#ramshackle recruitment au

[twstunes]

(makes an au, forgets about it, abruptly remembers it, writes nearly 4k words about it)

Ramshackle Recruitment AU – from the outside in

Normally, transferring dorms at NRC requires redoing the dorm assignment ceremony. Transferring to Ramshackle dorm, however, only requires filling out some paperwork and getting approval from the Headmage. Sure, there’s still the matter of cleaning up a room to live in and getting all their stuff moved over, but it’s a much easier transfer process in comparison to the other dorms.

So, how do the other dorms feel about all this? Or, better yet: how do the housewardens react?

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Characters: all Housewardens (+ Jamil & Ortho cameos)

Notes: gn Yuu

Warnings: some spoilers for the main story

Riddle Rosehearts originally pays the matter no attention. Who in their right mind would transfer to Ramshackle? The building is dusty and decrepit, the surrounding grounds are a mess, and the so-called ‘housewarden’ can’t even use magic. Clearly Heartslabyul is the superior choice through and through, especially under his skilled leadership. Those few that decided to leave during the recent Unbirthday Party would come crawling back soon enough, and he would dole out the appropriate punishments for such insubordinate behavior.

…of course, then he catches some of his dormmates talking about transferring as well. It’s obvious that they’re just joking around, but when one of them laughs about “getting out from under that half-pint’s thumb,” Riddle sets a new record for how fast his face can go scarlet. The students involved—and even a few who just happened to be nearby at the time—are collared and assigned a 10,000 word essay on the history of Heartslabyul. They obviously don’t realize how lucky they are to have been assigned to his dorm if they’re making wisecracks like that! Riddle throws such a fit that the whole dorm winds up aware of what happened, which inadvertently causes a number of students to seriously consider transferring.

After his overblot, Riddle is…a smidge more calm about things. He’s still not happy that someone would want to transfer out of Heartslabyul, and still feels that it reflects poorly on him as housewarden. Anyone wishing to transfer to Ramshackle will have to explain their reasoning for doing so, just in case it’s due to a problem that can be easily fixed.

Riddle checks in with Yuu regularly to ask how the Heartslabyul expats are doing, if they’re following the (Ramshackle dorm) rules, so on and so forth. He also asks after Yuu themself, wanting to know how they’re faring as both a freshman and a new housewarden. Having embarrassed himself so thoroughly early on in their acquaintanceship, he really wants to rehab their view of him into something more like “a reliable upperclassman.”

However. There’s one thing he refuses to let go, and it’s the fact that Ramshackle has no ‘official’ dorm uniform. Changing their school uniform is as simple as switching out vests and ribbons, but how are students meant to present themselves during formal events?! No, they can’t just wear their ceremonial robes for everything! He’s absolutely going to keep badgering Yuu about this until they come up with a satisfactory solution.

General Heartslabyul reaction: As previously alluded to, “running off to join Ramshackle” becomes a running not-so-joke in the dorm, especially among freshmen who keep getting collared left and right. For all the talk, though, a lot of them choose to stick it out in Heartslabyul anyway—it’s just nice to know the option is there. Those who do follow through on transferring might face some light jeering from their peers, but there’s rarely any legitimate ill will involved. Transfers are more worried about how Riddle will react to the news. Prior to his overblot, he’s liable to forbid them from setting foot in Heartslabyul ever again. Afterwards, he’s just…kind of overbearing, which can make interacting with him awkward.

It’s all fun and games to Leona Kingscholar until someone transfers from Savanaclaw, which has him spending roughly the next hour or so being noticeably agitated. And then he gets over it.

Sure, he’s not pleased that someone from his dorm would rather cast their lot with the dilapidated, rickety dorm being run by a total rookie…but so long as the outgoing student isn’t mouthing off, it’s no skin off his back. The situation as a whole is too funny for him to resent for long. Some frosh poaching students from Heartslabyul, right in front of Riddle, just to irritate the guy? Priceless. Crowley not even knowing until it was too late to break up the dorm? Comedy gold. Watching Riddle and Vil get worked up over ‘losing’ students to Ramshackle? That’s what they get for constantly upbraiding their dormmates. It’s a free fireworks show to him.

Truthfully, he expects Yuu to crash and burn within the first month of playing at being a housewarden. As fun as it is to watch them get under Riddle’s skin, their lack of planning is painfully obvious. A bold opening move isn’t worth much without a good strategy to capitalize on it with. Plus, being a magicless student at a mage academy, Yuu doesn’t exactly command respect from their peers; as the threat Riddle posed starts to fade, it’ll be hard for them to keep their newfound dormmates under control.

After his overblot, when it becomes apparent that Ramshackle dorm isn’t going under anytime soon, Leona can admit to being a little impressed. There must be more to Yuu than meets the eye if they’re still holding their own as housewarden, especially after dealing with two overblots in just as many months.

That doesn’t mean he has any intention of going out of his way to help out, of course, and he’s happy to remind Yuu of that as needed. He has his own agenda to attend to, even if a solid chunk of it consists of lazing about. But if someone happens to harass another student for being in Ramshackle, and it just so happens to disturb his sleep…well, it’s on the harasser for not being more aware of their surroundings. Sloppy work on their part.

Speaking of his naps, he’s fairly consistent about taking up real estate on the Ramshackle common room’s couch. He’s been using it as a secret nap spot for years now, and he’s not about to give it up. All the other housewardens are liable to invite themselves over to Ramshackle for one reason or another, anyway, so he hardly sees why this should be a problem. And hey, would you look at that! The place is a lot less dusty nowadays. Thanks, herbivores.

General Savanaclaw reaction: Savanaclaw’s treatment of Ramshackle transfers can range from “playful heckling” to “active ostracization.” Even if a Ramshackle-bound student is well-liked by their peers staying behind in Savanaclaw, there’s a good reason the latter dorm is often seen alongside the term ‘pack mentality.’ Once someone is out, they’re out—not just from the dorm, but from the various social groups within it as well. That said, even the meaner ones mellow out after the first time Leona gets on someone for hassling Ramshackle students. If their housewarden isn’t cool with it, then they should probably lay off…

For expectedly capitalist reasons, Azul Ashengrotto is greatly frustrated by these proceedings. Normally, a “for so long as the signatory is a resident of [insert dorm here]” clause is good enough to keep contractees firmly under his thumb for the rest of their stay at NRC. Does Yuu even realize how many Deals he has to go and re-negotiate now?? He supposes this is what he gets for thinking he could get away with not being as thorough as possible with each contract. He likely approaches Yuu to discuss the matter directly, especially if students start trying to change dorms just to render their contracts null. Of course, his version of “discussing the issue” feels, looks, and sounds a lot more like “trying to lure the Prefect into a Deal where they’re required to reject any Ramshackle applicant who has a standing contract.”

Apart from that whole headache, he’s incredibly calm about students transferring out from Octavinelle. Far be it from him, a model businessman, to discourage a fellow enterprising spirit! To tell the truth, he’s less interested in the transfers themselves and more interested in whatever Yuu is up to. Propping themself up as a housewarden despite having neither experience nor magic, getting Crowley to agree to a dorm transfer process leagues easier than the normal method, accepting just about any applicant who wants to join Ramshackle…why, NRC’s newest housewarden might be just as ambitious as himself! Post-overblot, he makes sure to notify them that even with his Deals business cut down at the knees, he’s still happy to lend a listening ear (or a helping hand) to any poor souls in need!

…which is to say, he’s getting antsy waiting for Yuu to actually do something with all the clout they’ve been accumulating. Even trying to open a competing café would make more sense than just…going about normal housewarden duties. But they have to be after something, right? It wouldn’t make sense to engineer such a perfect “rise to power” otherwise, even if it all seemed to have begun as just a way to spite Riddle. Being stuck watching and waiting like this is going to drive him nuts. To make matters worse, Floyd keeps whining that he’s going to run off to join Ramshackle dorm whenever he especially doesn’t feel like working at the Lounge. (It was funny the first couple times, admittedly, but now it’s just annoying.)

General Octavinelle reaction: The students of Octavinelle dorm might hold respect for their housewarden, but it’s also incredibly funny to watch him be inconvenienced like this. Most of them aren’t afflicted by the capitalist brain fungus Azul has going on, so they don’t see Ramshackle dorm as much more than Yuu trying to make the best of an exceedingly strange situation. The only time students from this dorm will cause a fuss about Ramshackle transfers is if they cause Mostro Lounge to be short-staffed for a shift. Azul is quick to set a rule that no one is allowed to transfer out of Octavinelle on days they’re scheduled to work.

Kalim Al-Asim is, for all intents and purposes, perfectly okay with everything! It’s sad to see people from his dorm leave, sure, and– okay, maybe it causes the people-pleasing part of his brain to itch and wonder if he’d upset them somehow, or if they don’t like him anymore or if he needs to apologize or– well, he’s fine! Really! None of that is gonna stop him from wishing them well! And besides, they’re just changing dorms. It isn’t like he’ll never see them again.

Unlike Riddle, he doesn’t check in with Yuu about how ex-Scarabia students are doing over at Ramshackle. Social butterfly that he is, he just goes and talks to them directly! He also checks in less than Riddle, though that might be because he occasionally forgets just who exactly has transferred…

Of the housewardens, Kalim is the most supportive of Yuu from the get-go, even if a lot of his support involves him delegating to Jamil in one way or another. Fortunately, as the eldest brother out of 30 kids, his Big Bro Instincts are sharp—he’s genuinely a good person for Yuu to go to if they start feeling lonely, homesick, or overwhelmed by housewarden duties. It’s amazing how much a magic carpet ride and a good talk can do!

He suggests throwing a party in celebration of the new dorm as soon as he hears about it, but Jamil is quick to talk him out of the idea. Better to save the celebrating for when (and if) Ramshackle is officially added to the lineup, rather than when it’s just Yuu, Grim, and the Heartslabyul expats squatting in a dusty old building. (And rather than when Riddle is still fuming over being ‘betrayed’ by his former dormmates. Jamil swears he could hear the guy shrieking “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD” all the way from Scarabia…)

Following Jamil’s overblot, Kalim tones down his “Jamil can help!” version of support in favor of helping out personally. Or, well, trying to help. Even for an upfront guy like him, it’s a little embarrassing to admit that he often finds himself floundering to figure out what he’s supposed to do as housewarden. He got the title dumped in his lap pretty much out of the blue, after all. From the looks of things, Yuu didn’t really plan to take on such an important role either…sooo, it’s the perfect opportunity to learn from each other!

Kalim’s probably the reason Ramshackle gets proper uniforms lbr. He feels bad that Yuu and Grim got pulled into the Scarabia mess (during vacation no less!), so he wants to make it up to them somehow. When Grim complains about how his bow got damaged during the overblot fight, it clicks—he could get Ramshackle dorm some nice uniforms done up, no problem! It’d be one less thing for Yuu to worry about, AND it would be a nice “welcome back” surprise for when the rest of the Ramshackle students return from winter break! He already has his personal tailors on standby when he pitches the idea to Yuu. (He completely forgets to run the idea by Crowley, but in his defense, the headmage isn’t answering his phone anyway.)

General Scarabia reaction: Out of all the dorms, Scarabia is the most friendly in their treatment towards Ramshackle transfers. Since Kalim is housewarden, there will almost invariably be going-away parties for the transferring students—this unintentionally causes Scarabia to have a more favorable view of the process than other dorms. They might not really understand why someone would want to transfer out of Scarabia (especially not to a dorm as dingy as Ramshackle), but hey, it’s their prerogative to do so.

Vil Schoenheit finds the situation laughable right up until someone actually tries to leave Pomefiore for Ramshackle, upon which he finds it pitiful. They want to leave Pomefiore—prestigious, comfortable, tidy Pomefiore, with all the amenities a student could need and its own private lab—for a run-down wreck of a dorm??

Later, he quietly kicks himself for not seeing this coming. He’s in charge of the Film Studies Club, for crying out loud; he should KNOW how attention-hungry his dormmates can get, chasing the spotlight whenever it presents itself. What better way to stand out than to surround themselves with less stylish peers, all while taking part in a sensational addition to the dorm lineup? It’s a cheap trick to boost their image, certainly, and Vil makes sure to give a stern lecture to anyone he catches entertaining the thought. (“Fame is earned through hard work and perseverance, not by making oneself the crown jewel of a garbage heap.”)

During his stay leading up to the SDC, he’s pleasantly surprised by the conditions at Ramshackle. Much of the building still needs patching up, and it’s very basic in terms of aesthetics, but it’s at least cleaner than he thought it would be. The other students living there seem to be doing well for themselves, too, even if all the dust has done nothing for their skin. He’s not going to say anything about it himself (at least not when he’s busy stressing out over the SDC team’s training), but Rook will probably let it slip to Yuu that Vil is impressed with how well they’re handling Ramshackle dorm.

After his overblot, Vil is…still fairly critical of both Ramshackle and its housewarden, but less disparaging overall. He can see now that he was wrong to dismiss the dorm so quickly, comparing it to an uncut gem: in need of refinement, but no less valuable for it. He’s far too busy with his own housewarden duties, modeling/acting work, and running the Film Studies Club to make it his sole mission, but he still finds the time to nag advise Yuu about their skincare, clothing care, etc. As a housewarden, they’re among the best NRC has to show to the world; they need to present themselves accordingly.

(Needless to say, Vil is holding Epel back by the scruff of the neck. If he has to become a one-man PR team for Harveston to keep this feral country boy in Pomefiore, he will.)

General Pomefiore reaction: Most Pomefiore students aren’t quiet in their contempt for their former dormmates, even if they do offer praise for “bringing a higher standard of beauty” to Ramshackle. A number of them combine their condescension with genuine concern, though, reminding the transfers that they can always come back to Pomefiore if things don’t work out. There’s no shame in admitting they made the wrong choice, after all! (…well. Maybe a little shame.)

Idia Shroud is a little baffled by the whole concept, but otherwise the most neutral of the housewardens. Sure, he briefly considers changing over to Ramshackle to escape being housewarden, but…ehhh. The fact he’d be dealing with a bunch of outgoing normies is a dealbreaker. Better to stay in Ignihyde with its unmatched Wi-fi and folks who understand his reclusive, nerdy ways. Housewarden is a pretty cool title anyway, even if its required questline is a pain sometimes.

He is a bit worried that students transferring from Ignihyde might reflect poorly on him as a housewarden, but…nah he actually couldn’t care less. Big “wow, that’s wild. GLHF tho” energy. He makes a token effort of calming Azul down whenever the guy works himself into a tizzy trying to figure out what Yuu is “angling for”—it’s pretty obvious (to him) that they’re just collecting allied units to help mitigate any plot-mandated threats that come their way. It’s not like they have any magic of their own to work with, so this is the next best thing.

The dread only sets in when Azul points out that Crowley will probably ask Idia to make sure Ramshackle is covered by the school’s security system sometime soon. It’d be cheaper than hiring a licensed electrician, and Idia wouldn’t really be able to deny the request, seeing as his shut-in behavior is only being allowed in exchange for him personally seeing to NRC’s security…man, what a pain. Getting scans of the building layout and planning where to put what would be a cinch, but just thinking about dealing with whatever nightmare wiring situation Ramshackle has going on sends his blood pressure skyrocketing. Maybe if he doesn’t say anything, it’ll slip the Headmage’s mind…

Post-overblot, Idia is fairly determined to never show his face around Ramshackle dorm, ever. Hepta team caused a lot of damage while capturing Vil and Jamil, and more than a few students got hurt in the process. AND they kidnapped Grim! Everything gets fixed up in the end, but most of the dorm is still justifiably unhappy with Idia.

Though he cautions Ortho against going over too frequently, Ortho doesn’t share the same reservations as his brother. He even volunteers them both to help do more renovations to the dorm! In-person, at that! Between getting the Wi-fi set up, improving the heating & AC, and replacing/repairing various kitchen appliances, Idia just barely manages to redeem himself in the eyes of most Ramshackle residents. He can feel his soul dying through every second of social contact.

At least Ramshackle no longer has wiring problems?

General Ignihyde reaction: Students from Ignihyde rarely consider changing dorms at all, so when someone does decide to take the plunge and transfer to Ramshackle, it’s a surprise to the whole dorm. Some students lament that they’re losing a fellow geek to The Normies™, some make bets on how long they’ll last before they come running back to Ignihyde, but most return to doing their own thing after the shock wears off. Those closer to the outgoing student might put together an Ignihyde-style going-away party—that is, they play video games together in the same room and eat snacks. The roughest part of the transition is being removed from the Ignihyde groupchat.

(Note: this is being written prior to the eng release of the Diasomnia arc and I am fighting for my life to not witness any spoilers)

Malleus Draconia finds himself growing increasingly amused the more he hears about Ramshackle dorm. His favorite abandoned building is certainly going through a metamorphosis, isn’t it? And he somehow stumbled into a friendship with the new housewarden, too…this year is proving to be an interesting one.

Like Leona, it doesn’t matter much to him if students from his dorm leave for Ramshackle, so long as they’re not badmouthing Diasomnia in the process. The only ones he would notice the absence of are those who would never transfer to begin with. He doesn’t make a point of checking in on former Diasomnia students, though he may ask how they’re settling in if he happens to encounter them—which is a much more likely scenario than they realize!

It quickly becomes a running joke that the Diasomnia transfers never really leave Diasomnia, considering how often they run into Malleus over at Ramshackle. They probably see him more frequently now than when they were still in his dorm, actually! When asked about it, he explains that housewarden Yuu was kind enough to extend him a standing invitation to visit the dorm as he pleases. Who is he to turn down such a gracious offer? (Also, it’s funny how awkward some of his former dormmates get upon spotting him.)

(He’s also a little smug whenever someone asks “What brings you here?” and he gets to respond with “I was invited.” Especially if it’s another housewarden. And especially if the other housewarden showed up without an invitation at all. Which is most of them, most of the time.)

As fond as Malleus was of the old, abandoned Ramshackle building, he finds he enjoys this new version of it as well. Maybe even more so. The lively bustle of dorm life fills up the structure now, some amount of sound seeping in from around every corner. Even at night, the hush that pervades the halls is gentle—a far cry from the suffocating, empty silence of before. The restoration work is tasteful, too, preserving the original aesthetics and architectural style while making the whole deal more habitable. And, thanks to Yuu and Grim’s combined influence, the students there are much less timid about approaching him than the rest of NRC. All of this change, compacted into such a short timespan…

…it’s odd. For some reason, recalling how deserted Ramshackle used to be makes his chest hurt.

He winds up with much to think about during his nightly walks.

General Diasomnia reaction: Despite their housewarden being perfectly fine with people transferring out, the idea of someone “defecting” leaves a sour taste in the mouths of most Diasomnia students. Unless a transfer happens to be especially well-liked, they can expect to be treated rather coldly by their former dormmates. Fortunately, this behavior lessens as the bizarreness of transferring to Ramshackle wears off—and especially after it comes out that Malleus considers Yuu a friend. (Some of them still cause a fuss, of course.) (By which I mean Sebek.)

[yuri-is-online]

Traditional fantasy isekai au where:

Yuu is isekaid to Twisted Wonderland as a child, in a setting that's hundreds of years before the main game, and is adopted by a family there. Maybe Grim is a normal cat that came with them and gained the ability to talk and do magic out of a desire to protect his best friend. They grow up and train as a soldier of some sort out of gratitude to their adoptive parents to protect them, eventually leaving their place with Grim in search of adventure depending on where they landed:

City of Flowers! Yuu who was raised by the people who lived in the Court of Miracles and wants to get a job with the city guard to help fight for the rights of their adoptive home. They're helped by a friend they made as a child, the son of well respected parents who came to heavily rely on Yuu after the loss of his younger brother. Now a well respected legal student with his eye on a judge's seat, Rollo is hiding a deadly secret: he is a powerful mage and you are one of the only people who knows. He's also desperately in love with you and at real risk of going insane if something bad happens to the one good thing he has left in his life.

Land of Dawning! Yuu who hunts monsters along the coast line and finds a badly beaten merfolk on the beach and patches him up without a single thought. The man scolds them when he wakes, wondering why Yuu is so unafraid of what he could do to them now that he's awake only to be met with a shrug and a warning that poachers much less kind than Yuu are in the area who see non typical mer such as himself as monsters. Yuu happens to have a bounty for them. Oya? Jade says he's quite aware of that and what's more, they have his brother and a dear friend. Won't you continue to assist this poor, unfortunate soul in rescuing the only family he has left in this world? He doesn't have anything to pay you with. Something about his attitude makes you roll your eyes but so long as you don't have to split the bounty four ways you say you'll help. Pleasure doing business with you he says, and you both go to sleep that night confident you won't get attached to the other at all by the time the job's done.

Clock Town! Yuu who used to be picked on for not having any magic by the delinquent gangs only to find themselves in a party with one of the worst of the worst torn between being hurt Deuce doesn't remember making fun of them or impressed with how determined he is to turn his life around vs Deuce who absolutely remembers but has no idea how to appropriately apologize so he just makes it his mission to bring you home from every mission unscathed, even if it's at the cost of his own health. He swears he'll say it eventually, he just needs to find a way to not make an ass of himself by saying something stupid like he loves you.

Farm Kid! Yuu who gets recruited by Ace for his party because he literally can't get anyone other than you and Deuce and ends up being the glue that holds it together. Ace is dumbfounded as he watches you successfully recruit Jack, Epel, Ortho, and even Sebek without much trouble and hates himself for ever thinking about abandoning you as soon as he got better party members. Yuu who knows that's what he wanted to do from the start and resigns themselves to him leaving when Riddle makes his offer only for Ace to stay with Ramshackle Party because he's "too busy looking after them" to be a card soldier, hiding the burns on his hands from when he punched the Arch Mage for insulting you. He can surpass Riddle's party on his own any day.

[eastons-creations]

My ultimate fic recs

Made a poll and a lot of people said they would want this sooo here we are! These are the best fics I’ve read (: The og post

Top 3

1- To Be Alone With You By Shay_Fae

In the summer of their sixth year, Remus Lupin tried to kill himself.

2- Something Just Like This By shadow_prince

a fake dating modern AU where Sirius has been telling Mrs. Potter he's dating someone for 9 months and she demands his "boyfriend" comes on their family vacation. Queue: shenanigans between wolfstar and jily as they lie their asses off.

3- Text Talk By merlywhirls

Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number.

Other recs bellow break (in no order)

Wading in waist high water By colgatebluemintygel

Remus is a PhD student and hobbyist baker who finds himself adrift following his father’s death. On a whim, he enters the Great British Bake Off and is swept up in a flurry of curdled custard, shrunken souffle, and under-proved dough. Remus expects to be challenged and to embarrass himself on public television. What he doesn’t account for are the friendships he develops with the other contestants and the deep connection he forms with his teenage crush, Sirius Black: charming ex-boy band member and Bake Off host

Beneath a big blue sky by @eyra

The four-by-four heaves its way down long, twisting lanes, little more than dirt tracks scuffed into the surrounding fields and hemmed in by serpentine walls of flat, grey stone. They truly are in the middle of nowhere: the countryside rushes past, all rolling green hills and vast, endless skies, and it's odious. Sirius wants to murder James with his bare hands. Sirius and James accidentally find themselves on a Yorkshire farm during lambing season. The farmer’s son thinks that’s a bit annoying, actually.

A brief history of dragons by @eyra

It's lovely up here; all meadows dotted with wildflowers, wind-beaten tracks criss-crossing this way and that through the fields, weaving inland to the pinewoods. The sun's hot on his back as he passes ramshackle stone walls, long since crumbled to piles of ancient rubble and scree, and then the path winds downwards, still following the line of the coast until Sirius finds himself outside an old white cottage, tucked away behind the hill with a rose garden that faces out to the sea. Sirius moves to Cornwall for the summer and meets a rude, beautiful boy who is writing a book that may or may not be about dragons

Let’s play pretend by MsAlexWP

After James and Lily died, Sirius Black's therapist told him not to date for a year. And that's just as well. He's got a 13-month-old baby now and quite enough to deal with, thanks. But the nosy neighbors in his building keep trying to set him up and won't take no for an answer. Enter Remus Lupin, another single dad who pretends to be Sirius's boyfriend, just to get the old lady brigade off his back and nothing more. Nothing more at all.

Forever in a state of mind by orphan_account

Deaf Dance Choreographer, Remus Lupin, has a simple life. Working, taking care of his son, and running his YouTube sign channel. When he unwittingly becomes involved with Deaf Pride Activist, Fleamont Potter, he doesn't realise how much his life will change. Especially after he meets YouTube star and makeup artist, Sirius Black.

Sugar rush by Stricklymarauders

James, Sirius, Peter, and Dorcas have been best friends for years and are starting their senior year of highschool. To Sirius' dismay he doesn't have any friends in his history class, but after eventually showing up, he finds he sits next to a tall curly hair boy who takes his breath away, Remus Lupin. He decided right then and there that he must make this boy fall in love with him and recruits James to be his wingman, until James is distracted by Remus' best friend with a personality as fiery has her hair, Lily Evans.

Dating Remus lupin by Children_of_the_Shadow

Remus Lupin is a mystery to the whole school; the boy who's quiet, aloof, and cold. He also happens to be queer, which is enough to gain Sirius's interest. What Sirius never realised that dating Remus Lupin wasn't quite as easy as it looked.

Blends by rvltn909

Words got in the way sometimes, but Remus got the sense Sirius knew what he was trying to say. Another coffee shop au.

Camp Casanova by Farquad

All lonely 11 years old Remus Lupin wants is a friend. But when he arrives at Slughorn's summer camp for teenage boys his world turns upside down since he finds himself sharing a cabin with three other boys; James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. As the years pass by Remus finds himself birthing friendships, fighting bullies, but above all battling his own feelings which soon gets out of control. He struggles to keep his biggest secret, and he wonders how he could've fallen so deeply in love.

Turn on my charm by Bethanlovescoffee

Sirius Black is a YouTube phenomenon. A YouTube phenomenon who develops a crush on his video editor.

Those who commented:

@maraudersarecanon @sunflower-vol-9

[gracedcoup]

AU where Yuu actively encourages students to transfer to Ramshackle dorm if they can’t stand their own dorm leader, the only requirement being that they have to pick and clean up a room for themself in Ramshackle before moving in.

I’m mostly joking about this but truly, TRULY, what is stopping Yuu from poaching students from other dorms? Right out the gate they would’ve had multiple transfers from Heartslabyul, starting with Ace bc oh hey…Heartslabyul rules don’t apply to Ramshackle students…sorry Riddle but you have to uncollar him :)

Yuu interrupts Riddle mid-rant at the unbirthday party like “Ace is a Ramshackle student now actually, so we’ll just be on our way :) also anyone else here is free to join too! if you hate this housewarden, step forward and join my dorm instead.” Something like 20 students wind up stepping forward, under- and upperclassmen alike, bc they’re sick of having to focus more on memorizing arbitrary rules than their actual schoolwork.

(Some of them decide not to transfer once Riddle’s overblot is dealt with, but the rest decide they’ve had enough of Heartslabyul. They’d rather take their chances with the weird magic-less prefect.)

I’m not familiar with all the dorms just yet, but I can imagine Heartslabyul and Pomefiore being the two with the most transfers to Ramshackle. Both seem like relatively high-stress environments, Heartslabyul with its rules and Pomefiore with its beauty standards. Regardless of who joins tho, it’s a win for the dorm building itself – having more people around means it gets patched up way faster. Ramshackle dorm ends up with a proper crest, formal uniform, the whole nine yards.

Some students transfer to Ramshackle thinking a magic-less prefect will be easy to push around, but unfortunately Grim believes it’s fully within his rights to chuck fire at anyone who wants to cause problems for him or Yuu. Yuu keeps him under control for the most part, but lets him run wild just enough for any potential troublemakers to rethink their decisions. (If Grim alone isn’t enough to deter them, then he and Ace working together definitely are. Deuce helps keep the peace too if he winds up joining.)

At some point Yuu hits Idia up like hey trade offer :) I receive: working internet service for Ramshackle dorm. You receive: you can join my dorm and not have to be a dorm leader anymore. Idia has to spend a solid half-hour deliberating over the decision. Ortho finds him drawing up a pros vs cons chart.

Crowley doesn’t find out about any of this until Yuu’s accumulated 50+ dorm members, and by then he can’t do anything. They’ve all committed to this choice, they can’t go back NOW without risking punishment from their original dorm leaders for “defecting.” Crowley crumbles before the force of a small legion of teenagers whining at him in unison.

(Ace meanwhile is whining that he ought to be vice dorm head instead of Grim, since Grim technically isn’t a full student. Yuu refuses to budge on the issue, much to Grim’s glee.)

[zozobegone]

Villain recruiter x Twisted wonderland part 1

1. Farja first time coming to the Scrabia Dorm with the dorm heads

2. Jamil reminds her of Jafar sometimes

3. Scolding Kalim for being to nice

4. Meeting Jamil's sister

[cutetanuki-chan]

decided to put all that I have on this AU together in one place and in some kind of chronological order :D 

will fill in this post everytime I draw something new on this AU

Starting Again AU:

““Hey Em! Look who’s finally decided to drag her ass over from the recruit dorm!” “Impossible! I thought we’d been disowned forever. I was getting used to no longer having a sister.” Emira gave a sniff and wiped away an imaginary tear as she appeared from the depths of the workshop.”

[Luz being sad in human realm]

“Luz was running now. Willow took two steps forward, and then they were in each other’s arms. Willow lifted her off the ground, wrapping her in the tightest embrace she had ever experienced.“

“​She did as she was told. She went up to the Coven’s wing of the castle. She checked in with the duty officer. She thought about eating. The roiling of her stomach told her that eating was perhaps not the best idea. She went to the library. She curled up in one of the armchairs, and hugged her knees, and her staff, to her chest. And she tried not to think.”

“Boscha’s face was just inches away now. Her three eyes were focused down, looking at Amity’s lips. She paused, another fraction of a second, before pressing forward that last little distance. Their lips met.

And with that sensation, another memory crashed into Amity’s consciousness. A globe of light, warmth in the darkness. An intent face, full of concern and curiosity and alight with intelligence. Luz.

Her hands came up, palms flat against Boscha’s shoulders, pushing her away. “Stop.””

____________

“Finally they were flattened against the side of the last building that offered shelter. Ahead of them was the wide open avenue that led to the front of the school, while behind them the town sprawled out, as chaotic and ramshackle as Luz remembered. Gus was in the lead now, while at Willow’s direction, Luz was keeping an eye back on the town, in case any rogue patrols snuck up behind them.”

[I’ll finish second part of it someday]

“Amity had never heard Luz this emotional before. Had never heard her desperate. She didn’t turn to look. She couldn’t. She was afraid of what she would see. She had to finish this.

“You aren’t my hero, Luz. You can’t save me. Get out. Sometimes things don’t go as planned.”

She kept her back turned, her shoulders straight. The silence stretched out, until it was broken by a sob, half-muffled. Then the whoosh of the palisman’s wings spreading as they launched back into the air.”

“She didn’t come out for two days. No one knew what the problem was, and Luz wasn’t talking. Everyone took a turn to knock at her door, and everyone was turned away. “I just want to be alone,” was Luz’s mantra, and her friends reluctantly obeyed. The only one who actually gained entry was King, and that was only because he sat outside the door and howled mournfully until he was finally allowed in, on the condition that he not talk.“

[Luz comforting Amity while she talks]

[humble bard and human being chaotic together]

design drawings:

fic with this AU by @kingofterrors​ 

playlists with this AU

[amtwst-tls]

Main Story Chapter 6-7 summary

Episode starts with Epel shouting that he doesn’t want the money. Vil explains that they can consider it as a fee for the harsh 1-month training they had to endure, as well as for other costs incurred. 

Vil felt it was ironic how, despite having told his manager in the past to not buy his feelings with money, this was the only way he could think of to repay the team. Regardless, he wanted them to accept the money, because he didn’t feel like he could move forward otherwise. 

Everyone is quiet for a while, before Kalim cheerfully pipes up, saying he’ll accept the money. Everyone else is surprised, but Kalim quickly adds that he doesn’t think Vil is to blame at all, but understands that this is Vil’s way of settling this situation, so he wants to accept it for his sake. Oh, but he won’t keep the money for himself either, he’s decided to donate it all to the Ramshackle Dorm! Everyone flips out again, and Jamil asks if he’s been influenced by Neige’s story. Kalim is like no...? yes? maybe...? That’s not the point! After staying at the Ramshackle dorm for the training camp, Kalim came to understand something clearly.... that it was busted as hell!  Mc(option 1): Wow, you didn’t have to put it like that... Mc(option 2): Trust me, this is much better than it used to be...

Sometimes there’s no hot water in the shower, the roof leaks, there’s a draft coming from who knows where... This is the first time he’s lived in such conditions! It ain’t called Ramshackle for nothing! After hearing that, Jamil couldn’t help but agree as well lmao.

Kalim was taken care of by mc and the ghosts living there, and more than that, he really enjoyed his stay there! So as thanks, we wants to give them the money so they can renovate the place. His cut of the money is his to do with whatever right? 

Rook says that Kalim has a heart of gold, befitting the nickname given to him (Roi d’Or). Jamil says that he cannot deny his master’s goodwill, so he’ll accept and donate his share as well. Money was not their motivation in the first place, it was more of a bonus.

Epel says that despite betting that he could win against Neige’s cuteness, it didn’t work out in the end, so he doesn’t feel like he deserves the money. However, he also painfully understands what Vil is feeling, and decides to accept the money anyways, and also donates it to the Ramshackle dorm. Epel tells mc to fix the place so they can welcome Grim home happily next time. Mc can either respond gratefully or feel conflicted about accepting so much money.

Ace goes ehhhhhhh are you guys being real right now? And Deuce looks conflicted as well, because he feels the money would improve his situation back at home(sweet boy) but isn’t sure he should accept it now. Ace says he has no intention of giving away the money, he worked super hard for it, he’d like some new shoes or clothes at this point, right? Deuce still looks conflicted, and Ace tells him to knock off the good boy act. In the first place, the two of them participated in the competition for the prize money, what’s the point of holding back now?

Vil also joins in, telling Deuce that he shouldn’t feel pressured to donate just because the others are. He’s offering the prize money because that is precisely the point he used to try and recruit people for the dance team. Though he knows this won’t erase his past actions, this is the most sincere way he can make up for it at this moment. They saved his life, so Deuce should accept the money with pride. Deuce takes a moment to compose himself, before thanking Vil in a loud voice. Vil just smiles as he asks if he even listened to what he said; this is not something he needs to be thanked for.

Rook also says he’s donating his share to the Ramshackle Dorm, saying that the time they spent together was more than enough for his fill. Anything mroe would simply be too much. Kalim sounds excited, saying that with all this money, there’s a lot of stuff they can repair now!

The leaks should of course be fixed, but he feels that the wallpapers and curtains need to be replaced too! Even the sofa’s cloth should be changed, everything is way to dull right now! Jamil cuts in, saying there should be other priorities, like fixing the water supply, the gasline, and various other improvements to quality of life should be made. He starts to seriously consider what repairs could be made within the budget and Rook laughs, saying that reforming the place should be fun. 

Ace says that, while he’s not donating the money to the dorm, he can at least treat mc and grim to a special lunch once they get back together. Deuce adds that he’d get them cafe au lait and dessert too! Mc thanks everyone and says they’re looking forward to it.

Episode ends here

[101flavoursofweird]

Love a good bit of the ol whump. Ransom could work with, say, Targent agents and Desmond. Any agent could work, maybe think of it as an AU in which they take him to try and get Layton to join them.

((I’m sorry this is so late... and that the prompt ‘ransom’ isn’t even mentioned in this fic. But the prompt definitely inspired a scenario where Raymond needs to rescue his drama son from Targent agents!)) 

Most university students would spend their summer holidays studying, working, travelling, partying, or sleeping…

Desmond was not like most students.

That may have sounded like something Desmond would say during one of his brooding sessions, but it was true.

Most students hadn’t lost their parents to the archaeology mafia, or set up an adoption and a new identity for their younger sibling.

Most weren’t taken in by their old Scottish neighbour.

Most didn’t enter their chosen subject area with an end goal of ‘getting revenge on an ancient civilisation’. (Thankfully, Desmond had omitted that detail from his university application.)

Though he definitely had a fondness for travelling— “Apologies, Master, adventures,”— Desmond was far more invested in the archaeological lore than the nightlife of any given location.

Case in point: Gwawryn, a sleepy town in North Wales.

According to Desmond’s research, an Azran artefact had been donated to the town’s ramshackle museum last week. It was a golden-framed tablet, said to have belonged to the Azran sages.

Desmond had visited the museum in the day with Raymond (during opening hours) to confirm whether the tablet was authentic. And now, at one am, Desmond was busy stealing the tablet.

Much to Raymond’s relief, Desmond hadn’t asked for his help with the heist. Raymond was content to wait at the inn where they were staying. He had shown his face to the inn keeper half an hour ago and requested some honey and lemon tea for his poor ‘son’ who was stuck in bed with a cold. (“He’s not used to this Welsh weather,” Raymond had joked.)

The honey and lemon tea had been sitting untouched on Raymond’s bedside table for three hours.

Where was Desmond?

Raymond checked the chiming clock on the wall. Earlier, when he was preparing for his heist, Desmond had threatened to throw the clock out the window. Raymond had found its chimes comforting... but with each passing minute, he was starting to agree with Desmond.

Shouldn’t he be back by now?

If Desmond had gotten caught by the police, surely they would have contacted Raymond. Raymond would have to go to the police station to confirm, “Aye, that’s my bampot son who’s supposed to be in bed!”, and back up any excuses Desmond had concocted for breaking into the museum.

Raymond would almost find it reassuring if Desmond had been arrested. Maybe he would finally give this Azran nonsense a rest...

Another thirty minutes crawled by— still no Desmond.

Right, then...

Praying the inn keeper had already gone to sleep, Raymond tied their bedsheets together and shimmed out the window. (Next time, they were booking a room on the ground floor.)

It was only a fifteen-minute sprint to the museum. Raymond made sure he kept to the shadows and ducked under any windows. The last thing he needed was to be spotted while he was searching for Desmond.

The museum’s lights were out— most likely the police weren’t there, then. As far as Raymond could see, no one had broken in through the entrance or the front windows.

Had Desmond entered through a back door?

The museum’s entrance faced the main road, but it backed out on to a quiet country lane.

Raymond crept behind the building, crossing his fingers that he wouldn’t encounter any of the museum staff.

He hadn’t seen any security guards present during the day (if the museum could even afford to pay for security), but the curator had seemed extremely proud of his new Azran exhibit and kept ordering his assistant to polish its glass casing—

“Alright, get him inside,” someone ordered.

The voice was low— almost lazy— but it made Raymond freeze. He pressed his body against the side of the museum and peeped his head around the back.

Through the headlights of a dark car, Raymond was able to distinguish two figures in blue uniforms and black glasses.

Those weren’t the police.

One Targent agent, a man with grey hair and a slim build, was holding the golden-edged Azran tablet.

The second agent was taller— at least six feet— and he was wearing a pointed blue cap. An unconscious Desmond was slung over his shoulder.

The car’s back doors were open.

Raymond tensed. Fight or flight— how should he respond? Fight to defend Desmond. Flight to escape with Desmond. Or... Perhaps this was a trick. Desmond would stir at any second now and steal the tablet...

The taller agent threw Desmond into the back of the car. Desmond didn’t wake up. Why wasn’t he waking up?

Before they could shut the car door and disappear with Desmond forever, Raymond shouted, “Wait!”

The agents turned as he rushed out from behind the museum, panting, “Please, wait. That’s my... my son you’ve got there.”

The man holding the tablet scratched his long chin. He glanced from Desmond to Raymond. (Would he notice the lack of a family resemblance?)

“Who are you?” he asked casually, as if kidnapping archaeology students was a common occurrence.

Raymond swallowed, stalling for a minute as he regained his composure. Then he replied, “My name is Alaric Riddock.” His mother’s maiden name— bless her soul.

The man gestured to Desmond, who was still slumped inside the car. “And this is...?”

“Jack Riddock,” Raymond said. He raised his eyebrows, playing dumb. “Who are you two?”

“That’s classified,” the taller agent snapped.

“Manners, Cass,” the agent with the tablet rebuked. (It was clear who was in charge here.) He smiled at Raymond... or tried to smile— it was hard to tell with that extended chin of his.

“We work for Targent— an organisation tasked with preserving ancient artefacts,” Mr. Chin explained, lifting the Azran tablet to his chest. “Have you heard of us, by any chance?”

Raymond shook his head.

“What are your professions?”

“Farmers,” Raymond said. He had been a doctor, years ago, but Targent didn’t need to know that.

Raymond looked over at Desmond again, expecting him to protest at being called a bumpkin farmer. But Desmond’s eyes remained closed. (Hopefully Targent hadn’t recognised his eyes...)

The taller agent, ‘Cass’, scoffed. “Both of you?”

Raymond nodded. “Runs in the family.”

“I see...” said Mr. Chin, unimpressed. (Targent weren’t interested in recruiting farmers.) Mr. Chin wondered, “What brings you two to Gwa... Gwa-ryn...?” If he couldn’t wrap his tongue around the Welsh name, then he couldn’t be from the local area.

“Gwawryn?” Raymond pronounced.

“That’s it! What brings you here?”

“Shouldn’t you be out collecting corn?” Cass sneered.

Raymond shrugged. “Break for the summer... and for the wife.”

Mr. Chin hummed. “And what was Jack doing at the museum so late at night?”

Raymond sighed. “Don’t tell me— did he try to pinch something?”

“Indeed,” Mr. Chin confirmed. His hold on the tablet tightened. “He tried to ‘pinch’ this priceless artefact. It’s lucky we caught him...”

Raymond frowned at Desmond— How much force had they used to ‘catch’ him?— and tutted loudly. “Please forgive my boy. He has a history of shoplifting...” (Would Targent find that too appealing?) “...But the police always catch him in the end. It’s like he wants to be caught! He’s got a good heart, deep down—“

“Well, then,” Mr. Chin interrupted, “we’ll be sure to put him on the right path.”

He nodded to Cass. Cass got into the front of the car and started the engine.

Raymond’s eyes widened. “Please,” he breathed, “release my son. He’s only nineteen...”

Twenty-one, actually, but Desmond looked young for his age. Raymond often had to remind himself of that.

“Then he should learn quickly,” Mr. Chin chuckled. He slipped into the back seat next to Desmond.

Desmond still had his whole life ahead of him. Targent wanted to take that away.

Not on Raymond’s watch.

Raymond dived into the car as Mr. Chin reached for the back door handle. Chin grunted and moved to block him from grabbing Desmond.

Raymond grabbed the Azran tablet from his hands. He slammed it into Mr. Chin’s face. The tablet shattered.

Cass was shouting from the front of the car. He turned around in the driver’s seat and tried to climb into the back, but he was too tall.

While he was stuck and Chin was still dazed, Raymond dragged Desmond out of the car. He hauled Desmond onto his back and ran past the museum.

The two agents howled with rage. Neither of them had expected to be beaten by a blathering old farmer.  

—

“Ray...mond?” Desmond mumbled when finally he came to, back at the inn. “What happened?” He squinted at Raymond and struggled to sit up in bed.

Raymond gently pushed him back down. “You received a blow to the head... and most likely, a concussion.”

Desmond winced when his head touched the pillow. He hissed, “What?”

“Don’t worry about it now—“

“Tell me!”

“Shush!” Raymond glanced at the door.

Desmond huffed, “It’s just the inn keeper—“

“No, it’s Targent,” Raymond whispered furiously, glaring back at Desmond. “They attacked you at the museum and they then tried to abduct you.”

Desmond’s face went even more pale. His fists gripped the bedsheets. “Was that... because I had the Azran tablet?”

“Let’s hope so, and not—“

“Where’s the tablet?” Desmond gasped. “Don’t tell me they got it?”

Only Desmond would be more concerned with an Azran treasure than his own safety. “They did,” Raymond said, “but I think I destroyed it when I rescued you.”

Desmond lay there in silence, staring at Raymond. All of his scheming had been for nothing. The Azran tablet had been reduced to splinters now. Good riddance, if you asked Raymond.

He was startled when Desmond released a small laugh.

“Thanks, Raymond. Better that then letting them keep it...” His laugh morphed into a pained groan. He rubbed his head.

“As soon as it’s light out, I’m taking you to the hospital,” Raymond vowed.

[pulchramusae-archived]

since im on the brainrot and the english version of twst came out today i’m gonna try and work on marianne’s TWST au. assistance w/ porting her in would be much appreciated as well (deets under read more bc im not flooding my dash with my ramblings kek)

so during the timeskip of FE3H - if the golden deer house isn’t selected and/or if marianne isn’t recruited into the player’s house... she goes missing. she doesn’t show up at all in the timeskip. while there’s Implications(TM) as to what could’ve happened, it’s mostly up to interpretation. so i said fuck it, i can throw the TWST au in to fill in the gaps and indulge in crossovers bc I Just Think They’re Neat.

while marianne doesn’t fill in the role of yuu/the MC, she does reside within the ramshackle dorm - those i’m mutuals with that write their own versions of yuu/MC do not have to add this to their canon portrayal. her abilities from three houses also pass over - prominently her healing abilities, as well as her crest, the latter being constituted as her “unique magic”. 

seeing as she crosses over into twisted wonderland after november 23rd (23rd of the red wolf moon in the fodlan calendar), marianne would be eighteen years old at the start of the main TWST storyline.

[twstunes]

i lied btw i actually wrote a lot more than 4k words, it's just a matter of getting everything arranged coherently. have more au!

Ramshackle Recruitment AU – periphery opinions

As they are employed at a boarding school for exceptionally gifted teenage mages, the staff of Night Raven College are well-versed in dealing with mayhem. And yet, all of them are finding this year to be one of the most bizarre ones on record. Not even Sam's divination skills could've predicted an extra dorm being added to the lineup.

Let's take a look at how these gentlemen feel about the Ramshackle situation, from least to most approving.

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Characters: Night Raven College staff (+ Sam)

Notes: gn Yuu

Warnings: none, I think?

Mozus Trein, being a very by-the-book type of guy, is entirely against Ramshackle as it currently exists. He feels it’s inappropriate for students to be transferring to a dorm before it’s been officially instated, especially when the dorm building is in such poor condition. It doesn’t help that Yuu apparently started taking on dormmates just to spite a fellow housewarden; that isn’t a decision to be made so lightly.

Beyond chastising them for their recklessness, though, Trein doesn't have any further admonishments for Yuu regarding their dorm. He's more annoyed with Crowley for allowing any of this to happen. Frankly, it was irresponsible for the headmage to place Yuu in the Ramshackle building to begin with. Surely they could have been temporarily situated in one of the actual dorms, at least until adequate long-term housing could be arranged? Sevens, setting them up in a quiet corner of the infirmary would've been better than that deathtrap!

Despite his reputation as a hardass, he'll be surprisingly lenient when grading Yuu so long as they show that they're making an effort to get caught up with their peers. He's typically even more strict with housewardens, as they're meant to represent the entirety of their dorms, but it would be irresponsible of him as a teacher to take that stance here. He'll assign additional homework as needed to discourage students from sleeping in his class, but his lessons are still for learning, not punishing. Even if it was foolish of Yuu to take on a role they weren't prepared for, his job as a professor is to teach them, not throw them in the deep end and let them drown.

There's very little that could convince Trein to visit Ramshackle dorm, at least at first. As the surrounding grounds get cleaned up, he might be inclined to spend some time reading in the garden; he normally prefers the school courtyard, but it can get pretty noisy with all the students bustling about. He won't be caught dead in the Ramshackle building itself, though. Both he and Lucius are a tad too old to go gallivanting about in such a dusty old structure.

(He won't say it, but he's impressed with how well Yuu is doing as housewarden. Like Leona, he expected the whole thing to go up in flames within a matter of weeks. Again, he's not going to say anything about it—even if things turned out well this time around, he doesn't need to be encouraging such rash behavior.)

Divus Crewel agrees with Trein’s points, but refuses to fully back the other professor's argument. He might respect Crowley as his boss, but watching the headmage suffer the consequences of his own actions is too cathartic to pass up. Quite the spirited pup he's taken in, there!

Though he doesn't condemn the existence of the dorm outright, he doesn't refrain from reprimanding Yuu for their 'bad behavior'—the way he sees it, this whole thing started because of some petty drama between Yuu and Riddle. He's not blind to the social nuances of the NRC student body, but he is too old to care about the more trivial aspects of it all. Regardless, Yuu has no business playing at being a housewarden; there's good reason it's nearly unheard of for a freshman to be granted the title, and being magicless puts them at a distinct disadvantage in a mage academy.

…however. If Yuu truly is determined to be a full-fledged housewarden, then he's not about to abide by them slacking off! That's a prestigious mantle they've chosen to take up, and they will comport themselves accordingly! Good thing he's there to whip them into shape. He begins holding them to higher standards, especially in regards to their grades and conduct. Though he means well, he comes across as more officious than usual as a result. No matter how tolerant Yuu is, it doesn't exactly go over smoothly…he can grasp that Yuu themself has no magic easily enough, but it takes a while for it to sink in that they're from a world with Absolutely No Magic.

"Surely you must have learned something about residual and ambient magical energies in middle school. Understanding how to neutralize them, thus preventing them from affecting the formation of chemical bonds, is part of basic lab safet– what do you mean they don't exist?"

Like Trein, Crewel has no interest in visiting Ramshackle dorm. It would take endorsement from a junior like Vil for him to consider dropping by, and even then, he'd only do so to make a cursory inspection of the premises. In a school full of teenage boys, Pomefiore is just about the only dorm where he doesn't have to lecture anyone about proper grooming and self-maintenance; Ramshackle doesn't break the mold at all in that regard. Aside from that, he finds the dorm to be…in acceptable conditions, though there's still plenty of room for improvement. He visits very rarely, and typically forgoes wearing his coat inside, not wanting to chance getting any grime on it.

(It’s petty enough that Crewel won’t admit to it outright, but he’s a little peeved he wasn’t even consulted about designing Ramshackle’s official dorm uniform. What, was his work with the Fairy Gala outfits not good enough? Hmph. Well, he supposes the final uniform design turned out adequate…)

Dire Crowley is getting heckled in the NRC staff groupchat. When he’d described Yuu as a beast-tamer, he’d had no idea they were capable of all THIS. It feels like every time he turns around, there’s been some development with Ramshackle that he’s going to need to do paperwork for. But breaking up the dorm would risk an immense amount of backlash from the students involved, and possibly even from other dorms…truly, he is the most generous headmage NRC has ever had! Hopefully the fact Ramshackle already has uniforms done up will make it easier to get the dorm properly approved and instated…

He really ought to be more cross with Yuu, all things considered. Not only have they caused him a financial headache concerning Ramshackle dorm's food budget, they were impudent enough to not even give him a heads up beforehand! Though…well, he supposes things worked out for the best regarding the debacle with Rosehearts. A healthy imagination is key to becoming a great mage, but it sounds like the Heartslabyul housewarden wasn't allowing for an environment in which imagination could thrive…but still! Just because he granted Yuu the title of prefect doesn't mean they can go about doing whatever they want. Perhaps it's time for him to revise his laissez-faire policy regarding student conflicts?…hmm, no, that feels a bit too extreme.

Despite it all, he still brags to Ambrose LXIII about Yuu, Grim, and Ramshackle once the new dorm breaches public consciousness. He was so wise for seeing their potential and allowing them to enroll, even though one is magicless and the other a monster. Look at how much they've accomplished thanks to his generosity! (He better hope Yuu and Grim don't hear him lmao)

Crowley makes a point of dropping by Ramshackle fairly consistently to check on Yuu and Grim—especially since the last time he went a while without checking in on them, they started a dorm without telling him. He gets frustratingly good at evading being dragged into the dorm's daily Shenanigans™ despite how often he visits, but he'll often lose track of time if someone strikes up a conversation with him. It's a running joke amongst Ramshackle students to ask Crowley if he's found a way to send Yuu home whenever they spot him at the dorm…though, after a point, most of them don't want to hear a "yes" in response.

(It's not becoming of him, so he won't say anything about it, but Crowley can't say for certain that he doesn't regret letting Yuu and Grim enroll. Yes, yes, it's wonderful how much they've achieved, but did they really have to give him so much extra work in the process?? Just thinking about how to word the inevitable press announcement explaining the formation of Ramshackle dorm gives him a headache.)

Ashton Vargas, by some miracle, is the most Actually Helpful of the teachers. He thinks it’s fantastic that students are taking the initiative to challenge themselves! AND they’re learning teamwork while they’re at it! Just…Trein’s not wrong about Ramshackle being in rough shape. Living there is barely different from camping outdoors. ("Does he get the idea for Camp Vargas from–" haha yeah)

Vargas will regularly check in with Yuu about any concerns regarding the dorm building’s structural integrity. He’s no architect, but he knows how to safely handle power tools! He can take care of any heavy lifting that needs to be done, too! If it gives him a chance to show off and brag, he’s all for it. He canonically maintains the sports field by himself, so he probably has some good advice for cleaning up the grounds around Ramshackle as well. That doesn't mean he's going to do all the work himself, of course—anyone he catches lazing about the dorm gets dragged along with him. It's good strength training!

He also makes sure the dorm has basic safety equipment on-hand, like fire extinguishers and first aid kits. Even a pro like him has to be mindful of training accidents, after all! He's always proud to see students pushing their limits, but he's watched far too many people torch their athletic careers (and long-term physical health) by pushing themselves too hard. It's uncommon for him to give full-on lectures—he's just not the type to drag things out when a "quit doing that" will do—but anyone he catches trying to brush off a significant injury gets treated to a rare, ultra-serious lecture from him.

Due to being so involved in the dorm's restoration, Vargas is the most likely to visit Ramshackle out of NRC's staff. He'll often tag along if he happens to catch Crowley heading over to check on Yuu and Grim, though he's yet to successfully rope the headmage into doing any strength training. Being a bit childish at heart, he'll sometimes lend a hand to whatever tomfoolery the Ramshackle students get up to…so long as it's school-appropriate, that is! He doesn't need another lecture from Trein.

(Vargas won't own up to it, but he wants Yuu, Grim, and the rest of Ramshackle to view him as better than Sam, who is pretty much his sole competition for the title of "Most Helpful." He was already a tad jealous of the shopkeeper's wide skillset, so his competitive streak has him putting in a little more effort to help out around the dorm than he would've otherwise. Since this pseudo-rivalry exists solely inside Vargas' head, Sam has no clue about any of it.)

Sam is living it up. His Friends on the Other Side haven’t been this excited about school-related events since he’d first set up shop on campus. And, since he’s the #1 supplier of Anything And Everything at NRC, he’s been getting a lot of business as the Ramshackle students work to patch up their dorm building! He’s not about to start giving away things for free, but he IS willing to cut some deals on tools and construction materials.

Honestly, he's a little annoyed with how little money Crowley seems to be investing into repairing the dorm building. Cheaping out on infrastructure is a fast way to create a money sink. He's not one to rock the boat too much, but he'll poke and prod to see if he can get Crowley to put a little more cash into restoration efforts. Surely it wouldn't hurt to speed the process up a bit? No point in letting the imps languish. Nevermind the fact it's all profit for Sam either way–

Capitalism aside, he does grow to care about the industrious little imps after a while. Taking a gamble on a complete unknown by transferring to Ramshackle, helping out others for the sake of pursuing their own goals…his Friends are quick to joke that Sam would've jumped to join in on the fun had he been a student, and he can't really say he disagrees! Hearing about all the hijinks going on over at Ramshackle is welcome entertainment, especially when business at the shop is slow.

Sam is typically too busy running the school store to visit Ramshackle himself, but he might make an exception for a dire enough situation. As it stands, he gets his Friends to keep a specific eye or three on the dorm in case any emergencies crop up. If he just so happens to have just the right tool for the job front & center (and on sale for a deep discount) when Yuu rushes in…well, that’s simply Mr. S’ gold-quality customer service in action.

(Sam keeps it on the down-low, but he genuinely does worry about Yuu and Grim. The headmage is a good customer, but he's not someone Sam would want to be financially dependent on. Those two imps at least have the relative safety of attending NRC, but neither of them have much in the way of a support system. He'd certainly been in a bad spot himself when he'd first sought out Those on the Other Side, so he's glad Yuu and Grim seem to be building decent lives for themselves without having to make any Friends of their own.)

✧ ✧ ✧

A/N: might as well be trying to squeeze blood from a stone the way I'm trying to approximate staff personalities from what little content we get of them,,,, for Sam I'm just doing whatever I want tho lmao

[love-fireflysong]

Critical Role Zombie AU part 2: filling in the gaps I forgot

So fresh from watching The Story of Vox Machina and synopsis in hand, I bring the second part of my brain child, this time with the stuff I couldn’t remember from before the Percy rescue!

This is after they become a group

But before Pike

Before leaving Stilben they come a across one of the merchant traders in town who asks them to deal with a group of zombies just outside town that has been killing travelers

considering this is the only way for the town to get supplies to continue to thrive this is a very bad thing

in exchange he will give them valuable supplies if they kill the zombies

valuable supplies being food, water, and clothes for the coming winter

in need of all of this they agree to take the mission and leave the town

they do not find a small group like they had been expecting

instead they find nearly two dozen of them

after escaping by the skin of their teeth they then run into a much smaller group of bandits

interrogating them reveals that this was a scheme

the merchant would convince groups to go and after getting them killed the bandits would then go in and kill the newly turned zombies and steal their stuff and bring to back to be sold off

furious the group returns and kills the man so he can’t dupe anyone else into this suicide mission

they still take his stuff though

from here they continue on a little more trusting of one another and get Pike

with Pike in tow they travel together for a couple of weeks where they begin to hear rumors of children going missing

normally one would assume zombies considering the times

but no one has yet to see the reanimated corpse of a missing child

odd but not their problem

From there they find and recruit Percy to their little band of zombie survivors and the story continues

while scavenging for trade-able goods in an (un)dead city Grog has started to act a little sick

hes been a little pale and eating less and completely exhausted the last couple of days

at first everyone assumes he must have been bitten at some point and has begun to turn but an quick examination by Pike concludes that he is bite free

unfortunately in such an unsafe city she is unable to get a closer look and figure out the problem

worried about their friend, the group agrees to cut the trip short and head to the nearest safe city to get him looked at and hopefully solve the issue

unfortunately they are overheard

fortunately the man, who introduces himself as Dres Vina, has an honest to god working vehicle (!!!!)

he promises to give the group a ride to Westruun if they do his boss a favor

namely climb to the top of that abandoned office building and get some files that are hidden in an old safe

a weird request since files are pretty much useless nowadays but a chance to get a ride and some rest would be pretty fucking clutch

so they agree

the climb up building is surprisingly uneventful

while they find a few dead corpses of zombies they find very little living zombies themselves

they do find the occasional rudimentary security measures but those are meant for people who can’t see so they bypass them easily

except for the time Tiberius trips over a line of fishing wire and falls into a stack of empty paint cans that clatter noisily through the hallway

bracing themselves for an ambush of zombies, they instead see an old man who runs up to them wearing a ramshackle armor of old book covers and waving a shotgun around and screaming bloody murder

so everyone else starts screaming

causing him to scream more

there is a lot of screaming

after everyone else has stopped screaming and convinced the old man to “oh god, please put the shotgun down, we are begging you, put it away now” he introduces himself as Doctor Eskil Ryndarien, a scientist, and that this is his home that they have so rudely broken into

apologizing to the man with the fully loaded shotgun, they agree to leave the building

but not before he mentionins that Grog really isn’t looking to good and that they should get that looked at

probably soon

Vex quickly talks him into trading some of their food and water for some extra bandages and other medical supplies

and a few aspirin to hopefully help out Grog a little

they leave the building and run into Dres Vina who had been waiting for them

furious that they had been unable to get the files he gives them another chance

on the other side of the city is an area known as the Shadeburrow, where a lot of cars were abandoned when the zombies first arrived

if they can go there and manage to grab a few replacement pieces for his truck then the ride is still on the table

unfortunately the Shadeburrow is called that because the pile up of abandoned vehicles was a ripe place to get bitten in the early days

so the area is filled with zombies

while a suicide mission in all but name, Grog has begun to look worse and worse and everyone else has started to fear that he won’t be able to survive the trip back to Westruun if they walk back

an 8 day walk, 6 if they don’t run into any zombies or bandits on the way

which will never happen

or they can take the ride and make it to Westruun in around 9 hours

so they agree to the terms and head on out, leaving behind Grog, who looks about ready to collapse, with Pike, Trinket, and Scanlan to stay behind and look after him

and cause no one trusts Dres Vina despite the offer of the ride

leaving Vex, Vax, Tiberius, Keyleth, and Percy head out to find the pieces needed

its takes them a couple of hours to reach the Shadeburrow and another  3 hours of carefully and quietly searching until Keyleth is able to find the exact same model of truck

it turns out that Keyleth’s a truck nut, who knew

Vax and Vex keep watch while Percy and Tiberius carefully gut the truck for anything that Keyleth deems useful as she’s shoving the parts into a large canvas sack

after about half an hour of tearing the truck apart though, Vax yells to get down and the truck trio drop to the ground without hesitation

and look up to see crossbow bolt suddenly sticking out of the front of the truck where Tiberius had been standing only moments before

in seconds the five of them are dashing through the grave of abandoned cars, trying to give the shooter(s?) a harder target to hit

its working but the sound of them yelling to each other to stick together and not get seperated and the sound of shouting behind them are sure to draw any zombies in the area to them

while they run Vex and Percy are in the back firing off shots, Percy with his handgun at the people behind them and Vex with her arrows at anything in front of them

Vax is slashing at anything that gets to close with his hunting knives in the front with Tiberius while he is swinging the wrench he had been using on the truck on any that Vax missed

Keyleth is in the middle holding onto the bag of truck parts as if Grog’s life depends on it

which it actually might

a shout from Tiberius gets everyone’s attention as they watch a hoard of zombies approach from the front

and a hoard is not an exaggeration

swearing emphatically, the five of them immediately start climbing and running over the tops of the vehicles to hopefully stay out of the reach from the shambling sea of undead

they keep their footing and after a few close calls and grabbed ankles they all somehow manage to escape and book it back to where they left Dres Vina and the other half of their group

and fyi that entire bullet point is why i will never write this, i can’t write action scenes to save my life

anyways

shouting to “start the truck, start the fucking truck!!!!!” Pike, Grog, and Scanlan hop in the backseats while Dres Vina notices the literal wave of zombies behind them and with a shriek jumps into the drivers seat and frantically starts the truck

with a roar the truck comes to life, miraculously on the first key turn, and just starts to pull away when the other 5 jump into the bed of the truck, Vex and Vax yelling at Trinket to jump on it with them

the bear just manages to just make it with the twins, Percy, Tiberius, and Keyleth helping to pull him in

adrenaline coursing through their bodies, the group watches the zombies slowly recede into the horizon as they drive off to Westruun to find help for Grog

somehow still alive

And I’ll just end it there, cause this went way longer and more detailed then it was supposed to and they still have yet to even reach Emon... oops.

[twstunes]

alright so the Dark Mirror assigns dorms based on a student’s soul/etc, so it’s reasonable to assume that the assigned dorm will be the best environment for them to learn and grow in. (it’s also implied that transferring involves a lot of extra work for Crowley but frankly he deserves it <3)

What if Ramshackle dorm’s gimmick is that the Dark Mirror doesn’t assign people to it, much like how it didn’t assign Yuu? Instead, students have to choose to transfer in. Like...something something fate isn’t absolute, the self is an ever-evolving construct, it’s the choices you make that make you who you are, so on and so forth. Sometimes what a student needs to help them grow is the opportunity to choose their path for themself. The dorm lineup becomes something along the lines of “Savanaclaw has a lot of athletes, Pomefiore has a lot of models/chemists, Ramshackle has a lot of adventurous types,” etc etc.

At first Yuu thinks the dorm members are just gonna be themself, Grim, and the Heartslabyul expats, but then some stray Octavinelle or Pomefiore students show up like “um 🥺👉👈 hi…” and it just keeps going from there. There’s a noticeable uptick in new transfers shortly before/after each overblot crisis. Not all of them stay – many who join right before an overblot event go back once the situation settles down. But hey, they still helped clean up the dorm!

Meanwhile, the Ramshackle ghosts are surprised but not unhappy about all the people living in the dorm building now – especially when the new students get used to them and start talking to them more. They still play pranks and cause mischief from time to time, but they’re not trying to actually hurt anyone. Just look at all the free entertainment they have now! It beats haunting an empty building, that’s for sure.

Ace doesn’t join Ramshackle before Riddle’s overblot because, like he says in-game, it’d feel too much like running away from the problem. After the overblot fight tho he looks over at Deuce and goes “hey. you know what would be funny” and THEN transfers to Ramshackle dorm. (If Deuce transfers as well, he and Ace wind up still being roommates, much to their mutual exasperation.)

Grim refers to the other dorm members as his henchmen/cronies and will try to boss them around, usually to very little success. He gets reminded that he’s not housewarden on a regular basis, most often by Ace lmao

[zozobegone]

My inspo for my NS au

part 2

Also The guests of honor

The recruiters

and A character made by @danika-redgrave124

these were the two designs I liked the most