#lotuswrites

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A/N: This one-shot was requested as part of my VOTE LILIA 2026 campaign by an anon. Admittedly, I wrote this at 1 in the morning, so if I missed anything in my editing... Well, sorry, I’ll try and fix it later. But SPREADING LILIA PROPAGANDA was more important.  

Oh, and since this fic is about Kalim, you should VOTE HIM TOO!! There’s no incentive to do this; he’s just a cutie patootie. 

Also, I must admit, I’ve never considered myself a Scarabia girlie at all, but this my third time writing a one-shot focused on them... I’ve technically written for Kalim more than I have Riddle... Suffice to say you guys are starting to convince me. I’m having a great deal of fun thinking about these sillies.  

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Kalim loved finding every excuse to spend more time with you. He could sit in the dorm’s common room for hours, warm air drifting through the large windows and stirring up all the finely woven carpets and tapestries.  

Spending the afternoon preening your feathers wasn’t exactly what he’d expected when you’d asked to come over, but he certainly wasn’t complaining now, was he? 

You sat facing away from him; crimson wings neatly folded against your back. You’d changed out of your uniform into looser clothing, better suited for Scarabia’s weather. Just looking at you made Kalim flustered.  

“So... How was your day?” You asked, lifting one wing. Not completely unfurled yet, just enough for Kalim to shuffle forward and begin running his fingers through the first set of feathers.  

“It was nice!” he answered. His hands shook as he reached out, brushing against your skin and feathers. You were warm, and impulsively he wanted to just stay still, or to trace along the down that covered patches of your back. But he didn’t, and focused on his task, setting each loose feather aside in a little pile. “Kinda boring for the most part, though.” 

You shifted slightly as Kalim pulled a little too hard. “Gentle, please,” you said, turning to look at him. Kalim winced, twisting the good feather between his fingers. 

“Sorry,” he apologized. He needed to relax. There wasn’t anything to stress about. It was like playing with someone’s hair. Yeah, just like all the times he would braid Jamil’s when bored in class (which often got him chastised, of course, but it was fun while it lasted). 

But then again, this wasn’t even close. It wasn’t Jamil he was with; it was you. Glorious, wonderful, beautiful you, and therefore what should have been a very casual activity felt infinitely more daunting.  

“Anyways... Surely something happened, yeah? I don’t care if it’s boring, I want to hear about your day,” you restarted the conversation, looking up at the ceiling. 

Kalim smiled. “No, it really was nothing. You?” He admitted, moving on to the next section of the plumage.  

“Truly stupid, is how it’s been,” you answered.  

“Well, what did you do?” Kalim asked, finally getting into a groove. It felt natural, ruffling through your feathers, setting loose down to the side and scratching at the occasional pin feather.  

“Oh, it’s not what I did. It’s what Grim did,” you explained, shaking your head. “You know how you took me shopping a few days ago? And I bought all those cans of tuna?” 

“To store for after exams, yeah,” Kalim nodded along. He loved taking you down to Foothill Town to shop. Even if you spent half the time turning down his attempts to spoil you, the few gifts he managed to get always made the trips special. “As a reward for him doing well.” 

“Yeah, I hid them in one of the side rooms. Even asked the ghosts to stand guard!” You chuckled, “Don’t know why I thought that would work, though. Because you know what Grim did?” 

“Find it all?” Kalim guessed, pausing as you stretched your wing all the way out, the blue and yellow pinion feathers normally hidden beneath layers of crimson finally given bright sunlight, standing in perfect contrast to the sandy browns and reds that made up the room’s walls. He moved away from you to preen them too, now able to look at your face as you both talked.  

You met Kalim’s gaze as you corrected, “Ate it all.” 

Kalim gasped in mock surprise. Grim’s appetite was something he was aware of—Hence why he always tried to remedy it! “How could he possibly eat all that? We could barely carry it all back to the school there was so much tuna!” 

“Exactly!” you said, feathers ruffled in excitement. “Like, where does it all go? Does he have some secret stomach?” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Kalim laughed smoothing your feathers back down and returning behind you to start on the other wing. “No evidence otherwise! He very well might.” 

“Ehh, probably not. He’s currently experiencing the consequences of binging that much,” you explained. “And despite being completely sick to the stomach, he still insists he’d do it again! How am I to deal with him?”  

Kalim opened his mouth to respond when you leaned back against him, head resting on his shoulder as you looked up at him. Kalim squeaked in surprise; his cheeks flooded with color.  

He stared down at you, realizing you were blushing too.  

“Thanks for this, by the way,” you chirped. “I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s hard for me to reach back there, and--” 

“It’s not a problem at all!” Kalim interrupted, sitting you back up and returning to work. His head was spinning, and he was instantly reminded of just how close he was to you right now. How intimate the whole process was. He couldn’t get the image of your face out of his head, all rosy and relaxed. Your lips curled into a gentle smile, eyes sparkling in the sunlight... Sevens, he was getting distracted. Clearing his throat, he continued, “I enjoy this, actually. Just getting to talk with you. And besides, I get a nice little collection out of it.”  

“... Collection?” 

“The feathers, obviously. They’re beautiful. I’d much rather wear yours than the ones I already have,” he admitted, pushing through the embarrassment of the confession. The ones attached to his hairband were nice, sure, but he would much rather be able to carry a little sign of you everywhere. 

You folded your wings up again, turning around to face Kalim. You reached up and pulled the old ones out, setting them aside, and tied the new feathers in. 

Your hands were so close to his face, your wings reaching out to pull him closer like a little hug. You were so close—Kalim so desperately wanted to kiss you. But then again, that would probably be a terrible idea. You came here to talk to him as a friend, right? One of these days, he’d find a good way to finally confess to you but today wasn’t that day. 

Two was crying on the pink couch they would normally sit with their friend. Their friend was eliminated. They felt empty without Gaty. Four and X noticed this.

"Hey, aren't you suppose to do the challange?" Four asked.

Two sniffled and faced him and X.

"Yeah, I told them to bake cakes for me," Two sighed.

"What's wrong, Two?" X asked.

"Gaty got elimated...I put her away..." Two explained, "I miss her dearly."

"Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?" X questioned.

"You know, there's always something," Four teased with hands in a tickling motion.

"I suppose that might help," Two added, "I have nothing to lose."

"Are you sure, you giggly prime?" Four continued to tease.

"Sure," Two attempted to smile.

"All right, sit back and relax," X gleaned.

"How are they going to relax from their laughter?" Four asked.

"I am just trying to nice. They need some comfort," X replied.

"Then tickle Two then," Four stated.

"Okay," X added.

X started with Two's tummy since he remembered they were most ticklish there. Two giggled but not as much as previously.

"You aren't tickling rough enough, X," Four suggested, "This is how I'd do it."

Four tickled Two's feet while X was still tickling their tummy. Two's giggled echoed the grasslands. Four checked up on X.

"You might want to move to another spot, X," Four suggested.

"Oh, like here," X guessed.

They began to tickle Two's armpits. Two giggled even more. Four also tickled Two's knees. After a few minutes, Four and X whispered to each other. Two was baffled. They began to poked at Two's sides. They had the brightest and longest smile for a long time.

"What about we count their ribs?" Four asked X.

"Like pretend?" X asked.

"Yeah, like you count their ribs, and I will count their fingers," Four smiled.

"Of course," X smiled.

"But I hate math. That isn't that funny," Two mentioned.

"Your wishes are respected," Four assured, "But there is one more thing I have for you, silly."

"What?" Two asked.

Four then quickly spidered Two's tummy. Their laughter was so loud, Death Pact Again heard it on their way back.

"We made you a cake!" Marker smiled.

"Are they in pain?" Black Hole wondered.

"No, it’s laughter. Not crying," Tree explained.

"So did we win?" Fanny asked.

"I think we are finished," Four added, "You have to eat Death Pact Again's cake."

"All right, that is fine. Thank you very much, Four and X," Two smiled.

They then tired Death Pact Again's cake and confirmed they were safe. Four and X walked away. Fanny was confused.

"Why were Four and X tickling you?" Fanny asked.

"I miss Gaty and needed some cheering up," Two explained.

"Understandable, hang in there, okay," Fanny encouraged.

Uh first and foremost shout out this specific MLP episode because. Like. It's their whole dynamic summarized lol

In case you don't know the reference a quick synopsis:

Pinkie Pie is planning Rainbow Dash's party, but Cheese Sandwich shows up and offers to throw it instead. Everyone is very excited by this because he's famous for his parties being so grand and fun. Pinkie has a crisis because planning parties is her whole thing but now Cheese is doing her job. Anyways they compete for who should host the party before eventually realizing the best party is one they plan together and embrace the other's strength to celebrate Rainbow Dash.

... Which uh is like. Basically the NBC event plot if you think about it. Skully wants to celebrate Halloween one way and everyone else is planning a completely different party and he crashes out about it

Anyway as a nice bonus, Madalyn's whole thing is "find a thing you love more than anything and do that thing 24/7 365 with full commitment too it" and quite frankly if anyone is completely locked in on something it's Sebek and Skully. I think she just really loves both of their passion to their respective causes.

Leona has no Ultimate because I couldn't think of a good one.

Er, I mean, it represents his feelings of inferiority compared to Falena (Ultimate Guardian) and Malleus (Ultimate Monarch/Prince/idk I'll figure out specifics later). That he got into NRC due to *luck*, not his own worth like everyone else.

He is the Chapter 2 Blackened.

The motive is something I'm still working out the details for, so suggestions are welcome.

Jamil does have an Ultimate (Ultimate Snake Charmer) he just lies and says he doesn't due to trying to "not outshine Kalim" as he's always been instructed.

The current plan is for Book 4's "twist" to be Jamil's Ultimate, which directly links to the case and would be impossible for anyone else to do.

TWILIGHT -- Diasomnia.

My justification for this is that Diasomnia is a dorm of "nobility". It is the dorm of your magical all-rounders, much like Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, who lived her life in the city of Canterlot, was trained by Princess Celestia, eventually became a Princess of Friendship, and who represents the element of magic. Diasomnia through and through. I could see a potential argument for Ignihyde just because of the Equestria Girls Sci-Twi who doesn't havr magic initially and instead focuses on sciences,,, but we're talking the ture Mane 6 not EAH so. Diasomnia it is.

PINKIE PIE -- Heartslabyul

Pinkie Pie ? Strict ? Isn't the whole theme the Queen of Heart's rules ?

Yeah

But have we considered that Pinkie Pie's element is Laughter. She is the embodiment of joy and whimsy. She would absolutely host the best tea parties known to all of ponykind.

And besides, I think all the wacky rules are right up Pinkie's alley. She'd rebel against a few of them here and there but they're all rather silly. I'm sure she'd be singing whenever hedgehogs sneeze even without prompting.

Besides, for all her whimsical chaos, Pinkie is actually pretty strict with herself. She is completely committed to being a shining light in everypony's lives and has high expectations on how she goes about doing so. She spends hours toiling over the exact number of every single material she needs and where each decoration should go. Pinkie IS strict about her parties. She is not a true embodiment of chaos; she has lots of self-discipline.

RARITY -- Octavinelle

"But shouldn't she be in Pomefiore ? She's a high fashion diva completely commited to the pursuit of beauty much like Vil--" shhhh listen

I could reasonably see Rarity in either Pomefiore OR Octavinelle but my justification for Octavinelle is its core theme: Benevolence.

Rarity's generosity fits right in with Octavinelle's goal. She'd maybe have a lot of inner conflict about wanting desperately to be in Pomefiore, but she has a home in Octavinelle without a shadow of a doubt.

She's find a way to make the stupid fedora and socks work.

RAINBOW DASH -- Savanaclaw

I feel like this one kinda goes without saying

Loyal to the pack. Persistent in her goals of becoming a Wonderbolt.

Also you just know she would absolutely cook everyone in Spelldrive like it's not even funny

APPLE JACK -- Pomefiore

Obligatory Epel reference

Apple farm

Super cool granny

Gets into arguments with a certain fashionista

Yeah close enough welcome back Epel Felmier

JK JK

Well kind of.

Apple Jack is in Pomefiore for much the same reason Epel is: her tenacity.

Which uhm side tangent but are we going to talk about the fact that Savanaclaw and Pomefiore have basically identical goals

Like "persistence" is literally in the definition of "tenacity" they're more or less the exact same thing

Technically there is a difference (persistence is the pursuit of an ideal/goal, tenacity is the ability to hold on to an ideal/goal) but it's very subtle and I just feel like maybe we could have gone for a different theme ?

Anyways if she isn't in Pomefiore she's probably in Savanaclaw with Rainbow,,, but I do think that subtle difference between persistence and tenacity is important here.

Rainbow to BECOME a Wonderbolt. She is fighting her way forward to REACH her goal.

Apple wants to MAINTAIN the family's orchard and support her kin.

Both are fighting for a goal but Rainbow is fighting to make it and Apple is fighting to keep it.

There's the difference.

FLUTTERSHY -- Scarabia

Please hear me out

Mindfulness.

Fluttershy is a kind, compassionate, and well-thought pony. She strives to support others but does so through stepping back and taking her time. She does not rush into things, she pauses and works it through.

She does her work in the background and is more than content with doing so.

However if she wasn't in Scarabia she would be in Octavinelle. Technically I think Octavinelle's aesthstics fit her better than Scarabia but we're not going by aesthetics we are going by the exact definitions of the dorms and the dorms say Scarabia so

BONUS: RAMSHACKLE TWILIGHT AND SPIKE

While I sorted Twilight into Diasomnia, her being in Ramshackle works too.

A mediator who uses the magic of friendship to sort through problems and has an animal companion ? Sounds like Yuu to me

Bonus points for her also going through a magic mirror and ending up in a different dimension

For the sake of this comparison Celestia is Mickey Mouse lmao

Technically I like Ramshackle Twilight more than Diasomnia or Ignihyde Twilight but since Ramshackle technically isn't one of the main dorms it's in this separate thing.

Azul is... Byakuya 2.0?

Chapter 3 Blackened -- Not sure about the victims though.

Actually ngl I have very few ideas for details regarding the chapters past prologue/1 I just know vaguely what I wanna do.

The motive is akin to THH's Chapter 3 in the sense that the reward is freedom + excessive amounts of money... The twist is that each person is *given* a target (by Monokuma). If they kill anyone other than their target, they do not get the rewards.