sleepingdeath

f l o y d l e e c h

as if one mushroom obsessed person in his immediate circle wasn’t enough now poor floyd has to contend with the fact that his dear shrimpy, his mate, happens to be cut from the same cloth as his brother. sevens, he was already sick to death of the damned things when you met, and now he has to hear about them twice as much as before — and it’s not like he can fight you or walk away like he could with jade, because you’re his mate and that means he just has to sit there and deal with it. you’re lucky he loves you, shrimpy, because he has absolutely squeezed people for less than this…

granted he does have a great deal more patience with you than he does for jade whenever you start gushing about fungi, and he can even enjoy your talks when he’s in the right mood, but if he’s just not feeling it he’ll redirect you over to wherever his brother is so he can mope in peace. partially because he doesn’t want to upset you (sevens know his mother would have his ass if he ever hurt his mate; she raised him better than that), but also because he knows you two will be able to keep each other entertained long enough for him to go off on his own and recharge without any risk of him being interrupted and put in an even worse mood than before

again, though, if he’s not in one of his bad moods he can and will happily sit with you and listen — with a shocking degree of attentiveness considering how bored he gets whenever jade does the same thing — as you gush about whatever mushroom related topic is on your mind. he’s even pulled from what he remembers jade saying in the past to ask you engaging and thoughtful questions about your subject of interest — something that his brother has absolutely teased him about, but frankly floyd couldn’t care less because your happiness is his priority here

he even lets you drag him out on hikes to go and look at all the local fungi around school grounds and sage’s island in general, going at your pace and keeping his teasing remarks to a minimum as he enjoys your excitement. both things that he’d never even dream of doing before you, and that have made jade’s life a lot better as he now has some semi-consistent company for his club meetings (congratulations on becoming his favourite member of the family!)

floyd may or may not have impulsively stolen things from jade’s side of the room to gift to you: specimen samples, books, sketches, decorations, once even a whole terrarium that you’re not even sure how he managed to smuggle out of their shared dorm and out of octavinelle without dropping it, being noticed, or running into jade who was working at the lounge at the time

yes this has gotten him into many physical altercations with his brother because some of those samples and materials were rare and took a great deal of time and care to cultivate. but what’s a black eye and some scratches when his future mate’s happiness is on the line? (yeah at this point jade has made a habit of stopping by your room every day before curfew to take back any items his brother ‘gifted’ to you, thankfully never holding it against you and instead recommending methods to get your own specimens — which would be a sweet gesture from your future in-law if he didn’t punctuate his advice with a mild threat of violence towards your boyfriend. then again floyd kind of deserves it…)

he still spends a lot on himself, but a good amount of the hefty allowance his parents send to him each month is set aside to spend on you and your (to him, weird but cute) love of all things mushroom. and over the course of your relationship he will end up buying you all sorts of gifts, but his favourites are this goofy looking mushroom plush and a pair of custom sneakers he had made for you with illustrations of your favourite mushroom embroidered on the body — and because this is floyd the shoes were of an extremely high quality and one of the most comfortable pairs you will ever wear in your life

for as much as he entertains and indulges your interest in mushrooms floyd will outright refuse to eat them. jade well and truly put him off of them after making that many mushroom based dishes in a row way back when. he’s just that sick of them now, and not even his beloved shrimpy can convince him otherwise!

… okay maybe he’ll just have a bite. but only one! and only because he can’t say no to you when you’re looking at him like that and squeezing his arm as tightly as you can; being too cute to resist

yeah… you really are lucky that he loves you, shrimpy…

j a d e l e e c h

the concept of soulmates has always amused jade on a certain level, partially because he’d never heard anyone talk about such a thing back in the coral sea and partially because every new piece of information he learned about the idea made it seem that much more implausible and, to an extent, desperate. and thus he never really believed in it. or, rather, he never believed in soulmates until he found and truly got to know you

after all, for how much the two of you have in common and with the unsettling ease with which you’ve managed to break through his polite facade and settle within his heart, there can’t possibly be any other explanation. and for someone who always keeps his cards close to his chest, jade has surprisingly found himself revelling in all of the new experiences and feelings you’ve brought into his life… as well as the chance to finally talk about mushrooms with someone who isn’t actively trying to tune him out

the two of you can talk for hours at a time about your shared interest, exchanging knowledge and experience and everything that comes to mind without ever growing tired or bored, and these long conversations have on multiple occasions bled into his shifts at the lounge and led to him either running late or missing work entirely. not often enough to cause major long term issues for anyone, thankfully, but it’s a frequent enough occurance that azul has a few students contracted to patrol around your favourite haunts on campus looking for jade whenever he runs late… which he always apologises for when he’s found (entirely insincerely, of course, the time he spends with you is of much more value to him than the lounge but social convention demands an apology and he will not compromise his polite image)

floyd has actually kicked the two of you out of their room multiple times just because of how much the two of you talk when you’re together. especially when jade gets a new specimen and invites you over to check it out as a low energy date. he’s also just straight up walked out and gone to invite azul’s room when he doesn’t have the energy to fight his brother about his endless chatter and, in floyd’s words, ‘sappiness’ when you’re staying over. make no mistake though, he does like you well enough he just wants some peace and quiet sometimes, you know?

speaking of terrariums, if you ever need some help setting up some of your own you need only ask and your dear boyfriend would all but jump at the chance to lend you a hand. he’ll even lend you some of his own specimen for you to cultivate, or go out with you to find the specific strain of mushroom you want, and all with a smile on his face and encouraging words on the tip of his tongue

hiking dates? hiking dates. they’re an absolute must for the two of you and jade always maps out the most interesting and beautiful routes for you to take, making sure that the trails are safe and accessible for you both and that there are likely to be interesting fungi in the area for you two to nerd out over. but no worries if you’re unable to hike for whatever reason, there are always alternatives and when it comes to spending time with his two favourite subjects (mushrooms and his mate) he excels at coming up with the most creative and effective solutions

whenever he sets up a new terrarium, discovers a new interesting mushroom on his hikes, finds a particularly interesting book on the subject, or otherwise stumbles across some new discovery related to mushrooms you can always guarantee that you’ll be the first person to hear about and see it after him. and while he rarely ever breaks his facade, there is an adorable excited glint in his eyes whenever he comes to you that lets you know that you’re in for a wonderful time

he is the absolute worst enabler around when it comes to any and all mushroom related purchases — decorative, functional, clothing, accessories, plushies, books, actual mushrooms, literally anything — mainly because he’s so good at using logic and subtle manipulation to push you to get the things you want no matter how guilty you may feel for spending the money you have. or, rather, the money he has because he has thus far managed to pay for the vast majority of your items and is very insistent on doing so for the rest of your lives (after all, what kind of mate would he be if he couldn’t provide enough money for you to live comfortably and happily? sevens know his parents drilled that much into him when he was growing up)

you are his main muse these days and every time he comes back from a meeting with you he starts working on a new mushroom based recipe to serve in the lounge. or just for you. usually some sort of meal, but he’s also workshopped a few desserts and drinks centred around your shared interest… most of which were very swiftly vetoed by azul and floyd, but as long as you approve of his creations he’s not especially bothered about their opinions (it’s a moray eelmer thing… don’t worry about it)

between the ongoing war with the ironclads, his lifelong dedication to working under princess maleanor (which he’s quite certain will be the case for the rest of his days, for better and for worse), and his own emotional hang ups around attachment and intimacy, general lilia vanrouge is not an easy person to get close to. and unless you have one of the few people he trusts vouching for you, or just happen to be both exceptionally patient and good at placing yourself in his vicinity as frequently as is safe, you will struggle a lot to even form something resembling a friendship with him, let alone a romantic relationship. but if you’re willing to put in the work, you’ll eventually — emphasis on eventually as this will take a while — find yourself with a partner who will give you and your relationship his absolute all, because when it comes to those he cares about lilia is not the type to do things partway. he is all in, fully devoted and fully committed… even if he may still be a tad too emotionally constipated to say as much to you outright for a while after you two start officially courting each other

(frankly, chances are that his dearest friends will end up interfering with your relationship even if you don’t end up going to them for help, specifically through helping lilia open his eyes and realise that he does, in fact, have feelings for you. either teasingly but with the best of intentions, if raverne clues in first and decides to put you both out of your misery, or with the utmost amusement and a lot of bullying, if maleanor tires of watching you two stumble around blindly and takes it upon herself to shock some sense into the stubborn old bat… yeah, for both of your sakes you’d best hope that the dragon eye duke is the one to break the news to him…)

compared to how he acts in the modern day, general vanrouge is notably more closed off and defensive — still playful and teasing with those he holds close, but nowhere near to the same extent as he would grow to be after becoming a father twice over in his later years — and even as his lover you’ll struggle quite a bit with getting him to fully loosen up and accept most forms of casual intimacy, both verbal and physical. he does get better about it over time though, so just be patient with him

any and all terms of endearment are entirely off of the table with him, both in public and in private, for most of your relationship. the closest you’ll get to that is him calling you by your first name or referring to you by whatever your relationship is to him at the moment when talking about you to others (e.g. partner or spouse). though when he’s drunk enough and the two of you are alone, he will occasionally slip into a more affectionate mood and might start calling you some sweeter pet names in his native tongue… but that’s very much so the exception to the rule and he’d deny doing so until blue in the face if you ever called him out on it after the fact

general vanrouge has a very strong possessive streak when it comes to you, and lacking the sense of calm and patience he would come to have in his golden years, he has absolutely no problem weaponising his reputation and his actual physical strengths as a soldier to ward off any potential rivals for your affection. and sevens help anyone in his unit that try to compete for your attention because not only will they have to contend with a very pissed off general that’s about to make their life a living hell, but they will also have to deal with baur who is more than happy to put them in their place in lilia’s stead

if there’s one thing he simply cannot stand it’s incompetent people, and as his partner he needs to know that you can handle things on your own when he’s away — that you’re not so reliant on him that you’ll completely collapse in his absence. of course he doesn’t expect you to be an expert fighter or an experienced solider like he is, though that would certainly be a bonus, he just needs you to not be so terrible that there is a genuine risk of you falling over and onto your own sword and killing yourself if you ever end up needing to fight. call it a high bar if you want, but there is a war going on around you and he’s a prominent enough player in it that there’s a real chance of you being targeted simply because of your connection to him… so… yeah

he’ll train you himself if it comes down to it, even if it means starting from scratch and using his sparse free time to help you find your way around a magearm safely. because no matter how much he complains and huffs about the inconvenience of it all, he’d rather take the time to teach you than take any chances… because the thought of you getting hurt in his absence is not one that he can stomach

very much so opposed to any sort of p.d.a and would sooner take a direct hit from maleanor’s lightning than show off how soft he’s gotten because of you to others — after all, his position is already on shaky ground as it is because of his low birth and his reputation as a general is one of the only things he has going for him, so compromising that intimidating image even slightly could be catastrophic for him. he is very public (by his standards, anyway) about your relationship otherwise so don’t feel like he’s doing this because he’s ashamed of you or anything, and when you’re alone he will let you do what you want to him with only some token grumbling and complaints

he may not be anywhere near as tactile as he would come to be in later years but lilia can and will kiss you without a hint of shame. and the places that he tends to kiss you the most are, in order: your lips and hands (as those are most socially acceptable when the two of you happen to have company), your pulse points, the curve of your neck, and your bare shoulders. and in return he very clearly enjoys being kissed across his scars, on his lips, and across his shoulders and collarbones… even if he’d sooner die than admit to such softness outloud

despite his claims of apathy, detachment, and a lack of need for company — beyond your relationship, which he makes very clear is an exception to the rule to anyone who dares to bring up the contradiction to his face — lilia is, at his heart, a complete and utter sap. and even centuries before developing his signature spell he makes a habit of keeping and preserving as many of the gifts and letters that you give to him as possible… and don’t ask him just how frequently you pop into his head when he’s out on missions because he will dodge the question like the very fate of briarland itself depends on it

being with lilia during this stage of his life means accepting that, unless you’re also a soldier and happen to be assigned to the unit he’s personally heading, the two of you are going to be long distance more often than not. and that you won’t even be able to communicate for most of the time you’re apart because there are just so many risks that come with exchanging any sort of correspondence in the middle of a war — so outside of word of mouth from soldiers who return home from the field, and the very occasional letter to assure you that he’s still alive, there will be very long stretches of time where the two of you will be living entirely separate lives. and if you’re not okay with that, well, perhaps you ought to pursue another partner instead…

banter and teasing is as much a love language for him now as it will be in his later years, he’s just a bit clumsier about it as he struggles with how to toe the line between teasing and cruelty with you — after all, with centuries of dealing with the princess and decades on the battlefield under his belt he’s more than used to giving and taking insults and messing with others, but the softer touch that assures you that he’s not being serious and he does actually care… that… that’s not something he’s used to yet. so, yes, he will give you shit whenever you do something stupid, and, yes, he may come across as a bit mean sometimes, but know that he is doing it lightheartedly and only means to tease and not upset… so just give him the benefit of the doubt until he finds his feet with the whole ‘being gentle’ thing, okay?

pretty words and gentle touches don’t come to him easily, and quality time isn’t exactly something he has ample amounts of to give to you, so the main way he defaults to showing you that he does actually love you is through acts of service. not always the smaller and expected sort, as he really isn’t good enough at cooking to approach the idea of making breakfast in bed for you like a conventional spouse might, but he does always give what he can to make your life easier, more comfortable, softer in ways that he doesn’t fully ‘get’. after all, he was willing to throw himself into the line of fire for a friend so what do you think this stubborn little bat fae would be willing to do for the love of his life?

the longer you’re together the more you’ll get to see of the playful side of himself that he’s been forced to bury because of the war and his tenuous place in briarland’s upper echelon — after all, it’s bad enough that he’s a filthy bat… but a filthy bat with no decorum? the senate would jump at the chance to weaponise that against him. but as he becomes more comfortable with you and with his place in your relationship, he’ll start being more teasing and playful, much to his oldest friend’s very vocal amusement

sebek very solidly falls under the ‘reluctant yandere’ category when it comes to his obsession with you. though unlike with most of his contemporaries within the label his reluctance doesn’t stem from any sense of awareness about the toxicity of his obsession or anything like that, and instead is solely down to his unwillingness to let himself be distracted from his ultimate duties as a retainer to malleus — a mindset that makes him very resistant and frustrated about the fact that he can’t shake you from him mind, and that will eventually lead to him lashing out at you much more harshly because of that building frustration. this reluctance increases by tenfold if you happen to be at all human, but frankly no matter your species sebek’s relationship with his blossoming obsession with you is going to be a rather complex and unhealthy one (even by yandere standards, unluckily for you)

between his unshakeable devotion to his liege and his duties to his dormitory, and his baseline desire to put as much distance between your distracting presence and himself as he possibly can (a vain effort frankly as despite his best efforts he is still a yandere at the end of the day), sebek spends a vast majority of his days away from you. at least until he finally comes to terms with his feelings and starts trying to obsessively court you, anyway. but that constant distance does little to make you feel less suffocated by his obsession with you, as even when you know he’s nowhere near you there’s always a part of your mind that’s on edge and waiting for the shoe to drop and for him to appear and start loudly scolding you for one minor thing or another. sometimes you swear you can feel someone watching you when he’s away, especially after you’re pressured into an actual relationship with him

he’s not a monster, even like this, and would never break the knightly code to cause you harm without reason. however he also isn’t above verbally, or even physically if the situation is dire enough from his point of view, punishing you for stepping out of line or otherwise acting in a way that he personally deems inappropriate or unbecoming in one way or another. and that can include anything from cussing him out and trying to physically harm him in an escape attempt, to merely being too friendly with another man. he makes it clear to you that he doesn’t enjoy punishing you, that he doesn’t pride himself on it, and also places all of the responsibility for what he’s doing onto you, including the responsibility of preventing another punishment in the future…

and the worst part is that he genuinely seems to believe that, and that what he’s doing is in your best interest. prides himself on being so reasonable and reliable as your self appointed mentor. it’s sickening

as with any yandere, reluctant or otherwise, he is extremely possessive over you and even the thought of someone else taking up your time is enough to send him into a very loud and threat-filled rant. with the exceptions of lilia, malleus, and your immediate families of course (he is a traditionalist at heart and as long as your close family accept your relationship he’s perfectly content with you remaining close with them). and while those violent impulses confused and frustrated him before, now that he’s come to terms with his feelings and has started a ‘relationship’ with you sebek is much more confident and comfortable with immediately acting upon the knightly code he grew up with (twisted in his obsessive mind as it has become) to launch into a fight to defend your honour and your relationship… and as he is a trained fighter you can imagine how well that goes for anyone who dares to try and help you escape your obsessive captor boyfriend

consequently your social circle begins to rapidly shrink until the only real interactions you have with those sebek doesn’t approve of are ones of strict necessity, pity, or mocking. more often than not the latter whenever people believe they can get away with it… but as he grows more genuinely protective over you the mocking and bullying starts to slow down, leaving only people who are willing to talk with you out of empathy for your situation or those who are forced to interact with you because of a shared assignment or some other such unavoidable circumstance — making you all the more reliant on sebek in the process

once he deems enough time has passed for it to be appropriate — he may be obsessive about you but he’s just as obsessive about the code he grew up with and refuses to compromise on it, even at the detriment of his own mental health — sebek will insist on you moving into his room with him, even if it means switching dormitories and kicking out his current roommates to make it work. he insists that he’s only doing it so he can keep you safe and help you study, that he’ll help you form a more reliable and structured schedule to help with your academics, but you both know that’s a blatant lie (even if he’s still in denial about it at first)

once he comes to terms with his obsession with fondness for you sebek will start to put together a shrine dedicated to you — though it is significantly smaller than the one he has for malleus and is kept very well hidden as he’s not so keen to show off his ‘weakness’ like he is his loyalty to wakasama. and this shrine is kept meticulously organised and clean, even if he does have to time his cleaning around your schedule so you don’t see it after you move in… though based on how much of your stuff has started to go missing since he forced you to stay with him, it’s safe to say you’re at least somewhat aware of his weird obsession whether or not you’ve actually laid eyes on his creation yet

the day you finally break and accept your fate is one of the best days of his life, one that he deems as a victory unmatched and treats, moving forward, as something worth celebrating every year you spend together. an anniversary, the start of the rest of your lives, the moment you finally realised that he was correct and stopped your pointless fighting and uncouth behaviour. of course if you break too severely he’ll be concerned, but if you merely lose all of your fight or, even better, develop an unhealthy sense of dependency on him adjacent to stockholm syndrome then he’ll be more than pleased with you. bordering on proud, even, in a way that feels more patronising than anything else…

as a member of the shroud family, and more importantly as the next watchman of tartarus and the isle of woe in general, idia has no other option but to move back home and work towards taking over s.t.y.x after graduating from night raven college. and as his partner, and eventual spouse, you will inevitably end up moving with him — unless you really want a long distance marriage, though that’s really not feasible in the long run. so best get used to the view and the general isolation from the outside world because this is where you’ll be spending the rest of your days… but at least you have good company, right?

his free time has dropped into the red zone and in the period of time where he’s slowly taking over more control of the organisation from his parents he’ll be lucky to get even one weekend off completely every month. sevens, the only reason the two of you get to spend more than a sparse few hours together each day is because ortho is more than willing to step in on his brother’s behalf and otherwise the two of you would be isolated from each other way more often than not. of course that’s not to say that he doesn’t try to get more time to spend with you, but he also can’t just up and abandon his job for a date because there’s so much that could go wrong without a watchman to keep track of everything… necessary evils and all that

that being said his parents and ortho are working with him throughout the entire transitionary period to help him work towards a more balanced split between his work with s.t.y.x and his life with you, using their own experience during his and ortho’s childhood as a jumping off point. of course this isn’t immediately possible as there’s just so much for him to adjust to and deal with at the beginning of his tenure as director, an even afterwards it’s a very slow process as he has to work around his colleagues and ortho’s limitations, but he will get there eventually. please be patient with him, he promises he’s trying his best

while the transitional process is still underway, his parents do what they can to both help idia fully adjust to his new role and everything that entails (a task which his father mostly takes over as he was the previous watchman) and help you adjust to what your new life within the shroud family entails (a task which his mother steps up to take over with an enthusiasm so potent you almost feel like you’re talking to the sun — after all, she has experience moving and settling into the isle of woe and being married to a watchman, so she’s the most well equipped for this particular assignment). and, frankly, the two of you couldn’t be more thankful for their well intentioned meddling because it makes the whole process go so much smoother for you both than it possibly could have otherwise

provided that you yourself don’t work with him at s.t.y.x (in which case you’d be working with him all day and there’d be no real need for him to do this), you can bet on idia taking every opportunity he can to call you just so the two of you can spend a bit of extra time together whenever his, frankly hellish, schedule allows. even if it means just a few blissful minutes between meetings or blot phantom testing sessions. because even just getting to see your smile through his screen and hear your voice is enough to give him the strength needed to make it through the rest of his work day… the venting he does also helps (after all he has no need to censor himself as you’re his partner and he doesn’t need to worry about you leaking classified information), but that’s neither here nor there

you have free rein to decorate the shroud family estate however you please as idia couldn’t care less and his parents, and even his grandmother, are more than happy to see some new life breathed into the historic building. and if you have any issues with mobility you can guarentee that the first modification the family will be doing to the old building is making it completely accessible to you — both in more mundane ways (e.g. constructing a stone slope up to the door to accommodate a wheelchair or to otherwise remove the need to brace your way up and down stairs) and in more technomantic ways, which your fiancè, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law are all particularly excited to experiment with (e.g. replacing heavy wooden doors with automatic doors that open with a specific verbal command or, if you’re unable to speak, open with a facial scan, and offering an alternative route up and down the various floors of the home by creating a hovering stair lift… the possibilities are endless and you’ll end up spoiled for choice if you don’t step in to redirect their focus back to their other responsibilities)

you have the freedom to roam every square mile of the isle of woe at will — excluding the obvious, like tartarus and the private residences of other people living on the island — and both idia and ortho encourage you to explore to your heart’s content, if only to give you something to do to stave off the boredom that tends to creep up on residents of the isle. though you will be shadowed by a few guard robots as you go, at a far enough distance for you not to feel suffocated unless its ortho himself as he always makes his presence known when he tags along for your ventures through town and the ruins, and that’s because idia refuses to take any chances with your safety and would much rather have you within grabbing distance of a guard just in case a breach happens if only to soothe his anxiety… after all, as rare as those incidents are they do still happen and he cannot lose another loved one to an escaped phantom, especially not you

gaming dates are still a staple of your relationship and he’s even made a few games specifically for you to play during his free time at work. it’s just that those late nights aren’t so late anymore and the dates themselves are few and far between, as is a necessity of his new life as the acting watchman of tartarus. but aside from that those dates are the same as they’ve always been, unhealthy gummy snacks and endless banter included

idia may be the director but he’s still pretty antisocial, even more so than his predecessors, so it almost goes without saying that he’s not going around making casual conversation with his colleagues — sevens, if it’s not about work or some standard social thing that he’s obligated to say (e.g. congratulations when they’ve had a kid or condolences when they’ve lost a relative) he will not be engaging even if you put a wand to his head. but despite his best efforts to avoid letting others in on his private life pretty much all of s.t.y.x knows that you’re idia’s partner because of just how much he brightens up whenever you’re around… oh and ortho and his mother’s habit of gushing about ‘idy’s wonderful fiancé/e’ helped a lot of people put the pieces together beyond that. not that they’d bring it up to him of course…

the purple-prose loving hunter of savanaclaw is… well… not someone that you should pursue a relationship with unless you’re prepared to be on the receiving end of a lot of grand gestures of love, and to be dragged into several hour long discussions and binges of all available media featuring his favourite actors. but if you’re the type of person who finds his endless dramatics charming, his stalking habit endearing, and his questionable hair care habits excusable, then you’re sure to find your person in rook… just be prepared to be dragged along for the ride whenever he gets around to transferring out of savanaclaw and finds his purpose as a vice housewarden elsewhere (and, tragically, starts covering up all of his freckles along the way… truly a tragedy)

his dorm mates absolutely hate him for this, but he will gush about you pretty much constantly to everyone in earshot — sometimes entirely unprovoked because you truly are always on his mind and he can’t help himself but start spouting sonnets in your honour. and his uniform may be a different colour but, rest assured, his flowery prose is very much so the same as it would come to be after his move between dorms. lucky you!

neige and vil movie marathons? neige and vil movie marathons. and not just movies, he will sit down and binge their interviews and stage performances with you as well if you let him. just, please do these marathons with him… even if it’s just once a month… please… you’re the only one he has who he can talk about this with

fighting over status, and territory, and even just for sport, is very much so a way of life in savanaclaw and rook is absolutely no exception to that particular rule. in fact since getting into a relationship with you he’s gotten into so many fights that he can hardly count the number on both hands — and he’s absolutely remorseless about it too, because he was only doing what was right to protect your reputation amongst his dorm mates. and isn’t that just what any good boyfriend would have done in his place?

compared to how it would come to be after his move to the fairest queen’s dorm, rook’s hair is perpetually a complete and utter mess. he manages to make it work for him, somehow, but still it’s always in rough shape — usually with some twigs or branches sticking out from one of his hunts. so please, please, introduce him to the wonders of a solid hair care routine because his poor scalp desperately needs it and he will thank you… even if he takes a while to actually get around to doing all of the steps you laid out for him (he has marks to hunt, okay? he’s busy!)

after running into vil, rook makes his desire to move dorms absolutely no secret. though outside of the headmage, you’re the only person he talks to about his reasoning in depth — and in fact the two of you will spend a good amount of time going back and forth on the subject as he tries to figure out whether he should, or even can, make the move over to pomefiore. because, after all, who better to go to with his dreams and debates than the person who perhaps knows him the best out of anyone in all of twisted wonderland?

as he doesn’t really have many people in his life that are willing to indulge him by listening to him talk about his interests and participating in them with him, rook values you and your relationship that much more. this also means that you will be subject to a lot of gushing and fan-boying about his favourite celebrities and everything he knows about them, but he’s cute when he’s passionate so you can’t say you mind too much — plus he’s not completely inconsiderate and is just as encouraging of you to gush and share and engage in the things that interest you in return, even partaking himself just so you have even more to bond over as a couple (even if your interests aren’t exactly his thing)

he is both extremely strong and extremely tactile, so when he’s in the mood to cling to you like a very loud and affectionate koala there is nothing you can do to pry him off — save for making it clear that you’re not in a touchy mood, because rook is stubborn and physically affectionate but not cruel. he’s also more than strong enough to just… pick you up and carry you around. which he does. often. whenever the mood strikes him, really. and he rarely ever holds his strength back with you, certainly not to the same extent as he would come to after transferring to pomefiore anyway, so… do with that whatever you will

while everyone that gets sorted into savannaclaw tends to embody the king of beasts’ spirit of persistence to some extent, rook’s persistence is especially blatant. he’s persistent in how he hunts his prey, he’s persistent in his pursuit of the things he’s passionate about (like vil and neige, for example), and he’s particularly persistent in his endless attempts to woo and flatter you throughout your courtship and, later on, established relationship. to the point where some of his attempts border on stalking, even. but he’s just so genuine and passionate and unwavering in how he goes about things that it’s almost impossible not to feel at least a little flattered by his attention… so he ends up being far more successful in his pursuit that most people would be if they found themselves in his position

the fifth strongest living mage in the entirety of twisted wonderland and a future king of the fae, a retired military general who is still remarkably strong and powerful despite his advanced age, and two highly trained knights-to-be who are each more than capable of downing almost any skilled opponent, all feeding into and worsening each other’s obsessions over you. yeah, it almost feels like an insult to simply describe your situation as their shared darling as ‘hopeless’. because when you’re at the centre of this quartet’s world the only way you have any chance of escaping is through finding and earning the favour of someone who is strong enough to kill them all… or managing to die in such a way that both your body and soul are destroyed, because sevens know they’d waste no time in resurrecting you if there was even the slightest possibility of getting you back in their arms, no matter the cost

between the wide berth that others tend to give malleus and those close to him by default, and sebek’s talent for pushing everyone else away due to his excessive volume and excessive proclamations of fae supremacy, you can expect everyone beyond your circle of admirers to start avoiding you entirely once your association with them becomes public knowledge. partially out of the fear of incurring the wrath of a dragon prince for getting too close to ‘his’ mate (something only leona would ever bother to do, and only then with the sole aim of messing with him) and partially out of a desire to protect their ears because… well… sebek is very loud and very few people choose to seek him out when they don’t have to. and when you couple the fact that natural segregation from the rest of the word with lilia’s talent for spinning tales and close ties to the biggest gossip and worst secret keeper in all of n.r.c, it’s safe to say that you’ll be left with no opportunities to escape… either because other people are too afraid to try, or because they’ve fallen for the rumours and believe that anything you try to say about your captors is a lie for attention. so… yeah… now the only social circle you have is them, best get used to hearing about gargoyles because that is going to be the vast majority of what you’ll be hearing for the rest of your life. oh and horses! not brought up nearly as often, but the break in routine is welcome nonetheless

physical isolation is also inevitable as you’re pushed to move into diasomnia, and later the castle in briar valley, which then leads to you being entirely kept away from the outside world. with only your captors and a select few very loyal servants for company. and with malleus draconia being behind your kidnapping there is zero chance of you being able to get away, so you’re really better off just accepting your fate and letting them do whatever the wish with you

especially when you take into account just how powerful his signature spell is and how tragically easy it would be for him to just force you into an eternal slumber and craft a dream where you’re truly happy with your situation and unwilling to escape. but for as much as malleus truly believes that he knows what’s best for you, he would only ever do this as a last resort as there are many other spells that he and his retainers can utelise to keep you captive safe at home with them, and even to lengthen your lifespan to match his own. including the likes of which that most modern mages have never heard of and entirely lack the capacity to counter, leaving you entirely at the mercy of his power and lilia’s well honed skills… or, to put it in other words, without any chance of escape

of the four of them, malleus and silver definitely treat you with a softer hand — approaching and treating you like a lover as opposed to just the source of their obsession and, in their own ways, doing only what they think is best for you (though malleus comes across as far more patronising and superior than silver does in this regard) — while lilia and sebek are much more willing to punish you. though lilia admittedly does humour your upset and fighting way more than his mentee and thus is more inclined to let you wear yourself out before scolding you and punishing you however he sees fit, while sebek has a far shorter fuse… though that’s likely just due to his age

of the four of them malleus is by far and away the worst when it comes to jealousy and wanting to be the recipient of all your attention and affection (it’s a dragon thing), with sebek coming very close behind with his own extremely loud and unshakeable jealousy towards others. silver is much more trusting and slow to act unless ordered to by malleus or his father, and lilia finds it more amusing than anything else when others vie for your attention and outgrew his jealous streak centuries ago — not so say that those two aren’t possessive, they are, they just don’t act on it as much as the other two do

if ever you try to argue or fight against your circumstances, chances are you’re going to come out the other side feeling thoroughly patronised and even worse about your situation. be that because of how silver just stands there and accepts your brutal insults and futile attempts to hurt him with his usual quiet stoicism until your guilt or exhaustion forces you to give up, or because of lilia’s teasing and goading that leaves you feeling unheard and like a child, or because of how quickly sebek launches into an equally enraged lecture that leaves you feeling small and frightened, or because of malleus’ earnest attempts to calm you down and make you understand that he ‘knows what’s best for you’… treating you more like a subject to be looked down upon and spoken for than the ‘equal’ he claims to view you as. and, eventually, even if it takes years to happen, this treatment will inevitably lead to you withdrawing and giving up your fight entirely… if only because you realise just how much of a waste of time, air, and energy it is to fight them on anything anymore

the four of them make sure that you’re well provided for in every aspect of your life — malleus especially as he’s the one with the most resources available to him, and as a dragon it’s in his nature to provide — but that intense pampering comes at the cost of your sense of independence and autonomy. and lilia is by far the worst offender when it comes to this because he knows exactly what he’s doing when he changes out your entire wardrobe and fills it with clothing that is more ‘befitting’ for a future monarch or that he personally seems as cute, and when he pushes his sons and his mentee to go the extra mile by carrying everything for you and redecorating your quarters and taking over your meals. it’s not entirely malicious on his end, and at the end of the day you’re never left wanting for anything beyond your original sense of self (which sebek conveniently never mentions whenever he starts loudly praising malleus for his generosity and lilia for his proactive thinking), but the point still stands that you will end up changed by them whether you want to be or not. like a bird locked away in a golden cage…

they’re all extremely protective people and that combined with the immense possessiveness that comes with being yanderes means that there is a very solid chance that at least one of them will end up killing because of you. or, rather, because of their obsession with you. can’t have anyone getting too close to you now can they? of course some are more violent than others (malleus, for example, won’t hesitate before frying someone with lightening and sebek is very quick to draw his sword on a perceived offender, while lilia is more about threats and prefers to toy with any rivals first, and silver takes a great deal of direct provocation — or an order from malleus or his father — to even think about physically harming another living being, yandere or otherwise)

as he’s slowly working towards taking over the business from his father and his list of responsibilities and duties has continued to grow more and more by the week, it almost goes without saying that kalim’s free time has dwindled substantially from what it was back when you first got together. of course he still does what he can to make time for you, as he adores you and wants to be with you as often as possible, but nowadays it’s just not feesable for the two of you to spend entire days together like you used to — and the time he does have to be with you is growing more limited by the day as his father continues to step away from work. so unless you’re mentally prepared to spend more time without your lover than with him, perhaps you shouldn’t be pursuing a lifelong relationship with the new head of the al-asim family

like his father before him, kalim tries to make up for his absence by showering you with gifts and other luxuries. of course he can recognise that this doesn’t entirely make up for all the weeks you’ve spent apart, he’s not that oblivious (anymore), but he at the very least hopes that the things he buys for you prove that you’re always on his mind despite the distance… and that they maybe even help to minimise any feelings of neglect on your end, which is pretty unavoidable given your lifestyles but that he nonetheless hopes to try and spare you from to the very best of his abilities

unless he’s literally out of the country or otherwise unable to take you with him as he travels for whatever reason, kalim is very insistent on the two of you taking your meals together everyday. partially because it’s nice to have some set routine no matter how chaotic the rest of his life is starting to get, but mostly because those meal times are some of the only blocks of the day where he’s not being dragged around and can give you his undivided attention. oh, and in addition to your shared meals he does also try and get his family together as often as possible for a full feast… which is about as chaotic as you’d expect given just how many siblings he has, but they’re also (thankfully for the staff) very infrequent as everyone is just so busy these days…

while jamil is tasked with following kalim around as he goes about whatever his duties demand of him each day, najma is tasked with taking care of your needs in return — though, of course, your relationship with her is on much better ground than your partner’s with her brother. honestly she’s more like a best friend than a personal head of staff and it’s easy to forget that she’s literally assigned to keep you safe up until the moment she starts ordering around your guards and intervening in a situation that could have turned out poorly for you… but you really shouldn’t expect anything less than perfect performance from a viper

your relationship is more public than ever before because of kalim’s now firm standing as the family head, which means that you’re now in exponentially more danger than you were in back when you were just dating. there are constant attempts on your life, both overt and covert, and it’s an unending battle on your staff’s part to keep you both safe. that being said, though, despite being aware of the looming threat you rarely ever actually feel like you’re in danger because of just how much kalim fights to give you some sense of safety and normalcy as his lover. not to say that you’re left in the dark or anything, but you’re definitely a bit less in the loop about every attempt and threat than he is and he’d much rather keep it that way for the sake of keeping you happy

on days where he cannot be home with you at all, he’ll ask one of his close relatives or one of your mutual friends to stay over and keep you company instead. and, thankfully, his mother and his father’s other wives are all happy to visit you whenever they’re asked and all make for excellent company (they also give very good advice about dealing with the pressures that come with marrying into the family, so be sure to listen to what they have to say!). he also calls you in between his meetings, and every morning and every night that you’re apart, just to check in and make sure you know that you’re always on his mind. cute!

within the first five years of your marriage you’ll end up becoming one of the most well travelled people to ever live on the face of twisted wonderland because kalim loves going on holidays with you and will take any opportunity he can to bring you with him — be that for business or for an impromptu getaway. and that’s not even to mention all of the major holidays he takes off just so the two of you can fly out somewhere beautiful and relax for a while… along with a few of your most trusted servants but that’s neither here nor there

he trusts you more than anyone else in his life and, while it may not be very traditional of him and may cause some backlash from his extended family, he has absolutely no problem with handing over some duties to you than he would otherwise be expected to manage alone. be that related to the business or to the family itself. after all, why wouldn’t he? if you make it clear you want to help him he’s hardly going to scorn you for it… even if some of his more distant relatives might (but who cares about what they have to say anyway?)

now that he has so much responsibility resting on his shoulders kalim is a whole lot more reserved and serious in his demeanour than he used to be — he kind of doesn’t have any other option, after all. but when the two of you are alone, or at least away from his business partners, he becomes much more boisterous and high energy, like just being in your presence alone is enough to bring back the chipper and generous young man you fell in love with way back when

for as much trouble as delinquent ! deuce spade spreads throughout the streets of clocktown, for as many fights as he starts and ends for one petty reason or another, when it comes to your relationship it’s like he becomes a completely different person. or, well, a mostly different person. being with you, loving you, doesn’t make him any less of a troublemaker or a delinquent (he needs a far bigger push to finally leave that lifestyle behind, after all), but it does make him think a bit more about what he’s doing when you’re around, and it does make him a bit softer around the edges with you and because of you. so the same but different in a way that speaks of potential for more, and that’s got to count for something… right?

while he may have pretty much abandoned all hope when it comes to his own academic career, deuce still does what he can to try and support you with yours. he’s imperfect in his approach and can sometimes encourage you to fall back on the same bad habits as him, namely skipping school and not the terrorising town part, but more often than not he is a pretty supportive partner… just don’t ask him to help with your homework because while he may, may, try, you will not be getting far at all

he is incredibly protective over you and after you two start getting close it becomes common knowledge amongst the local delinquents to never talk about you around deuce because that’s the quickest way to get his attention — and if what they’re saying is at all negative, or alternatively borders on locker room talk, the fastest way to get on his bad side… and earn a beating for your trouble. so needless to say you won’t ever have to worry about getting into any sort of trouble with him by your side (because he takes care of things before you even start to suspect anything)

his own efforts to bleach his hair have, admittedly, ended up with a rather inconsistent look, so if ever you offer to do the job for him he’d gladly (though feigning reluctance because image is everything, even with you) accept your help. just don’t ask to dye over it as he just won’t let you… with him it’s either his natural hair colour or the bleached look, and no amount of puppy dog eyes is gonna get him to change his mind on the matter

him and dylla aren’t exactly on the best of terms at the moment, but one of the very few things that they can discuss without things getting too strained is you. after all, deuce is always more than happy to gush about all of your achievements and how much he loves you, and dylla is always happy to hear about the only positive thing in her son’s life during this rocky period. granted these conversations can sour if the topic strays out from you to the circumstances surrounding your relationship and deuce’s delinquent friends… but it’s always nice while it lasts, and it’s nice to know that your boyfriend’s mum likes you

he tries to keep you out of his more… questionable activities. the success of these efforts is, of course, entirely dependent on what type of person you are, but at his core deuce is very keenly aware that his behaviour and actions are wrong and he’d much rather not drag you into the mess he’s gotten himself into. even if he himself is not ready to leave that same mess behind yet

he’s very casually affectionate with you. or, rather, he’s very casually touchy with you in line with how the other boys in his circle tend to be with their partners — he’s just more respectful about how and where he touches you, and cares enough to respect your boundaries without ever making a fuss about it. beyond getting embarrassed in a very typical teen-boy kind of way if you call him out on it, but that never lasts long and is always followed by the most earnest apology he can muster

that being said, he is incredibly easily flustered and caught off guard by you being all cute and affectionate with him. especially so if that affection involves being very tactile and calling him pet names that border on sickeningly sweet — and while being showered with love by his favourite person doesn’t bother him per se, he will at that point put some physical distance between you while he tries to compose himself… and sevens help him if you do this in front of his buddies because he will not live it down (delinquents don’t show mercy to each other and you will have doomed him to a lot of teasing until he blows his gasket and beats some sense into them…)

being with delinquent ! deuce means accepting that you will be seeing him bloodied, scraped up, and bruised a hell of a lot more frequently than you may want to. and while he will make an effort to clean himself up before seeing you if he knows that you’re squeamish, his memory isn’t perfect and there will still be times where you’ll catch him looking a lot worse for wear — and if you can’t deal with that, then you’re best off not getting into a relationship with him until a while after he settles into his future ‘honour student’ dreams over at night raven college

while clover patisserie is still very much so a family business, his work as the primary baker does still manage to keep poor trey busy more often than not. especially so when his younger siblings are still attending school and can’t help him out, and even more so if you’re not so good in the kitchen and he’s left to handle all of the baking on his own — which may not be the same workload as one might have at a larger establishment, but it’s still pretty intense and leaves him with far less time off than he may have had if he chose a less demanding career. that being said, though, trey makes an effort to set aside a good amount of time everyday for the two of you to spend together, thus making sure that you’re never left feeling neglected even when he’s had to spend pretty much all day, from dawn until dusk, handling everything at the shop

his days start extremely early, sometimes as early as four in the morning in preparation for major holiday sales and other events when the patisserie can expect a lot of traffic, but he’s also honed the ability to move around the house without waking you up as he goes about his morning routine so your days aren’t so gravely impacted by his ungodly schedule. like the only things he’ll do before leaving that directly involve you are kissing you on the forehead and whispering a quiet farewell, and leaving a cheeky note in the bathroom reminding you to thoroughly brush your teeth in advance of the day — maybe even pointing specifically to a new floss or toothpaste or other oral health product he bought for you to try out. unless you also start your days as early as he does, obviously

as much as he’d love for you to pitch in and pull some weight in the family business with his siblings and parents, trey is aware that running a business like this isn’t everyone’s style and he is just as supportive of you pursuing the things that matter to you. though you will be coming with him on errand runs and helping him clean up when you’re free, that’s nonnegotiable unfortunately — and he pays you very well (with baked goods and the good stuff to clean your mouth with afterwards, for balance naturally)

he has his own personal spin on a few of your absolute favourite baked goods that he created back when you first got together and perfected before formally adding them to the rotation of recipes for the patisserie — and he makes them just about as frequently as he can, which naturally depends on how complex the recipes themselves are and how difficult the ingredients are to get his hands on. oh, and he absolutely saves the best of each batch for you to eat whenever you get home that day, because he’s sweet like that

(he also absolutely has a baked good specifically named after you, something catered specifically to your personal tastes in just about every possible way, and he probably did this as a way to celebrate your engagement — intending to sell it as a one off before it became so well liked by his customers that he kept it on, but only for special celebrations within the queendom or custom orders)

a good portion of the patisserie’s regulars are neighbours that have known the family since trey and his siblings are kids, meaning that they are all very invested in your relationship, very vocal about how much they like you (and how much happier trey seems to be whenever you come up in conversation), and more than willing to share stories about him from when he was a kid. like a large extended family. yes, it’s very embarrassing for him, but he can’t complain too much since they’re all otherwise really great and pay very well for their orders… so the story sharing is a sacrifice he just has to make

as a full time professional baker the amount of manual labour he needs to do on a daily basis is pretty high, meaning that he’s now a hell of a lot stronger than he was back when he was a teen. and, more specifically, that he’ll have absolutely no problems when it comes to picking you up, carrying you around, and manhandling you whenever you ask him to — be still your beating heart, right?

he’s still just as teasing and playful with you as he always has been, he just doesn’t have as much free time as he used to and that means most of his ploys to mess with you tend to happen on his very rare days off or through the help of his younger siblings. and he’s determined to top the oyster sauce incident, so be sure to double check any baking advice he gives you using a reputable source because he will take advantage of your ignorance if you let him (asshole)

you are his go-to taste tester for any new recipes he’s trialling and every new batch of goods he makes for the patisserie. like you were for him back at school for all of the unbirthday parties and such, just now with more variety. some things never change…

this almost goes without saying but silver is incredibly inexperienced and as his first ever partner it’s going to fall on you — especially during the very early period of your relationship when you’re just starting to get used to each other — to teach him how to please you. thankfully, though, silver is a very determined student who is very eager to make you feel good and very good at following instructions, so as long as you’re willing and clear enough about telling him what you want you’ll always end up with precisely what you want. even if his initial attempts at performing one act or another may be a bit clunky due to his aforementioned inexperience… but that’s nothing that plenty of practice won’t fix

thankfully, despite his struggles in his actual studies at night raven, silver is a very quick study when it comes to your body and someone who thrives in a hands-on learning environment. so unless you’re actively experimenting with something new, it never takes him long to adjust to whatever position or kink or pace you want him to try, even when it’s really not something he’s into himself (because, after all, it’s the knightly thing to put his lover first and he’d never do anything to violate the very code he grew up learning by heart… lucky you)

he defaults to more of a dominant role — though he’s more of a soft pleasure dom given just how much he prioritises your pleasure and care even at his own expense — but he’s equally willing to hand over complete control to you if only you ask. either way, though, you can guarantee that his focus will be entirely on you and he will be treating you with enough softness and reverence to put the most piuous of worshippers to shame (it’s, admittedly, something that’s sure to overwhelm you at first unless you’re very experienced… but with enough time to adjust you’ll come around to finding it more endearing and flattering than anything else)

circling back to his submissive side, silver is both incredibly obedient and willing to follow just about any order you give, and trusting enough to give you complete control over his person in whatever way you wish. not to say that he doesn’t have his hard limits, because he certainly does and he will tell you about them as he figures them out himself, just that he trusts you so completely that he knows beyond doubt that you won’t do anything to harm him. so if you’re looking for a brat to tame or to punish then you’re terribly out of luck… but if you’re really into things like honour bondage (that being having someone act restrained without using any physical bindings) then you may have found the very best candidate for that sort of play

silver loves to admire you both within the bedroom and outside of it, and he has been caught staring at you more times than he’d like to admit by those he’s closest to (always with the same foolish lovestruck look about him if his father’s to be believed). this habit of his translates to him preferring positions that allow him to comfortably see your face, such as missionary or the mating press for example, but if there’s a mirror nearby he’s more amenable to having sex in other positions instead. not that he can really ever deny you anything when you ask him nicely, but that’s beside the point

due to his naturally blunt manner of speech he cannot dirty talk to save his life. in fact he’s generally more on the quiet side in the bedroom overall and outside of the very occasional request for permission or question about if you’re okay or ‘i love you’ (always whispered with adorably pink cheeks, of course) the most you’ll get out of him is the occasional low grunt or moan. that being said, the little dirty talk that does slip out (always at your request; sevens know he’s much too shy to start of his own accord) is always straightforward, brief, and leans towards the type of praise that’s sure to leave you feeling all mushy and flustered… unless you’re naturally very unaffected by compliments, of course

as he’s been training to be a knight since he was a young child and hasn’t strayed from his routine unless he’s been forced to by forces beyond his control, silver has a very muscular physique and is more than strong enough to pick you up and manhandle you to your heart’s content. granted there are many things that he wouldn’t even think to do unless you brought them up first (such as carefully choking you with his bicep while you’re having sex, which took you weeks of conversations before he even considered it), but he strives for your approval and enjoyment so all you need to do is ask and he’ll try his absolute best to deliver what you want. all of his training has also given him excellent stamina (excluding his curse), which definitely helps on the fantasy fulfilment front too

typically it takes a lot for him to actually cum when you’re having sex or when you go down on him, but you can’t even count on both hands the number of times he’s finished entirely untouched just from going down on you. he’s not embarrassed about it either and will tell you, bluntly as ever, precisely what pushed him over the edge, how much he loves going down on you, and what it does to his brain whenever you clamp your thighs around his head, dig your nails into his scalp, and start fucking his mouth while moaning his praises… and when he puts it like that you can’t really blame him for getting so worked up

he may have never said as much outright but it’s clear as day just how much of a praise kink he has. sevens, he damn near lives for your approval and there’s nothing that makes him throb and flush like hearing your voice calling out for him and assuring him that he’s doing well, that you feel incredible, that he’s doing something right. though don’t go too heavy on the compliments because you may end up throwing him off entirely. it’s a delicate balance

loathe he is to admit it, but silver is still very much so vulnerable to his sleeping curse even when you two are being intimate and there will be times where he falls asleep when you’re having sex. please don’t take it to heart as it truly has nothing to do with you, it’s entirely out of his control and more of an inconvenience than anything else, but if you still want to continue feel free to shake him awake and he’ll be happy to go on once he’s fully shaken off the last remnants of sleep. that being said, these instances are surprisingly rare all things considered so not quite the dealbreaker you may expect

as mentioned previously he is very willing to experiment as long as your suggestions don’t involve kinks that run the risk of causing you any actual harm — though long and detailed conversations are an absolute must no matter what as he refuses to go into anything blind, both for your safety and to ensure he’s able to give you precisely what you want. even if his own personal preferences are more on the vanilla side, all things considered

he’s also very staunchly opposed to any sort of degradation as the idea of insulting you or talking down to you, even with your enthusiastic consent and with the sole aim of getting you off, is enough to leave him feeling a bit sick. after all, he was raised to be chivalrous, to be a gentleman, and insulting one’s partner stands in direct opposition with everything he was raised to be and, thus, he just can’t bring himself to do it. and even if he tried it just… wouldn’t land because his heart wouldn’t be in it at all, so it would just be an awkward and upsetting experience for you both