#twst reader insert

“I just wanna give you a hug!” Twists and turns leaving you dazed and dizzy, no matter how long you’ve been in this world. “Come on, Shrimpy! It’s just a lil squeeze!” Looking around the hallway, you see a slightly cracked open door, you quickly rush in hopes of an exit to another hallway or a hiding spot.

Your hopes are dwindled when you notice there’s absolutely nothing in here but dusty desks and closets filled with old notebooks and binders. “Shrimpy! You can’t run forever! Just a little squeeze!” You hear the door squeak open. “Maybe you’ll make that same noise too!”

“Come on Floyd,” You nervously start to back away from the door. “Can’t we do this another day? You can squeeze Ace or Deuce!” You offer up, still backing away. “They’re not as fun as Shrimpy.” Floyd says stepping into the room. “I like the noises Shrimpy makes when I squeeze.”

Still sputtering out excuse after excuse in hopes of convincing Floyd to leave you alone, even just for an hour, you didn’t notice the shadow lurking behind you. Bumping into a chest, you squeal as you put your arms up in order to protect your face. “Ah, no need for that dear prefect, it’s just me.” A noticeable smooth voice says.

Looking up at the voice, you almost flinch away at the sight of the blue hair. “And Floyd, how about we leave the prefect alone.” Jade says, watching as you turn away from him and towards Floyd. “Awww but Jade.” Floyd pouts. “I like squeezing Shrimpy. They’re the best.” Jade just chuckles at that before waving him off.

“We can do that tomorrow, after all I believe that the prefect does have a shift tomorrow.” Jade slyly laughs. “I guess so.” Floyd pouts. “What were you doing in here anyways Jade?” Looking up towards Jade, you notice how his smile getting a wider. “Ah, ah, ah prefect, I believe a ‘thank you’ is in order. After all, I did save you from getting squeezed.”

Huffing at that, you glare up at him. “I am not thanking you. I could’ve handled that on my own.” Jade just smirks down at you before looking to Floyd. “You hear that? I think they do want to be squeezed.” You squeak and move closer to Jade as Floyd starts to walk towards you slowly. “Thank you! Thank you!” You say hiding your face away against Jade.

“I will only accept you allowing me to take you to monstro lounge. Not on a shift.” Jade says slyly as he feels you nod your head against his chest, eager to not be in debt to any octavinelle student, much less a leech twin. “Yeah, that’s fine. Sure.” You quickly add on.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll pick you up at ramshackle on Saturday. Be ready. I’ll protect you from any predatory students.” Jade says as he winks at Floyd, Floyd in turn giving a thumbs up.

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bonus!

“I can’t believe that actually worked.” Floyd says as he walks next to Jade. “Of course it did,” Jade replies. “When we were younger, we did this with the fish there. It was bound to work.”

Mozus Trein

Trein is very protective of his grandchild.

If he seems stern in class, it doubles when his grandchild is there.

He has a complex relationship with [Name]'s parents due to the strained relationship he had with his daughter towards her entry into adulthood. They do not hate each other, though.

He loves them, but his love is firm and strict at times.

Gawking at his grandchild earns you detention.

The other staff are all familiar with [Name].

Trein talks about them and how one of the reasons he had looked into teaching at RSA was to be closer to them.

He was worried about them.

They are an innocent spirit who is too trusting, too accepting.

He is strict with them because he thinks they will get hurt.

The outside world is a scary place where grandpa can't protect them from the monsters out there, the bad apples...

When his grandchild visits, which happens sporadically but more often than one might imagine, Crewel is also tasked with looking over them. As per Trein's request (read: instruction).

Trein believes that his grandchild would be less embarrassed if it were not him at every turn checking on them. He trusts Crewel.

Sometimes, Trein thinks about leaving NRC to be with his grandchild, but he always decides to stay for his students.

Trein wishes that [Name] went to NRC, but they aren't the type the Dark Mirror would choose; they are a might magic user with a pure soul, after all. The very image of an RSA student.

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Silver

Silver continued to think about [Name]. Who were they?

A student, but not from NRC. From RSA, then?

Why couldn't he forget them? What was this?

He chooses not to trouble his family with it.

He is nearly an adult; he can figure this out for himself.

That said, he didn't expect them to be related to Professor Trein.

Silver was not aware of the professor's personal life.

Why would he be?

It doesn't change his opinion of [Name] as a friendly person.

But he is more wary now. He has heard that Professor Trein is... protective. And he doesn't blame the professor.

But Silver does not want to bring any trouble to his Master.

Silver wonders if it is worth pursuing such a curiosity.

And then it happens, all because of the narrative.

Silver and [Name] have their SECOND Meet-Cute.

Silver can't say he expected things to turn out like this!

Silver was trying his best to ignore Sebek's words echoing in his head. He should focus instead of daydream about a stranger. Sebek was right about that much, but that didn't mean ignoring every other living person on his island. He was his Master's guard, but he was also a student, and students should engage with the community or something like that.

He sighed softly, and he continued down the hall, making the mistake of not looking ahead of him and crashing into the person ahead of him. While no one was injured, it did leave the load they were carrying scattered across the hallway floor.

"I'm sorry..." Silver said, "Let me help with that."

He reached down to pick up one of the large textbooks from the floor, hand brushing against theirs. Silver looked toward them to see... [Name]? The same person from before? The very person he had been thinking of. Was this some kind of fateful encounter? Others had mentioned these to him... He could think about that later.

"Hello again. I am sorry to... cause this."

He looked almost sheepish as they waved it off, trying to tell him that there wasn't any harm done to them or their books. Regardless, Silver helped them gather the books into their arms again, taking a few to carry himself so that [Name] could see what was ahead of them.

"It's really alright. I couldn't see over the books either."

They look a bit embarrassed.

"[Name]... Why do you have," Silver paused to count them, "...twelve textbooks?"

Their embarrassment grew as an awkward smile graced their lips.

"My Granpa Mozus wanted me to bring these over from Royal Sword," they explained, "So I came here with the Headmage's permission to deliver... all of these."

Though their arms were still filled with books, they managed to make a gesture toward the books Silver carried for them.

He nodded.

"I understand. I will help you take these to your grandfather."

[Name] wondered if Silver was aware of what their grandfather was. If he knew, he certainly didn't act that way. He said nothing. It was almost refreshing to them to not have a grand reaction about it all.

That said, [Name] noted that the louder boy who was with Silver the last time was not here. He seemed as though he might react if [Name] told him their lineage. What was his name again? Sebastian?

They brushed the thought away and continued to walk down the hallway with Silver, headed toward the classroom their grandfather had said was his. He was a history teacher.

Stopping at the door, Silver knocked instead of [Name] simply due to the fact that he could support his stack of books with one arm. This was something that [Name] was trying not to gawk at. This boy sure was strong, then and again, his arms were rather strong-looking.

Did he not say he worked for his "master" the last time?

They were thinking about it again. There wasn't anyone like that at Royal Sword. Sure, some students helped the dorm leaders... But that wasn't... master and servant? Right? [Name] felt their head spin.

A voice came from inside the room, but it was not their grandfather's. It was a masculine one, slightly teasing as if testing them...

"Whatever might you need from us now?"

[Name] recognized it as Divus' voice, the younger man, though he was still older than them, who worked with their grandfather. He was a teacher, too. Alchemy?

Wait.

Were they interrupting something?

"It's [Name]!" they called back to Divus, "Oh, and Silver is helping me."

"Alright then, pups. You may enter~"

[Name] walked into the room as Silver opened the door for them with his free hand. Instantly [Name] was greeted with the classroom their grandfather used, wooden desks, a chalk board, books on a shelf, and her dear grandpa sitting at his own desk front and center.

Divus had stepped back to let them get to the desk.

"Grandpa Mozus!" [Name] called, walking forward to set the books on his desk, "I got all the things you sent for!"

They smiled, an expression that Trein returned.

Silver's face paled slightly at the sudden realization; the boy always was a bit slow on the uptake with human relations that Professor Trein was "Grandpa." But he recovered quickly as he presented the rest of the books to Trein.

"Here you go, sir."

"Ah, the books. Thank you, [Name]," Trein told his beloved grandchild, "And you as well, Silver, for helping them."

[Name] grinned, proud of the fact they had accomplished the task. The look on their face made Silver smile as well. This earned him a sharp glare from Trein, much sharper than his usual expression.

They stared at each other for a moment as [Name] looked between them, unsure if they were supposed to intervene given their grandpa was his teacher... It was well within his jurisdiction.

"I trust you would never do anything untoward to my grandchild, Silver?" Trein asked the light-haired boy.

"Of course not, sir."

Silver shook his head and ignored the chuckle from Professor Crewel.

"That is good to hear."

Trein's expression softened as he turned back to [Name].

"I hope this was not too arduous a task for my youngest?"

"No, this was alright. I hope the books help," [Name] told him, "Thank you for... trusting me."

They smiled yet again, and Trein returned it, just slightly.

Silver felt as though he was intruding on a personal moment. And maybe he was. He had been thinking about [Name], but he couldn't speak about that in front of Professor Trein.... [Name] was heading back to Royal Sword after this... What a mess.

He held back the urge to sigh.

Footsteps could be heard approaching.

Oh no... Silver knew that sound anywhere.

"SILVER!"

He sighed this time, and those in the room turned to look at the doorway. [Name] was startled, whereas the professors just seemed... tired. Perhaps a bit annoyed.

There stood Sebek, out of breath slightly with furrowed brows.

"Hello, Sebek..." Silver attempted to greet but was cut off.

"WHAT HAS YOU SO BUSY? WHAT IF OUR MASTER NEEDS US?"

Silver tried to explain it.

"I was helping... a friend."

Sebek glared at [Name], recognizing them.

"THIS HUMAN AGAIN?"

[Name] flinched at the volume, and Trein decided to step in.

"Sebek Zigvolt, you will not address my grandchild that way."

Sebel was startled at the address from his professor.

"Ah, my... my apologies, professor," Sebek stammered.

There really is never a peaceful day at Night Raven College.

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.

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Imagine the rest yourself~

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From a vantage point, perhaps from a second story window or among the trees that dotted the campus, Rook had caught sight of you stone-still on your walk. Before you, an NRC student he couldn’t recall. He didn’t really have time to register the man when Rook had just attention all on you.

Your wide, hollow eyes. Your chest rising and falling rapidly. How you froze so perfectly under the gaze of this man. It was a scene Rook was all too familiar with. Prey terrified beyond its own mind to run, to hide, or even fight.

Your rational mind couldn’t comprehend what your ex was even saying to you as panic held you in its overbearing clutch. The world grew dizzying and just when you felt like your heart would give out, right then and there, a broad arm wrapped around your shoulders.

“Ah, there you are, ma petite grâce. I was looking all over for you. You made me a bit worried, you know!”

It was hard to look up at him as Rook’s hat was tipped just enough for the shadows to mask his features. But your ex needed only one glance for the role of prey to be forced on him. Green eyes with a gaze so sharp, so precise like a notched arrow perfectly aligned to fire, bored right into him.

It didn’t take much time before the ex backpedaled away with his tail between his legs, now only leaving you with Rook.

Rook would face you, gripping your forearms firmly. His expression, soft though. He called out for you, trying his best to snap you from your daze. When you finally realized it was him now before you, your body moved on its own before you could think. A heaviness made you fall against his chest. You shivered, maybe tears and sobs escaping you.

Rook held you so close against him. Like he was cradling a sculpture of the most delicate porcelain. As if one scratch or knock would crumble you into fine dust.

A single hand held the back of your head protectively, letting you weep as much as you wanted against his shirt. His chin nestled along your hair. You would be so blissfully unaware of Rook’s gaze. A complicated stare into space as his mind swam with many thoughts.

Rook always found beauty in the oddest of places. Yet for the first time, there was something Rook found utterly detestable. A vile image that was a blot in his picturesque vision and that was your ex, the source of your pain. But from that ugliness, he did find a most exquisite sensation. A drive to hunt. An unyielding need to protect you.

While he couldn’t spring into action earlier, his quarry was marked. A hunter is patient and he can wait as long as he needs to for one slip-up, one more attempt to dare get near you, and Rook would be sure to let loose a vicious arrow.

There is a tension between you and Floyd on certain days. While most times, it would be all fun and games, just him and his little Shrimpy. But Floyd wasn’t blind to the weight you carried.

It would irritate him on a dime when you obviously had thoughts clouding your mind. So much so that you fidget anxiously or not even pay attention to him. His sharp voice would call over the din of thoughts and you’d see the eel practically inches away from your face.

His dual colored eyes glared at you and a slight frown pulled at his lips. “Geez, what the hell is goin’ on with you!?” He doesn’t mean to be so crass, but to see his Shrimpy unsettled, it frustrated him. 

Moreso that he can’t exactly pinpoint what was going on with you, that he can’t just squeeze it to a pulp and boom, no more problems!

He knew you had your walls and such walls took time to lower to let him in. Floyd had the patience as a waiting moray eel, but if he had the proactiveness to actually act upon his patience? That’s a whole other story. When it came to you, he just wanted to see you happy and unbothered. All reasoning would flutter out the window.

It may or may not have taken a lot of squeezing and thinly veiled threats to your friends for them to fess up information you couldn’t bear to unload on Floyd. A common name would be passed around, an ex from your past. Just the thought that someone else had their hands on you nearly made Floyd break bones if not for the pitiful yelps of your friends to release them in time.

Questions whirled in that skull of his. Why have you never brought this up to him? What did this ex do to you that made you shy away from him? Where was this scumbag now? All of these worries would bleed into his daily life and if it weren’t for Jade and Azul to straighten him out, he would have been throwing tantrums left and right.

It wasn’t until one day that all his frustrations would come to a boiling point into a final, satisfying crescendo. At least for him.

Work was to be done at Mostro Lounge. Floyd was on duty to be a waiter along with yourself. Both of you have opted to be in an awkward silence in your relationship and it was evident by how you both avoided one another, unsure of how to really talk about your issues.

Floyd had taken an order from a particular student, one he could easily sniff out as a rude bastard by his mannerisms and his tones. But if Floyd’s temper got the better of him, he’d never hear the end of it from Azul. He would hand off the order to you to at least serve drinks.

Everything seemed normal until suddenly a glass shattered. All eyes shifted to you who shivered in place. The tray rattled in your hands and below you a cascade of broken glass.

“Y-you…” “The fuck…? What the hell are you doing here!? And look at what you did to my drink! You’re still incompetent as ever, tch!”

You wanted to cry, scream, run away. You felt so ashamed, being treated like garbage again from an ex you swore you’d never let walk all over you again. But at the height of stress, you couldn’t bring yourself to stand up for yourself. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic…

That is until a sing-song, nonchalant voice slid right up behind you. “Ahhhh, what a shame. I apologize on the behalf of our lil waiter here. They’re just nervous is all. Here~ Why don’t I make it up to ya? I can serve ya a drink right here, right now. On the house~” “Finally, some decent fucking service…”

You looked up at Floyd and saw that dangerous glint in his eyes. How his pupils honed on the poor fool as his smile widened so tightly across his face. He reached for a spare glass that was left on the table, presented it with a flourish to your ex, and coyly said, “Readyyyy~? Watch carefully.”

Then, his hand flew so quick to grab a clump of your ex’s hair and slammed it squarely on the glass. The crunch of glass, your scream, and the screech of chairs being pushed back as patrons jumped.

“GYAHAHA, YOU LIKE IT!? IT’S MOSTRO LOUNGE’S OWN PERSONAL RED. Ahhhh, but the red comin’ from you? Pfft, it ain’t worth the shit under my shoe…” Your ex could barely register what was even being said to him from the glass embedded in his face and blood gushing from his nose and broken lips.

Hands covered your mouth in terror as you could barely register what was happening. From panicked students screaming to Azul and Jade holding Floyd back from beating the poor ex to a pulp. All you could really register was the horrifying satisfaction deep in your chest, seeing the one who hurt you so much battered under the hand of someone who protected you…

Leona has his own ways of caring but most of the time, if you cannot read between the lines, it may come off as uncaring.

He does care, but don’t expect a coddling man rushing to be your knight when you are feeling sorry for yourself. The last thing he wants to do is pity you as he knows all too well the humiliation of being pitied.

Instead he observes, he watches, he’s keen to everything you do that isn’t a part of your daily life. In sly ways, he tries to break your moments of dissociating. He calls your name sharply to snap you out of your funk and gives you a menial task.

Telling you to maybe preen his mane, join Ruggie on an errand, what have you. It’s better to keep yourself occupied than whatever is plaguing your mindscape.

Sometimes, he will even abruptly lean against you, his weight toppling the both of you over. Even if you protest under him, he will insist he’s really tired and just wants something warm beside him to help him sleep. In truth, it’s just another way to stop your self-deprecating thoughts.

Though he will speak up in annoyance if your depressed thoughts start to bleed into your relationship. It will sting, but he means well. He tells you gruffly that he’s not in the mood to lay next to baggage. He wants only his partner, dammit.

You may argue, you may not, it depends on how you react but at the end of it, one way or another, you’re going to have to face him and this problem that hangs over you.

If you take time before approaching him or spill everything in one go, he will wait patiently and listen. But cowardice by running away he won’t accept and would want answers promptly.

One way or another, the truth has to come from you and you explain the thoughts that coil around you like a petulant serpent. A name and face that digs into your chest horribly. Your ex and the ways he has hurt you in many ways.

Leona listens stoically, letting you share your story before acknowledging and commending the strength it took for you to finally admit this. He knows all too well the pains of the past, he shares in your frustrations. But the past stays in the past for a reason.

Now it’s you and him now. You define yourselves here in the present. If anyone says otherwise? Well, he’d like to see them try.

Who would have known that such a time would come so soon when one day, someone had the gall to start harassing you right in the Savanaclaw dorm.

That same face that always lingered around you like a ghost was here right now in the flesh, taunting you at the edges of the Spelldrive field. Your ex sneered at you, wondering what the hell you were doing around here during his practice hours. Had the nerve to accuse you of stalking him despite your split.

Your anger boiled your blood, your face flushed. Your nerves alighted with a burning fury that made the dorm’s dry heat pale in comparison. But your body did not respond to you. Your throat froze despite wanting to curse and yell out at your ex.

What neither you expected though while your mouth gasped for something, anything to throw at this scumbag, was a lion’s roar peeling across the field. A shadow loomed over your ex and both of you looked up to a silhouette blocking the sun and a pair of piercing green eyes.

Astride his broom, Leona stared squarely at the ex. “For a minute, I thought I heard annoying squawks from a mangy vulture, but now I just see a whelp. Having the nerve to approach my partner…”

Without missing a beat, Leona lowered himself to the ground and sauntered right over to your ex. Your ex tried to stand his ground but anyone could tell he was practically shaking in his spot.

“So.... What were you two talking about?” It was such a simple question. So trivial. But the way Leona spoke each word, it was like a pair of hungry jaws were ready to snap behind every syllable. He dared for your ex to slip up.

“N-nothing… Nothing at all… I was l-leaving…” “Hooo?” Leona’s tail whipped behind him in amusement. “So you just waltzed up to my partner and gawked at them? Nothing left your useless, flapping gums? I can hardly believe that.”

Leona’s knuckles cracked as he flexed his hand and for a quick second, you swore you saw wind and dust particles gather between his finger tips. The air felt still and you heard your ex gulp audibly from a dry throat. Then, a sudden calmness.

“But if you were just about to leave, then by all means, scurry along. I hate people wasting my time.”

To which your ex immediately did, turning on his heel, so close to make a run for it. Then, like a giant paw slamming atop a helpless mouse, Leona’s hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

Waking up in the NRC coffin is the fourth time you've experienced the beginning of an isekai storyline. First was when you were reborn into a modern-ish world of paranormal activity. Your new family surname is Yuu and your family took the revelation of your past life surprisingly well.

Second was when you got your Keyblade (Twilight Dream) and you realised your new life is a disney crossover. This would have been a lot cooler if it didn't also come with an invasion of heartless and other Darkness-aligned monsters. Unfortunately your new disney MC powers come with a tragically orphaned backstory which… honestly you would rather be a generic background character.

But you and your siblings carry on. Your family is moved to the United Lands of Disney, the main world for Keyblade wielders and their allies. Your older sister Addie takes charge of you and your younger brother Zain. The three of you continue your lives in this new world, and you get enrolled in a special Keyblade program. Because at some point in the past people realized that letting untrained kids wander around looking for fights isn't the most efficient use of resources in the war against Darkness.

The third was the only time you had any sort of agency over the matter. In order to graduate and become a fully qualified Keyblade Hero™ wielders travel to a world with a relatively small darkness incursion. They are accompanied by two keyblade heroes who provide backup. The prospective hero is meant to develop a Keychain under the supervision of their seniors. 

Keychains are physical representations of the Wielder’s light and friendship. Keychains can manifest when a Wielder faces off against Darkness alongside non-Wielder friends. Each Keychain is unique but you can predict its powers and appearance based on the friends the Wielder is fighting alongside, and the nature of the danger they are facing. Along with granting special powers and altering the blade's appearance, the wielder gains an outfit that further represents the friendship that created the Keychain. 

So the day of your graduation quest comes and your siblings send you off with the surprise gift of a health charm made from your parents' wedding rings. It's a labour of love and you're left genuinely speechless.

You wind up being sent to a world called Wonderland (you think you can guess what it's going to be like). Your team consisted of yourself, Yuuken Enma, and Yuuya Kuroki. The three of you were introduced to each other by Oujou Yuuna, another Keyblade hero who thought it was funny that so many of the latest batch of Keyblade wielders had some variant of yuu in their name.

Team Yuu might have started as a joke, but over the years you've grown to really appreciate the support and guidance of your seniors. Your gratitude has never been greater than when you discovered that travel out of Wonderland was being sabotaged, and soon entry would also be impossible.  The rest of Team Yuu was already waiting at disney to celebrate your return, when they were informed of the situation they rushed to provide backup.

It feels like every adventure revealed some new stakes that made your journey even more stressful. Turns out Wonderland is the homeworld of Maleficent, a longtime foe of King Mickey, who disappeared a hundred years ago.

The reason she disappeared? The Thorn Fairy was setting up Wonderland to become the staging ground for her ascension as the one True Master of All Darkness. If she goes through with the ritual but it fails, then Wonderland will become overrun by Darkness. It's residents would transform into a potentially more dangerous type of heartless. The world would become the staging ground for a universe-spanning war.

In the unlikely event that she succeeds then a similar situation would play out, just with Maleficent at the head instead of Darkness. 

Thankfully the people back home came up with a solution. Maleficent needed to harness the power of heartless created from six powerful individuals, however if you can slay them in time then the ritual should be disrupted enough to destroy her wards and save Wonderland from heartless-ization.

Only Maleficent knows for certain who’s hearts she intended to use, so Team Yuu splits up to track down the prospective heartless. It shouldn't be too hard, how many powerful, strong willed, darkness imbued people can there be?

A lot. There were a lot. Maleficent must have altered the ULD’s records because this world is definitely not Low-Darkness/Low-risk.

Normally Keyblade heroes are supposed to lay low and keep their full powers hidden from the locals. There's even a whole system for sending heroes to worlds where they are or look like one of the most common sentient races. This is meant to prevent the contamination of worlds that haven't learned to reach out to worlds.

Team Yuu does not have time for that. There are way too many fires that need to be put out for you guys to even think about subtlety. Armies that can be summoned from an indestructible cauldron. A global child trafficking ring that disguises its victims as donkeys. Undead pirates rampaging across the seas. Literally every country has at least one ongoing coup attempt.

(This is not the wonderland Lewis Carroll promised you!)

Even after throwing stealth out the window Team Yuu struggles to catch up with the Thorn Fairy’s machinations.  

Good news: you manage to stop Maleficent from becoming an unstoppable god of darkness. (mostly).

Bad news: the ritual seems to have taken on a mind of its own and it intends to see things through. Maleficent lost control and has been transformed into a heartless and now you have no idea what could happen. 

Team Yuu is ordered to evacuate. Your support back home took advantage of a disruption you caused to create a one-time path for you back home. Plan B is to seal off the now twisted Wonderland and try to quarantine the world.

It's unfortunate, but the only way the world could be saved now is if one of the Yuu’s had a Keychain made from defeating each of the people used to make a heartless for the ritual. They could theoretically use those bonds to stabilize Wonderland and mitigate the worst of darkness's power.

About that… Coincidence is a funny thing. 

Somehow between all the traveling, team ups, and wacky shenanigans, you managed to be present for the creation of every heartless used in Maleficent’s plot. And wouldn't you know it, you have a Keychain formed from each confrontation.

We all know where this is going, but everyone objects anyway. There's no guarantee that it will work, and even if it does there's no guarantee you'll survive. Someone invites Addie and Zain to the call and now they're yelling at you through a gummiphone.

And it's not like you want to die. This mission has been a train wreck from start to finish. The whole world felt like it was hand-crafted to stress you out. 

But despite your nerves, your queasy stomach and shaking hands, you go through with it. Because even if it's a hot mess, Wonderland doesn't deserve to be abandoned. The people you've met deserve the chance to live. Your friends deserve a happily ever after.

There's no way to tell if you succeed, but even as your legs give out and black spots gather at the edge of your vision, you find peace in the knowledge that you did your best.

…

And now here we are. Isekai number four. You survived your heroic sacrifice which is nice, great even!

But also whatever force that kept you alive also sent you to a boarding school that worships your greatest enemies for some fucking reason. 

The world isn't overrun by Darkness, so that's good. But it's definitely not the same world you entered for your graduation. Twisted Wonderland indeed. You quickly learn about the biggest impact of Maleficent's failed ascension.

Blot. 

A type of darkness that takes a liquid form. It feeds off of magic and negative emotions. The biggest difference between blot and regular darkness is that rather than turning people into self-replicating heartless, blot induces a transformation known as overblot. When someone becomes consumed with blot a second being known as a phantom is formed. If the overblot is allowed to progress long enough then the phantom consumes its creator and goes on a rampage.  

It looks like most people can be broken out of an overblot state fairly quickly thanks to an organization called STYX. In the modern era most phantoms are left over from past ages when the world wasn't as united. Still, if a strong enough mage undergoes overblot then their magic can offer it enough power that STYX cannot save them, and the resulting phantom is leagues stronger than the average phantom.

Furthermore, vast swaths of land are rendered inaccessible due to a blot-based miasma that sends people into madness. Only phantoms have been recorded as surviving extended time in miasma-rich areas. There is an ongoing issue of phantoms leaving the miasma to ravage nearby lands. Some texts theorize that powerful phantoms from ages past have survived in the miasma and may one day follow their lesser brethren back to civilization.

Now, this is all a huge problem, but there is one final change that you suspect is also a consequence of Maleficent's meddling. 

During your adventures Team Yuu learned that the Thorn Fairy intended to basically inoculate herself from Darkness in order to prevent it from controlling her. General consensus among Team Yuu was that Maleficent is a sociopath, so imbuing her heart with darkness probably didn't change much of her personality. 

But the average person? That's a different matter. Most of the population is classified as dark-hearts, a condition where emotions you associate with the Light such as compassion, joy, and fulfillment are all dulled. 

You personally suspect this is a side effect of Maleficent's darkness inoculation. The darkness infused into their hearts might prevent the creation of true heartless, but it's also likely suppressing sensations brought on by the Light. But you're a shield, not a staff, so it's just conjecture at this point.

Individuals who are free of contamination are referred to as light-hearts in most texts, though more modern documents have taken to using the term ‘darling’. When a dark-heart is in extended contact with a light-heart the suppression over their positive emotions is lessened, however the degree by which it works is varied.

It would seem that some hearts are more compatible than others, and dark-hearts will quickly become jealous and possessive over compatible light-hearts.

Delving further into the history textbooks reveal that this post-twisting world has not been kind to the light-hearts. 

Twst’s early history is filled with attempts to extract whatever quality it is that allows light-hearts to experience the full breadth of life’s joys. Strategies include blood transfusion, ritualistic sacrifice, and creating cures made from parts ‘harvested’ from light-hearts.

Yikes.

Some would even hunt and eat light-hearts under the belief that doing so would transfer their light to the hunter.

Big fucking yikes!

At least that was easily disproved. Though some cultures still hold up that cannibalism can be romantic if done the right way.

The hell do you mean “the right way”!?!

After it was made clear that no you can't just yoink the goodness from a light-heart the dark-hearts started changing their approach. If they couldn't live without the light-hearts then the light-hearts wouldn't get to live without them.

In theory thats better but in practice things still suck. The normals were still outnumbered and usually found themselves under the authority of more powerful dark-hearts.

It must have been miserable being at the mercy of their quasi-sociopathic, emotionally-stunted peers. It wasn't uncommon for a ruling dark-heart to barter off non-compatible light-hearts as a way of securing favors or alliances with other factions.

As countries developed their own centralized governments they also developed their own laws, however those laws could often be bent or broken in the name of securing your compatible light-heart.

Different regions had different laws on the handling of light-hearts with the most consistent similarity being that dark-hearts were given leanancy when acting in the name of protecting their light-heart companions.

In the modern era treatment of light-hearts is more consistent across the board due to the different countries becoming closer. With this came things like standardized money, language, and rights. A little under two hundred years ago an event called the Darling's Rights movement took place. 

The core of Darling’s Right’s was that the light-hearts are people in need of protection rather than a resource to be exploited. Light-hearts and sympathetic dark-hearts pushed their governments to take a hard stand against brutal practices such as the heart hunts and sentient trafficking.

In the current era things aren't exactly great, but at least the normals seem to have gained some autonomy. You should probably focus on something more relevant to your current circumstances, like how Keyblade wielders are viewed. (Narrator Voice: Foreshadowing is a literary device…)

Records of Keyblades are mixed. Some stories describe you as forces of good that work tirelessly to keep Twisted Wonderland safe from nightmarish monsters. Others decry you as the reason for basically everything wrong in the world. Rude!

The general consensus is somewhere in the middle, viewing you as mysterious figures with unknowable goals. In stories and myths it's a toss up whether the Keyblade wielder will help or harm the protagonist. A bit like how your birth world viewed spirits, funnily enough.

As much as you would like to correct the record, you doubt people would just take your word that Maleficent is the root of all evil and Team Yuu was simply doing your best to stop her. Also Wonderland wasn't meant to know about Keyblades in the first place.

But there's still the issue that you don't have an identity in this era. TW has developed to the point that you can't just call yourself a wandering adventurer and be done with it. 

Somehow you wind up convincing Crowley that you are from a society that was cut off from the rest of the rest of the world due to becoming surrounded by the miasma. Maybe a better hero could have come up with something simpler, or more creative, but you were coming off the shock of waking up in a coffin in a cult that venerates a bunch of narcissistic psychos. You need to do something to avoid multi-world contamination while also explaining away your ignorance of basic things. This is good enough. Yup. 

There is definitely no way your half-assed backstory could come back to bite you. 

Somehow he buys it and the staff are informed of your circumstances. Crowley says it's so that they can help facilitate your transition to “real civilization” but you suspect he’s just the kind of person to excessively delegate.

You’re sent into a moment of heart-stopping despair when you realize that it's been thousands of years since Team Yuu adventures across Wonderland. You recover when your gummiphone still gets a signal to ULD, but only for a few hours at night while you're near a specific mirror in Ramshackle. Not sure how that works but at least you figured it out before following through on your threats to drop out of NRC.

Despite the passage of time you manage to call your sister, and from her you learn that it's only been a few years from the perspective of the rest of the worlds.

The other members of Team Yuu were safely recovered and healed back at ULD. They insisted on going back to save you, but Wonderland had already been sealed off. You felt your heart break as Addie explained how it felt, thinking that you were lost forever.

“I’m sorry. I'm so sorry.”

But King Mickey himself stepped forward with an idea. He said it’s the Keyblade king's duty to do whatever he can to look after his subjects and together with his aids they came up with a way to craft a stabilization field around the now twisted world and then temporarily distance Wonderland from the rest of the universe’s time-space.

The technical details go way over your head, you're a shield not a staff, but if it worked then it worked.

Wait. You've basically been in stasis until TW synced back up with the universe. But time still passed for your family…

“Am I still older than Zain!?”

“Really? That's your biggest concern? Learn to prioritize!”

“Answer the question!”

When you left Disney you had a good four years over your baby brother. It took roughly three years from their time for TW to stabilize. You've narrowly avoided being demoted to the family baby, but it was a close thing. Another round of stasis for any reason could be devastating to the family dynamic!

“You're still such a brat.”

Some might say that you wasted your first call home, and they would be wrong. 

After figuring out when your gummiphone could and couldn't get a signal out of twst you all hash out a plan to get you back home. Reconnecting TW to the Lanes Between will be time consuming, but the hard part is dealing with blot.

The multi-world contamination department is unlikely to ever sign off on a reconnection project until they can confirm that blot and phantoms won't become heartless 2.0 and start spreading to other worlds.

Honestly, you get it.

With the constant arms race between Light and Darkness you can't afford to be careless with new variations. Disney World is literally made up of the remnants of worlds that were shattered by the forces of Darkness.

Disney’s best tinkers are working on a program that would allow your gummiphone to scan blot and phantoms. By sending that information home they can analyse blot and work out a way to neutralize them. The only issue is that the scanner doesn't work from very far away so you'll have to get within punching range.

No worries. It shouldn't be too hard to go beat up some I-cant-believe-its-not-heartless. The Dark Mirror recognizes you but seems willing to cooperate, or at least he didn't spill your identity at the intro ceremony. He’ll probably be amicable to cooperation in the name of saving the world (or at least making it less bad).

To summarize:

Your little brother has almost caught up to you in age (Devastating). You are a girl at an all boys school. You are indefinitely stranded in Twisted Wonderland. You may have accidentally created a new type of Darkness. You become the parent of a pyromaniac cat monster with delusions of grandeur. Some of your classmates want to hunt you for sport.

and you proved him so wrong after overhearing your conversation with your heartslabyul friends. it's not like he intended to eavesdrop but it just happened that he was passing by

"after 500 years of acting on stage - i am finally free to live as a normal human again without the need to act as a strong and more god-like version of myself. but the problem is, i don't know where to start."

riddle made it his mission to always make you feel welcomed in the heartslabyul dorm and gradually became close friends with you

who knew that the two of you are similar to each other? from ruling over a community to having tea parties and your love for sweets

"riddle, you can enjoy sweets as much as you want. you dont need to follow such suffocating rules." "...what a pleasant surprise, truly an extra slice of joy."

believe it when i say he is very fond of your salon members and even went out his way to always give them a proper greeting and send them invitations for the unbirthday parties.

it was like he is healing his inner child along with you + very comfortable to the point that he doesn't even hesitate to ask you for advice 🫡 rather than an older sister you were like his twin

-‘๑’- trey clover

it is bad to have favoritism but trey clover took the cake immediately after watching him bake the most delicious cake you ever tasted

sorry to all fontaine patissier or fontaine in general but maybe you might as well stay in this world ... kidding 🧍🏻‍♀️

out of everyone you met, trey's firs impression was the second best (kalim being first for obvious reasons) he was like your dear friend who adores tea time but more laid back verion of them

"what a rich aroma and delicate texture... i didn't expect you to be such an accomplished cook... with refined taste, as well!" "a compliment from the regina herself is such a worthy praise for someone like me." "nonsense, trey! you are the best one out there!"

with curiosity getting the best of you, you always try to help out during the unbirthday parties and learn how to cook and bake from the vice dorm leader

... after all having pasta everyday is not very healthy 😭

listens to your rambles about the novels you've read befora and suggests you some that he have on hand! at this point he might as well be your guardian angel

despite being smaller than most of the student at nrc - you shocked the whole heartslabyul group after fighting off the known bully group of seniors trying to scare some freshmen

"now go along and never show your faces to me again. capiche?" "woah, i thought you said you are not used to battling!" "mmm, i did. but it's different from my abilities, no?"

you were the opposite of trey, rather than being embarrassed, you know your strengths and weaknesses and use it to your advantage

"trey, don't tell me you are just an ordinary person, you liar. you can't fool me with your downplaying talk!"

he can't fool you with that but trey pulls some harmless pranks on you by tricking you in putting a different recipe in the pie orsomething

he learned his lesson after you really followed his instructions and became the first victim to his own prank

you always seem to pride yourself as a strong and capable woman and how despite everything you are going through you always go for it headstrong

"now look at you, getting sick. i told you not to overwork yourself right?" "mmm, sorry big brother..."

did you just say 🥺 older 🥺 brother? after that he wears that title like a cape everyday and even brags it to cater 😭

-‘๑’- cater diamond

oh cater absolutely adores you the moment he saw your outfit because it is so well made?! 🫨 not only that - you were like giving the total celebrity vibes

"you have an eye for discerning people! yes, i am once the most beloved star of my country... but that time already came to an end."

sometimes while he tags along whenever you, grim and the adeuce duo hangs out - he always had this feeling that you are staring deep into his soul 👁️👁️

as much as he puts up his usual cheerful facade to fool you, it was like arguing up to a wall and you finally pointed it out one day during your tea parties

"you know, you don't have to force yourself to eat sweets. i cooked some habanero pepper cream pasta earlier with

you might as well become his favorite underclassman 🥺

no wonder you were able to read him so well because you revealed that some how seeing him act in such way reminds him of yourself in the past

"sometimes acting for so long can make you wonder if people can really see through you or was it all fake." "but that is how it is right? how can other people know us when we don't even know ourselves?"

anyways! every now and then, cater would appear right on your doorsteps with small clothes and hats in shopping bags to give it to the salon members

it was funny to see your salon members have a new member and they treat him like their own son 😭🤍

as much as he want to tease you sometimes - he try not to over do it after seeing you let the salon trio chase after ace and grim all over the maze with threatening looks in their eyes.

"wow, mademoiselle crabaletta looks so energetic when she got to hit ace at the back of his head." "well, ace did pissed her off by playing rock paper scissors with her." "... did she win?" "i don't know, you tell me big brother cater."

... he will never let it down after owning his title as your big brother 😭 get ready to receive random gifts every now and then because this big brother cater is ready to spoil you to rotten

-‘๑’- ace trappola

having to get sprayed and hit by multiple bubbles in the face was certainly not on ace's list 😭 remind him to never play rock paper scissors with mademoiselle crabaletta ever again

he really like to be your friend genuinely 🙏 not that you mind though because ace is fun to talk too + you were able to adapt and learn about this world thanks to him, deuce and grim

but sometimes, he can be a little too reckless in roping you in trouble

"woah! (name) put mr seahorse down and let's talk about this!" "oh so you prefer my sword instead?" "it was just a harmless prank!" "then why is there an anemone on grim's head, again?!"

after you were comfortable enough to tell your story - ace thought he was actually dreaming because how did you stay sane after that 500 years?!

will ask you to help him with his studies and practicing magic + probably thought you were clueless but after years of searching every nook and nanny in your nation's library, you were like a walking dictionary

"how come you get a higher score than me in animal languages?!" "i was wondering how on teyvat did you get a lower score than me?"

omg you traitor 👩🏻‍⚖️

your number one buddy with midnight snacks + everytime he would sneak out of the dorm he always bring some sweets as a bribe to let him stay

there are times that you always fool ace by acting especially in front ofriddle when he accidentally dropped your cake in accident

despite the shenanigans between you two, he always trusts you to have his back

"(nickname) cover for me!" "alright! let the world come alive, hehe!"

whenever the salon members feel silly, they will go and chase after him and you just let them be - even they shower him with love in unexpected ways.

"recently, i've been wondering if Iife been a little too hard on myself in the past. i never got the chance to enjoy my life." "then let's go grab cater-senpai and go shopping!"

he will not let you experience such loneliness again! not when he is one of your first friend here in wonderland.

-‘๑’- deuce spade

opposite to ace, he is mademoiselle crabaletta's favorite for some reason or even the whole salon members are fond of him !

while he is more on the less troublesome side - he still make some troubles but you can see how much he was trying to not get you involve in it 😭

"deuce, you could've just told me earlier about this..." "i'm sorry, i don't want you to get involve again." "you are really a jester. we are friends! how can i not help you when you are facing problems?"

just as you listen to his problems, you were surprised that deuce is a great listener 😮 its not sarcasm !!

it first came to you during the octavinelle incident when deuce found you crying behind the ramshackle down, hugging your knees and being surrounded by your salon members, trying to calm you down

"i still couldn't do it... i do not belong in this world now i don't even have a place to stay..." "(name)..." "d-don't look at me like this! just give me a second." "no it's okay, let it out. i am so sorry for putting the pressure on you."

the sweetest guy??? ever??? he will try to include you in discussions about this world itself and wouldn't let you feel out of place

you even found him taking down notes whenever you get the chance to talk about your nation and people

"you have a dragon as a friend?!" "yea, don't let the dragon title fool you though. he is very kind but all he eats and drink is water every break time."

while ace had your back, deuce got your sides covered + knows fully how capable of being the front liner

"how dare you!?" "ah, (nickname) don't go to far!" "... remind me to never mess with her again."

remember the phantom back in the mines? you encountered one again and after it made one of your salon members disappear - the trio watch you literally annihilate the monster

seeing you all impatient and having a childlike temper made him laugh because you weren't so different from them after all

but please do not rush in battle so suddenly, you might as well give him a heart attack 😵

don't tell the others but deuce really looks up to you as an admirable person + not only you were able to endure everything for a long time, you still have the heart to forgive everyone who doubted you.

"do you know that you are really a respectable friend?" "...? oh my god, did you eat mushrooms for breakfast again?" "i'm serious!" "oh is that so? well i am proud of you. don't you know you improved a lot too?"

it's 7 am in the morning are you trying to make him cry? 🥹

having you with him during his high school life is an unexpected but wonderful experience - learning other things together + being interested in the same things? he had never felt such comfort before