

I think some of the wording they chose was... interesting? I don’t agree with all of them, but they definitely gave off certain vibes. Alchemy became Potionology and Magift into Spelldrive, which makes NRC feel less like NRC and more like they’re trying so hard to be Harry Potter. Thaumark was definitely unexpected (I thought they’d stick with Madol?), but I kind of like it! It helps give Twisted Wonderland its character as a foreign land. I believe the “mark” part is derived from a European currency, and “thaum” is a measure of magic, so when you break the word down, it isn’t that hard to grasp. I am, however, conflicted with “signature spell” replacing unique magic; unique magic sounds more special and individualized to me than “signature spell” does.

Speaking of “signature spells”, Trey’s Doodle Suit was changed to “Paint the Roses”???????? My guess is that it was done to make a more obvious Alice in Wonderland reference, since Riddle and Cater’s were left untouched. “Paint the Roses” may also be a reference to the Kanji for Trey’s unique magic in the Japanese version. I guess it’s just jarring when Trey’s voice says one thing, but the text says another, but other than that, I don’t dislike the alteration.

I WAS FULLY EXPECTING THE CAT PUNS WITH CHE’NYA AND GRIM AND I WAS NOT WRONG 😂 (But luckily, they aren’t as frequent as I thought they would be.)

I’VE HEARD THAT CHEKA CALLS LEONA “UNCA” LEONA IN PLACE OF “OJITAN” abfhfahldilvsadvsiadsviadsviasvoasfvo THAT’S???????? I mean, I get that they wanted to make Cheka seem cute and endearing, but... I don’t know, “Unca” sounds strange to me? In my experience, it’s a pretty uncommon phrase, even by 5-year old standards.

On the subject of nicknames... HORNTON for Tsunotaro. I know a lot of people don’t like it, but personally? I think it’s fitting. Good for Malleus. It sounds silly to us, and that’s because it is meant to be silly. The only reason Tsunotaro didn’t sound silly is because many of us international players aren’t fluent in Japanese. To someone who understands Japanese, Tsunotaro WOULD sound silly too. Hornton serves its purpose just fine.

UWU speak is canon in Twisted Wonderland. You can thank Ceremonial Robes Idia and his homescreen tap lines (about Lucius) for that. I honestly don’t know how I feel about that, but it’s fantastic for the memes.

I suspected they’d take out honorifics or not completely bring them over in translation (which turned out to be the case), but it’s super weird for me to read Sebek calling Malleus just by his name and no title attached. I do get that he wants to be Malleus’s friend, but in the Japanese version, Sebek still revered and respected Malleus, addressed him by a title...

One thing I’ve noticed a lot of people unhappy about is the use of big words. I don’t mind it, really. We have students from all walks of life and with all kinds of personalities. Some of them are sure to talk differently than others. “But they don’t sound like high school students!”, you might say. Yeah. A lot of anime characters (and heck, even fictional characters in general) don’t act like their age. I think it’s fine for the purposes of creative liberty and to help distinguish the characters from each other, especially in such a large cast. The decision to use big words outside of dialogue is also pretty cool, in my opinion. Old fashioned phrases like “phial”, “vignettes”, “smorgasbord”, etc. lend itself to the poshness of NRC, which is a school steeped in history and magic. However, the abundance of big words does lend itself into a negative point (which I will make later).

Some of the clever things they tried to do with the localization ended up coming across as awkward instead. An example of this is Cater deciding to call the “Adeuce combi” (short, catchy) HUNTING SEASON (after a poker term where you hold an ace and a deuce card). I understand what they were going for, but Hunting Season is such a mouthful. Other times, there’s puns they try shoving in or large words that read super weird in an otherwise normal sentence. Just because you can use big words doesn’t mean that you should. They should be used sparingly and effectively to make an impact, not thrown around haphazardly just because you want to show off how big your dictionary is.

Honestly, I found the memes and modern slang off-putting. In trying to be “with the times”, the slang and memes will actually date the game and I fear it will age poorly going forward.

It makes sense for some of the characters to have a looser way of speaking (Cater, Idia, Floyd, etc.), but it got to a point where it was excessive to read and took me out of the story. Cater and Idia are certainly “internet kids”, so naturally, they would have the most “internet slang”... but??????? Who actually uses so many shorthand phrases (G2G, LOL, WTG, etc.) out loud instead of just saying the words they mean? Cater got especially grating to read because of him constantly shouting hashtags even during moments that were meant to be emotional, like Riddle crying after Overblotting. Cater. Buddy. Now is NOT the time to say “#WOW” at your dorm leader having a breakdown. It makes it seem like Cater cannot read the mood, which shouldn’t be the case for what we know of his character.

Floyd, well... I know that he’s a very fickle and “I do what I want” type of character, but seeing him shout things like “hairdryer go brrrrr”, “yeet”, and “yeah boi” is strange to me???? And I’m not sure why, because Floyd seems carefree enough to just shout whatever. I think it’s because those are things so heavily associated with old or semi-ironic internet culture that I can’t help but see an old man walking in with a skateboard and going “how do you do, fellow kids?”, trying to blend in and be “hip with the youth”.

The strangest part of the localization (at least to me) was that they decided to change the laughs of several characters. (Ruggie’s “nishishi” became “syeheehee”, Lilia’s “kufufu” because “kheehee”, and even Jade’s “fufufu” becamse “hee hee”??????) Like... why? Was there something about their original laughs that sounded “too Japanese”, or could have been mistaken as something that wasn’t laughter? It’s such an odd translation choice to me.

Because of the culmination of all of this, the impression that I got while playing through and reading things was that the characters sometimes came off as entirely different versions of their Japanese counterparts. A lot can be conveyed about a character through their dialogue, and some of the choices made for the English dialogues paints the characters as oddly “not themselves”, or like one extreme of their personality instead of a more well-rounded individual.

Overall, I’m very mixed on the matter. It definitely wasn’t the best localization, but it definitely could have been a lot worse, too. I haven’t noticed any major censorship or changes, at least not this early in the game. The localization seems alright for what it is.

I will likely continue to play the English version along with the Japanese version just for the experience and the laughs.

[tsukikoayanosuke]

“Yeah, so? What am I supposed to do with that?” - Twisted Wonderland MC/Yuusona

picrew link

a.k.a. making a self-insert yuusona while having a flashback from my elementary and middle school days

Her name is Yūkiko Sekaihashi and my goal is to make the most pathetic/unlikable TWST MC ever /j (because it would be *funneh*)

Name: Yukiko Sekaihashi [世界橋 遊貴子 , Sekaihashi Yūkiko]

Name meaning:

遊 (yū): "recreation," "fun," "game" (yes, this is a Yu-Gi-Oh reference)

貴 (ki): "valuable"

子 (ko) meaning "child"

世界 (sekai): "the world"

橋 (hashi): "bridge"

Age: 16 (first year)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: not really sure, possibly aromantic

Date of Birth: 29 September

Hobbies/Interests/Likes: reading and writing stories, watching YouTube, playing video games, sleeping, chocolate and cheese toast, fresh warm milk

Dislikes: anything foods that contains onions, spicy foods, swimming and vast water in general, study groups, changes in her schedule, harem and reverse harem anime

Personality:

At first glance, Yukiko is a cool-antisocial type of girl. She rarely talks to her classmate, never shows any emotions, and prefers to work alone, even during a group project. The small moments of her expressing herself are through a deadpan stare. She describes herself as the Tag-Along Kid. She is an observer who does not get involved nor expend much energy. She often sits back and watches others busy doing things. The way she observes causes her to never give of herself and, therefore, never receive either.

Behind that cold demeanor, Yukiko actually believes that she's pathetic because she never accomplishes anything great, is afraid to make mistakes and accept rejections, and doesn’t have a tragic backstory. She never does anything great in her life, because she's afraid to fail and disappointed those who actually care about her.

Yukiko goes through life doing as little as possible, quietly and expending little energy. You can count this as her being lazy as fuck, but sometimes doing things makes her exhausted in every way. She never has any goals in her life. She's a slow thinker, which made her feel left out. In school, she is the last student to understand the problem after a million tries, also being a slow writer and prefers to write in a long formula that she understands.

Her social life is no different. She has trouble making friends because she barely catches up with the conversation. She's lost in her own world, which made her look like an airhead and the resident cloudcuckoolander. She would often talk to herself in her head and sometimes slips into mumbling to herself. Sure, she will try to inspire others to do something but are not likely to personally get involved herself.

One thing good about Yukiko is that she is a patient girl and good at hiding her emotions. She's a calm girl who is not plagued with emotional outbursts, exaggerated feelings, anger, bitterness, or forgiveness. She believes that every people has a good side in them, including the worst people on the planet (way better than herself). Unfortunately, this made her trust people too fast and pretty gullible. But, it's hard for her to get attached to people, and often quickly forgets about them.

History:

Yukiko’s life before Twisted Wonderland is nothing special. She has loving parents and a little brother. She grows up normally, despite having trouble making friends, believing that she doesn’t need friends. 

She arrives in Twisted Wonderland in the most cliche way: by getting hit by a truck. She’s very disturbed that she’s the only girl here, rooted in her disdain of harem anime, but never expresses it. Now, her biggest plan is just to be a good girl, and don’t look for trouble, and maybe they'll leave her alone. She fully/stupidly trusts the headmaster will bring her back home. Even then, that often slips her mind because she spends too much time in this strange world.

By avoiding trouble, she really means avoiding the plot as much as she can. In Prologue, she can’t really do anything but get ropes in Ace, Deuce, and Grim’s adventure in the Dwarf’s mine. In Heartslabyul Arc, while she still helps in the tart making, she doesn’t really want to join the Heartslabyul Tea Party because she’s an outsider. In Savanaclaw, she’s pretty indifferent about the various star player incidents. In Octavinelle, she’s willing to leave Ace, Deuce, and Grim in Azul’s mercy because it’s their fault. In Scarabia, she doesn’t want to join the training camp. And in Pomefiore, while she’s willing to lend a place for the training, she isn’t really thrilled to be the manager. The only reason she’s even participating in the main plot is that Grim drags her in. 

[twistedapple]

On Pomefiore

[Note: Tumblr being Tumblr, I’ll put the links and due credits in a reblog; also, partially under the cut because it’s a bit long]

This post is something that has been brewing for a while now – my more observant followers will know when it started based on a certain tag. To preface this write up, I’d like to precise that I have been motivated in working on it because of the way Pomefiore was being received when I joined the fandom. Since then it has been followed by certain beliefs that – while being qualified as headcanons, which is perfectly fair and fine in itself – tend to be treated as actual gospel. It’s not a thing specific to the Twst fandom mind you, it happens in most fandoms – heck I still keep an eye on the KHR fandom and there are still people regularly making posts about mischaracterisation, and that fandom has been around for at least ten years. So I’m not here to preach, but to clarify a few things regarding what Pomefiore represents as a dorm, as well as provide a comprehensive commentary on its associated characters.

First belief: Pomefiore is the shallow dorm of pretty people.

But is it? The very first thing we learn about Pomefiore is that it’s the dorm of Hard Workers and other Overachievers, right in the prologue. This dorm is presented as built on the hard work of the Fair Queen, and she’s regularly taken as an example of how one should conduct oneself – especially by Vil, who expresses a lot of admiration and respect in his lesson chats, and clearly treats her as a model to follow in order to reach perfection.

Now you may think “but Crow, the very first thing we learn about the students is that they look impeccable and polish their appearance”. And you would be right; it is indeed how the students of that dorm are presented. However, let me expand a bit on this thought by making something clear: there’s what the dorm is defined as, and then there’s the path each dorm leader decides to follow. To give a few examples, we see Riddle follow the rules of the Queen of Heart to the letter, and dole out punishment whenever these rules are broken – to the point it impedes the students, who can’t use their magic in an environment where it is required. We see Leona applying the Might is Right type of thinking, which leads to Savanaclaw students being often depicted as bullies (and let’s not talk about the Magift tournament...). Azul, under the pretence of benevolence, is actually ruthless in the way he binds people to his contracts – it’s also shown that the Leech brothers act as his enforcers, either by forcing people into deals (during exam periods, as shown at the start of Episode 3) or by reclaiming the due payment of the contract in more or less pleasant ways (Jade being the local master manipulator, while Floyd canonically states that he finds the breaking of bones a more efficient method). Are you seeing where this is going? As a dorm leader, Vil applies his own views on his fellow Pomefiore students; his views happen to include appearances because he aims to be perfect in every way and has a professional background that justifies it. Is it fair to go as far as he is going when it comes to pressuring other students? Of course it isn’t, it’s the whole point of showing him slapping Epel for what he deems an inappropriate behaviour (see Epel’s Ceremonial Card). It sets the conflict of the dorm – and I personally dig how this major narrative bit is hidden in a story... Which brings us to the other point, the meta aspect of Pomefiore. It’s based on Snow White, a story that relies heavily... On appearances. Now let me ask you: is it really surprising to have a dorm based on such story have a focus on appearances as well? And we even get to see different aspects of it: Vil focuses on the tiniest details to be as polished as possible, Rook has a deep love for change and fleeting moments, Epel can turn something nobody wants into something highly desirable (carving damaged apples to sell them better). Pomefiore is the dorm of transformations – both literal and metaphorical -, a fascinating concept in my opinion and a brilliant idea for a solid narrative arc.

Second belief: Vil is a horrible, narcissistic person, but he will also play dress-up/makeup

Let’s sit for a second there, because there are many things to unpack. Now, what do we know about the fairest of all dorm leaders? Well, quite a lot, for someone who has yet to properly appear in the main story! The very first thing we learn about him is that he has a whooping 5 million followers on Magicam – which is massive and not a number you reach while sitting on your hands and waiting for something to happen. This is such an impressive number that we even get to see various reactions to it, from being very impressed to trying to use that fame for personal purposes. Through reading the stories in which he appears, we get to learn some interesting things about Vil: generally speaking, he fits perfectly the image of the consummate professional. In Jade’s SSR story, we get a solid peek into his life and the man has a busy schedule. He juggles daily with his duties as a student, a dorm leader, an influencer and a professional model – these things take time and he manages to go from one duty to the other with both the ease of someone who’s used to it and the precise organisation of someone with a solid head on his shoulders as well as an incredibly strong work ethic and drive. Speaking from personal experience with the modelling part and an informed opinion on the influencer part, these two fields alone aren’t easy to handle at all. Being an influencer can be very cutthroat (as a certain beauty community has been demonstrating since last year...), and being a professional model requires a lot of drive and dedication, as well as major self-care in regard to both your body and your mental health, because those are the tools of your trade as a model. In consequence, Vil as a dorm leader focuses on appearances as a result of heavy intellectual work to honour the Fair Queen he so highly respects (he says so in his voicelines: “True beauty is determined by strong intellect. You can always doctor your looks, but your true colors will still shine through right away.”), but Vil as a person is also extremely focused on his appearance because he’s doing his job. It’s not narcissism, it’s professionalism. And with his Ceremonial Robes story, we even get to learn that he was ostracised in his hometown for being a performer, yet he kept going and working to reach his goals. For someone who’s only 18 years old, this is an exceptional display of drive, discipline and maturity.

Vil has the highest standards for himself, but because he comes from pretty damn far, he also expects other people to be capable of showing the same degree of determination to achieve their goals. He expresses that in various ways, from being openly displeased with Leona’s general negligence (with Ruggie doing all the work in the background – see Leona’s school uniform story and Ruggie’s lab coat story), to being unimpressed by the new Pomefiore students and getting ready to whip them in a shape he’ll deem desirable as soon as he lays his eyes on them. He’s also highly critical of people going for the easy way out: in his school uniform story, he not only criticises Cater for trying to use him for his own five seconds of fame by buttering him up, but he also emphasises the fact that his services aren’t free. Emphasis on that: Vil isn’t a charity. He isn’t the sort of person with whom you’ll mutually brush your hair while sharing smoothie recipes. Rook is more likely to be the one up to that sort of thing, because Rook is nice and a good senior (see: Rook’s ceremonial robes story). Vil, on the other hand, encourages a lot to try and learn on your own, to use your own head in order to create your own brand (see his lab coat voicelines). He’ll be more enclined to help only after you started doing a part of the job independently and showed you can think and act for yourself. And even then, he’ll likely kick your ass to push you to keep up, because behind all the sparkles and lustre Vil is very much depicted as an overbearing Drill Sergeant. Like I pointed out earlier, it’s heavily hinted that he didn’t get where he is by waiting for good fortune to come by. He works for his success daily and expects other people to do the same. Does it seem like a rather unfair treatment? Sure, but at the same time it provides a great learning opportunity for those willing to put up with it, and Vil offers it in a surprisingly selfless manner: there is an open concern about the way people present themselves, and how they can do it to be their best self at all time.

Interestingly, it creates a peculiar dynamic with his vice dorm leader, Rook. There’s a constant sway between them, with Vil bluntly telling him he can be easily replaced if he fails in his duties, while still relying on him more than Rook relies on him in return – in fact, Rook pretty much follows his own path, and Vil happens to be a very nice view along that path so Rook decided to stop and hang out for a bit, but he still checks his surroundings for other nice views. So while Rook puts up with Vil’s tight requirements (see Rook’s ceremonial robes story, where Floyd cleverly observes that he doesn’t seem that fond of the perfume Vil created for him and forces him to wear during ceremonies), he’s also the one taking actual charge of the new students (see when he checks on Epel in his ceremonial robes story, or when he offers his support during the Ghost Marriage event) and trying to smooth things out when Vil is being too rough (see Vil’s ceremonial robes story). Interestingly, it leads to a communication issue between these two, fueled by what looks very much like a unilateral dependant relationship on Vil’s part, no matter how much he denies it. He rejects Rook through threats of replacing him, yet fully trusts his eyes and sincerity, yet this very sincerity is the reason why Vil doesn’t fully open up to Rook (see Vil’s lab coat story, he goes to Trey to vent about Rook’s lack of consideration) and uses a Harsh Commanding Queen attitude to hide his own insecurities from the eyes of the person who can see them best. It’s likely not helped by the fact that Vil is aware that he needs Rook more than Rook needs him – it’s obvious when reading the latter’s profile: Rook likes his privacy, and while he keeps putting his nose in other people’s business (not out of malice, but genuine curiosity), he’s notoriously deemed annoying by characters like Leona and Malleus because of his overly curious yet inconsiderate nature. There’s a selfishness in Rook which protects him from getting fully controlled by Vil, I’ll repeat myself here but I’d rather insist on that: Rook willingly decided to follow Vil, it means he has the power to refuse him as well (which is very much like... Oh, the Huntsman in Snow White – though in his case specifically, there’s also variations in which his family is held hostage and all, while Rook makes his own decisions).

This entire situation is heavily fueled by Vil’s need for control. As aforementioned, he focuses on the tiniest details and holds complete control over everything that makes his life what it is: from the type of makeup he picks to every single component used in the meals he prepares himself, Vil has a clear need for full control, and it’s reflected in the way he interacts with other students, as well as in the way he handles even his club activities. Vil isn’t just a model, influencer and even actor, in the film study club he works as a director and in one of his stories (lab coat), he’s even shown to create the special effects himself, because only he can provide for his own desires in the most exact fashion. This is where his little “I can replace you easily” becomes funny, because it translates his need for control without really holding since Rook is the one with the most agency in the relationship. In comparison, in Silver’s PE uniform story, Silver is treated like a pawn and Vil even berates Malleus in front of him because Silver dares deny him (how dare he have his own agency instead of being a nice prop who should feel honoured to be selected). Interestingly, Silver also compares Vil’s way of doing things to something martial. AhemDrillSergeantVilahem. In this story, the interesting point is that things finally start working well when Vil stops considering his own vision and decides to look beyond it a bit: taking Silver’s actual abilities into consideration, he finally has a scene that works. It works because he loosened the control a bit – while Silver went along with it but remained vocal the whole time about where his own skills lie.

While the relationship between Vil and Rook, as well as Vil and the rest of the Pomefiore dorm, have been holding through a quietly tense status quo, there is one pebble - dare I say, one potato - who is more than willing to challenge the whole situation through open defiance and a strong will: Epel. He has been set by the narration to be the catalyst to an incoming breaking point, because he wants to live his life to the beat of his own drum, yet remains a teen still in need of a journey of self-discovery. It’s illustrated in how he misunderstands the point of Pomefiore by only looking at the surface - something Vil reproaches, which is why he even talks about his need for more self-awareness in the lesson chats. Of course, Vil uses his own language (beauty) to get his point across, but the underlying point is that Epel has yet to reach a certain degree of self-realisation - such as the fact he is free to try and work hard to become beefier (Vil wouldn’t object as long as he puts in the necessary efforts), or that he is a good fit in Pomefiore because he has the drive to reach his goals and gives himself the means to do so (high awareness, anyone?). Basically, he’s the example of Vil’s communication issues: Vil’s martial nature tends to drown the actual meaning of his motivational speeches. Paradoxically, when dealing with someone like Epel, it actually fuels the teen through spite, which is both comical and quite impressive given Epel’s results (reminder of his own lab coat story, in which he manages to impress Crewel, a man made from the same fabric as Vil, with his formidable results through hard work). However, this form of motivation isn’t healthy, and just like with Rook, a good, long talk is needed to create a better understanding - instead of forcing his Tyranny of Beauty on others.

Bonus point, because I really want to address it

For some time now, I’ve been vocal about my personal feelings regarding the reception of Pomefiore and its characters. While it became more positive since June, it still tends to miss the point for a reason I’d like to address: the Not Like The Other Girls mentality and how it specifically affects the way Vil and his own femininity are perceived.

While I am not invalidating this thinking as part of a larger growth process, I think it has been unfairly used against Pomefiore. In a way, it’s very much the way Epel reacts: it’s just a Pretty People Dorm led by an Annoying Pretty Boy, and Savanaclaw is cooler. However, this is not only superficial, it puts a judgement of value that means that one has to be put down for the other to shine. In other words, Vil as a character is undervalued because his way of life - which matches traditionally feminine occupations, hell he’s even using a feminine pronoun - has been associated with vanity, narcissism, and superficiality by the fandom. To get my point across, let me provide you with quotes from some of our most brilliant minds:

“Woman wants to be independent […] this is one of the worst developments in the general uglification of Europe. Woman has so much reason for shame; in woman there is concealed so much superficiality, petty presumption and petty immodesty – one needs only to study her behaviour with children!” - Nietzsche

“What is truth to a woman? From the very first nothing has been more alien, repugnant, inimical to woman than truth - her great art is the lie, her supreme concern is appearance and beauty” - Nietzsche (again)

“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.” - Oscar Wilde 

“All the pursuits of men are the pursuits of women also, but in all of them a woman is inferior to a man.” - Plato

“As regards the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject” - Aristotle

Do you see where I’m going with that? Because he has an occupation focused on appearance, something historically associated with women, Vil should be… Less? Should be negative? Even though he is quite vocal about it being a mere result of a much deeper work on himself, throughout his voicelines, lesson chats and personal stories? It’s not vanity, it’s not narcissism. It’s Vil expressing himself through the age old art forms of fashion, skincare and makeup. How, and why it being focused on something external should be less? It’s especially obvious when you stop and consider Vil’s own testimony: he has been ostracized by his own community for being a performer. His appearance is as much a mask as it is a proof of everything that preceded it – him saving himself with his own means and work. It’s both a protection and a result that he proudly brandishes – and he absolutely can afford the arrogance to do so, considering his achievements at such a young age (reminder, again, that he’s 18 years old, despite being very disillusioned with life already). Why should it be less that? Vil’s inclination towards appearances is both his truth and his fiction, that’s what the narrative tells us - and there’s nothing bad about that.

I guess I’m especially tired of this point because I’ve had to deal with that thinking pattern myself irl, for evolving in similar fields/similar hobbies, and it’s frustrating to see that sort of close mindedness. It’s infuriating. So, that’s a more personal aspect of my rant... But here we are.

[thelazyhermits]

Gonna talk about ADeuce and my Yuu underneath the cut

So y'all know how I once said in a fic A/N that I couldn't really see my Yuu ending up with any of the first years except for possibly Jack or Sebek?

Well, since writing for Twst Halloween, I've been thinking more about the ADeuYuu dynamic, which is making me reconsider what I had first said.

Up until that point, because of my Jack & Sebek bias, I hadn't really been giving a lot of thought to ADeuce, even though I love them and their relationship with Yuu. There's just no competing my love for Jack and Sebek lol 😂

But, despite my strong bias, I have been thinking more about ADeuce as of late, and I've come to a realization:

There are probably no boys that are more smitten with Yuu than Ace and Deuce lol

Like, I'm not saying they're in love with her, but at the same time, I'm not saying they're not in love with her either.

The more time I spend thinking about them and writing scenes with them, I'm just like, "Damn, these two are crazy about Yuu." lol 😂

It makes sense though, especially in Ace's case, since there's plenty of game content that supports his attachment to Yuu. Hell, the newest Halloween event is like a AceYuu date at one point lol

In the case of my Yuu, Ace wasn't too fond of her at first cause it pissed him off that this magicless kid got involved in the entrance ceremony and is allowed on campus despite how hard he worked to get into the school. (Which is apparently how he feels about Yuu according to what I've seen of the first light novel.)

However, after the incident at the Dwarfs' Mine, Ace becomes more interested in her since there's clearly more than meets the eye to her, although there was some reluctancy on his end cause of what happened with his ex-girlfriend which had made him originally plan on avoiding dealing with girls so he could just hang out with guy friends instead.

His curiosity won out in the end, though, cause it bugged him that he couldn't get a good, solid read on Yuu.

Plus, Yuu, albeit somewhat reluctantly, agrees to help Ace with the situation with Riddle that happens soon after the Prologue, so the events of Book 1 lead to him warming up to her and that's why he gets angry enough to punch Riddle on her behalf like what happens in canon.

If asked about his relationship with Yuu and the others, Ace would make the excuse that Yuu and the others are always following him around, and he's got no other choice but to put up with them since they're all in the same class, but that's a total lie lol

Ace, like Deuce, sticks with Yuu because he wants to. At first, it was to satisfy his curiosity about her, but it didn't take long for the main reason to be because he got genuinely attached to her.

He likes that it's never boring with Yuu and that she can give as good as she gets whenever he messes with her. He loves getting her riled up.

But rather than just cause he finds her reactions funny, it's mostly cause he likes having her undivided attention.

Ace was totally the kid that pulled the pigtails of girls that he liked when he was younger lol 😂

While I've said before that Deuce is one of the most overprotective of Yuu's sons, Ace is one of the most possessive, along with Grim lol

That's why Ace will get all sulky/annoyed if Yuu gives too much of her attention to anyone else. He's like a cat in that he'll make sure his displeasure is known and if he wants attention he'll make sure to get it, much to Yuu's exasperation/amusement.

That said, Ace doesn't mind if his time spent with Yuu is shared with Deuce, although Ace doesn't necessarily hate sharing his time with Yuu with her other sons. He's just less likely to complain if it's Deuce who's with them since they're both on the same wavelength when it comes to Yuu.

Moving onto Deuce, he quickly becomes attached to Yuu after he finds out that she also got into a lot of fights in the past and is trying to turn over a new leaf at NRC, like him.

While Ace became smitten with Yuu over time, Deuce got smitten early on since she really won him over when she comforted him during that shopping trip and assured him that his mother would be proud of the man he's becoming. His feelings just got stronger the closer he became to Yuu since she's always so supportive of him.

Deuce has no idea just how smitten he is. He just thinks this is normal for best friends lol

He's the biggest sweetheart when Yuu is concerned. In direct contrast to Ace, Deuce is always trying to be helpful to her since she's always supporting him, and he's pretty much always the first person who jumps to her defense.

Deuce thinks really highly of Yuu cause of how hard she works at school and with her part-time jobs and how she's able to earn the respect of the most powerful students at NRC.

He thinks it's amazing how patient she is with him when they do homework together and admires how smart she is.

Honestly, if any one person is considered a Yuu simp, it's probably Deuce 😂

Of course, Deuce will still get upset with Yuu for being reckless, like what happens at the end of Book 6 when everyone gets back from Styx, cause he cares so much about her and doesn't want anything to happen to her.

But Deuce could never get seriously mad at her and lose his temper cause he'd be worried about scaring her if he went full delinquent mode on her. (He has nothing to worry about. Yuu could never be scared of Deuce.)

The ADeuYuu dynamic is so good since these boys are crazy about Yuu and would drop everything for her, and Yuu equally adores them since these are her best friends, two of the first friends she ever made, and they've been with her since the beginning and have never left her side, which means a lot to a girl who, in the past, was always alone.

So just expect more of that in my writing since, while I still love Jack and Sebek the most, ADeuce have successfully wormed their way into the spotlight, so I intend to make sure to give them more love haha