#omne thoughts

Throughout the school year, they noticed their bodies behaving weirdly, like their injuries not properly healing. For example the little cuts Ace got from the chandelier, never properly scab over.

So by the time they get to the final overblot, they're riddled with opened wounds that don't bleed, friction burns and bruises that don't fade, and overstretched and torn ankle ligaments.

Also their eyes are off. Deuce's and cloudy but retain their original (albeit muddled) color. Ace's would also be a little cloudy but would look more like albino eyes. Their skin, especially Ace's, would be a little see through with their veins being a tad too visible. Or their hair never looking not even a cm longer than the start of the semester.

None of the other students realize that they don't look the way they did prior to NRC because they've looked like that since the first day of school. But, every so often, Epel can help but recall how bright and saturated Ace's eyes were when he hid with him in the bushes during orientation. Or Riddle thinking about how pale Deuce is. Despite coming back from a track meet without sunscreen, and he doesn't have sunburns or even a tan from it.

All of the Froshes are together but they all are mix of being to dense/emotionally constipated and scared/unready for commitment.

(Rankin these from most to least)

1. Idia - I think that he could have been one of he was approached before he made Orthro

2. Jamil - He would have become if Kalim hadn't first. Probably after his curry poisoning

3. Ruggie - the only reason he is not higher is because he is so diligent and hopefully and that hope would deter The Benefactor

4. Leona - I personally think that to a degree he, whether he realizes or not, clings to the things he's good at to give him hope.

5. Malleus - If Lilla was never there, he would be a candidate but because he's from the briar valley this making him less likely them most.

6. Vil - if he wasn't so disciplined and driven then he would probably make the deal but I feel like he would make his around 14 like when Niege got that award. Or some other exceedingly bad heartbreak/ underminement of his skills

7. Trey - out of everyone he definitely could have been approached. He just wasn't.. maybe if he was like a little bit closer with riddle than the emotional trauma from the incident with riddle's mother would have pushed him to the point of being a candidate. But like he was almost there. The only reason why he's not higher on the list is because he is just better off in terms of everyday and home life. But that incident would have been his catalyst .

8. Riddle - he like Trey. Definitely could have been a candidate for similar reasons but I think because the way he processed his trauma was into shame that it prevented him from becoming a possible candidate because he never really despaired. And that shame response to him breaking the rules also puts him below Trey.

9. Azul - if he didn't immediately turn his energy into drive and despaired about it for just like a little bit longer, he also would have been camped it, but his diligence and determination kind of just saved him from being a possible magical boy.

10. Deuce - he would have become a magical boy either almost right after overhearing his mother's phone call or about the same time Ace does after Vargas camp.

11. Jack - right after Leona's overblot that would really get to him. Especially if right after something bad happened to him in Savannah claw because of him being a "traitor"

12. Floyd - his would be either after playful land if it was written to be as traumatizing as it was, or right around The book 6 missing.. I feel like without some sort of major event greatly negatively impacting either azul or Jade then he wouldn't at all be a candidate.

13. Epel - would only occur if he got some form of factual proof that he could never obtain his dream of being strong.

14. Cater - maybe if he never found connection he would qualify but I don't know him well enough to say for certain.

15. Jade - He's too entertained by everything. I can imagine him being so physically distressed that he could be a candidate but not emotionally. So unless something really really bad happened. But he would definitely be a possibility of a non-zero one but not a high non-zero one.

16. Rook - because of his Outlook on life and seeing beauty in everything, he would almost always be able to see hope in most situations and I highly doubt he would reach the emotional criteria. Maybe before he saw Niege he could have been a candidate but I don't know enough about that time to make a call on that part.

17. Ortho - has a lot of Hope also I do not believe that the benefactor would recognize him as a possible candidate because of the fact he's a humanoid.

18. Sliver - Lilia kept him happy and hopeful that I don't think he would reach that point and if he did it would be during Malleus's overblot. But once again he's from the briar valley which makes it way less likely for him to be selected and the only time he would meet the emotional criteria for it is while he was within a dream and used to physically be approached in order to become one.

19.Lilla - well I think his orphaned pass could make him a possible candidate. Him being in the briar valley and also hella old makes him incredibly unlikely to be selected. He's just too old and in such an unfortunate location to be chosen as a magical boy.

Some of them are only ranked this low because I don't know them as characters well enough to give a solid statement. But the majority of NRC probably could have been selected if they just had their lke overblot emotions without the overblot before NRC.

A large portion of why most of NRC aren't magical boys is because they either have like heavy shame in place of despair in those moments or some other emotion rather than despair. Mostly shame and envy.

Idk Jyugo could maybe have a chance at being a (relatively) normal teen. I've been thinking about think for a long time (literally years) and I can't properly articulate enough of a story to write a fic myself but nobody else has written a fic like that.

Here are some things I imagine within the au happening

Riddle eating a human heart whole

Trey teaching Deuce how to properly butcher a person

Trey collecting the teeth because it's Trey

Cater selecting new meat through stalking online and in person

Trey teaching Ace how to bake using people.

in this sebek would be Trey's cousin and because of his Fae lineage, the curse would be dulled down for him but still causing him to hunger more than most people

What kind of Half fae? I don't know but part fae to some degree and half breast beastman. Because of him being part beastman, he would have the physical characteristics of a kitsune (ie a tail and ears) and because of the fae and having much more magic compared to beastman and human the general.

Part of what could make it really interesting is if he was like a fox fae. I don't know if that's a possibility but if it is it would add even more to it because it would make it more accurate. Because in like kitsune folklore they always start off as just normal foxes and we know from Malleus that when fae infants look incredibly similar to animal counterparts. And because of Cheka and the manga we also know a similar saying is true for beastmen. And even though they both resemble their non-humanoid counterparts, we know from Malleus that fae can turn back into their much less humanoid forms.

In my head it makes more sense for it's just be parfait and not just like a fox fave. That's a possibility because in my understanding of how they work is that they have to reptilian or idk an aesthetic acceptcion (Lilla). I just want to note here that when I'm saying fae I'm not referring to the fairies we saw at the fairy gala I'm referring to like the much more humanoid ones like the Dwarfs, Malleus, etc.

Trying to write a fic that focuses is just on the two of them. It results in something that feels incredibly boring and I don't want it to be boring but I can't figure out anything else to do with them. If I can't find something within Canon, I then try and get inspiration from other like fan media but because they don't interact people don't make things with them so there's so little in the so little I can't find any inspo for how they would interact because most of It's too short to resolve the issue I need to resolve.

I'm also trying really hard with this fic to not just do what I do with my older brother but with Ace and Jade where they would just info dump back and forth.