To Vil, there is no such thing as a person born ugly. You are made ugly, by your own hand, by your own lack of care and recklessness.

Many of these lines I have are usually associated with the Eldritch AU, just cause I want that AU to have my best efforts.

Fire. A tall wall of blue flame, stoked up high as the trees planted around them. They enclosed you inside with the ink monster that had aided him since the start. “Of course. I feel invincible in this silent world. “See, exhaustion is a very human thing, and many creatures in my world fail to replicate it, especially when they’re singing. “For some reason, a lot of the monster’s I’ve encountered are usually tone deaf.”

Like, I have lots of them, it's kinda hilarious.

"so, for an impatient one like you, who wanted to pry into all my little secrets well before I would be willing to give them,“ you snapped the papers sharply against your palm, ”these precious treasures will forever be lost to you. “I would have, had you bothered to ask,” and yet, Azul didn’t. …Nothing more than simple paranoia. Not caution, not deliberating one’s actions, paranoia. He assumed the worst out of someone who barely arrived, however… “Y-you can hardly blame me for thinking such things when you consider just how many mysteries surround you. I had to practice caution, lest I let myself be exposed.” “What an odd way you show that caution of yours, Azul Ashengrotto. You were wary of me, that much I was certain, but you were more concerned in how you could possibly have me under you.”

The thing about me is the fact that I'm actually pretty good at writing dialogue, but I usually end up opting for little to none, cause it makes my drabbles too long. Beyond playing RPG's, I also play a fuckton of visual novels in my free time, so my writing has been influenced as such.

“Azul,” you relaxed back against the chair in the newly repaired lounge, “you started this game. You should have known better than to arouse my curiosity.” Stare into the abyss long enough and it shall stare back at you. And what are shadows to do but to hunt the light within your eyes? “Caution dictated that you would poke and prod to see what my role within all these strange happenings is. I can’t say I blame you for doing such a thing. But, you hold no respect towards me. You wanted me to be another tool, another link upon the chain you’ve built to seal away the vault of your weaknesses. And what am I to do, but to open that vault?”

Lot of them is just Eldritch Prefect honestly, though not all of them.

"Magic depends on imagination, and a lot of the time you can't imagine shit when you're panicking."

That line is said by the Janitor Prefect. Don't know the context for that one, I was just trying to get their voice right in my head. Sorta tired, sorta grumpy, but ultimately very knowledgeable on a lot of different subjects.

"'It can't be helped.' I've been told those words many, many times. 'This is just the way things are, you have to understand it. It cannot be stopped. It be like trying to stop the currents, to turn the sands into snow.' From childhood to even now, I've always been told this, but I knew what they were saying. 'Give up on your brother. On your family. You can't reverse your mistake.'"

As soon as I get around to finishing my current event, I think I'm going to be doing Valenio next. No choices to be made with this one, just a straight line of a story, but a story nonetheless.

It wasn’t really something you planned, this hiking trip.

“So,” you jumped over a big root only to have your pants snag on a branch, “woah!”

Luckily, Valenio caught you by the shoulder, though the strength in his hand made your joint creak a bit. He helped you down on the other side, muttering a deep, “Careful.”

“I told you that you should’ve gotten some hiking boots,” tutted Antas as he floated right over your head, facing towards the foliage covered sky with his arms behind his head, as though in a private pool, “Little humans with their little ground bound selves are going to trip over nature’s biological chaos.”

It’s odd to you, really, to see him wear the face of Crowley and yet none of his usual clothing. It was a simple ruffle front shirt with the dark pants of his uniform and thigh high boots. Barely any of his usual effort, as though this really was just relaxing at home.

Meanwhile you and Valenio were pretty much sweating through your clothes. Well, more Valenio than you. It seems he’s still not used to the warmer temperatures of the surface world, especially compared to the deep sea.

“Yeah yeah, I hear you,” you waved, dismissing him as you check the damage on your pants. Nothing wrong, just a loose thread. Yes, it was dumb of you to travel this far into the woods but to fair, you were going in a straight line. And Valenio’s with you so it’s not as if you’re alone. “Anyways, Valenio, mind telling me more about the flower you’re looking for?”

“Rude,” Antas scoffed, but you can hear the amusement in his voice and feel his carapace hands patting your head. You didn’t stop him and kept walking.

Valenio hummed and reached into his bag. He pulled out a worn journal with an odd bone pen sticking out from the pages. “It’s called the Lucretia’s Wine Glass. Named not for its peculiar shape that gathers its nectar in, but after a winemaker woman that shared a glass of her most precious wine with her lover. Supposedly the drops spilled gave birth to this flower.”

“Oh my, how romantic,” Antas flipped in the air, now on his stomach, his legs swinging about as he propped up his chin, “And familiar. Isn’t that story the subject of your next performance, dear Valenio?”

“Oh so that’s the theme,” Valenio didn’t really tell you much beyond the date, “how cute. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Valenio coughed into his hand, “It’s… overly sentimental. And… I didn’t want to give a wrong impression.”

“There’s nothing wrong with choosing a romantic opera piece, though,” you said with a light touch of laughter.

Antas flew down and whispered, “he likely thought you wouldn’t like it. Tell me, how many students in this college would be willing to sit down and listen to something as overly sappy as The Winemaker’s Glass Gift?”

Not many. Not many at all.

“Don’t whisper as though I can’t hear you. Even with all the noise, I’ve learned to distinguish them just fine.” Valenio sighed out as he slide down a rock structure.

“Whoops, sorry.”

“So,” you gestured in front of you, “why the flower hunt?”

“Because…” Valenio paused and you stopped as well. Poor man had a hand pressed against the tree. He reached into his bag, pulled out a flask and poured its contents all over his head, “That’s better. Because, the story is about love, dedication, and devotion. It’s a beautiful piece, and I feel it would bring me closer to this song if I had this flower to perform with.”

Well then, no wonder so many Pomefiore students both admire him, despite this barely concealed fear.

“Well, I hope you find that flower then,” you looked up, “though, what about you? Why are you here?”

An aura of glittering butterfly scales lapsed into view, rendering the woods still for just a moment before the winds brushed past you all once more. Antas was smiling, as one would towards a threat that had no chance of touching them.

“Think of me as your invitation, Prefect, Valenio,” finally, as though tired of being in the air, Antas let his heel click on a stone protrusion, “Can’t very well have those close me be stolen away because they forgot that woods aren’t ever truly untouched.”

For the Caretaker, Antas is another pet, but one that ran away from his owner after he attacked her live on television. Usually, driders such as he are considered to be dangerous pests, so when they show behavior such as that, they'd be put down without hesitation. Basically, he's a mini drider that wanders from house to house, hoping to find a cool little corner to spin his web in and rest. He does not look good, all malnourished and dehydrated since he does not know how to hunt for himself. But, of course, the Caretaker eventually finds him around in their garden and they have to take him in. He had to be in isolation for quite a bit cause he did not relax around the other pets. He needed to have small bits of exposure, over time until he eventually comes out of his shell. And man did he. His spider half started getting more and more vibrant until eventually they started to bloom in some colorful lilac butterfly scales on his abdomen with a stain-glass like pattern. But yeah, he very much ends up attached to the Caretaker at the hip. Would try to crawl up their leg and onto their shoulder. Sometimes will hide in high places and jump right on their head. He's a quiet little thing, but the little shakes of his limbs tell all of his happiness. He can still fit on your hand, just so you know.

Valenio in the house pet au is another pet that managed to escape his kidnappers. He's never had an owner but he did have a friend that he liked to visit cause they fed him all sorts of weird foods he's never find in the deepsea. He had a lot of little guppies following him around, hiding in his very long trails of frills and fins. He doesn't look that different from his regular au self, just vastly smaller. Though, he is the length of your leg. He is big, though not as heavy as you might think. His little human torso, you can grab with one hand, but just barely. But, anyways, Caretaker was having a beach day but had to cut it short when they found a beached Valenio, very much heavily injured with all the little guppies trying to keep hiding in what was left of his fins. At home, Valenio has a tank all to himself. It's a huge tank as well, almost reaching the ceiling. You need a ladder to reach but it's all fine. Caretaker did try to take him back to the sea, but nope, Valenio is staying planted in the tank. He likes it. You can't move him. Just you try. Much like the other pets, he's not the smartest. He tried to get the Caretaker in the tank with him, cause he didn't know they couldn't breathe underwater. Also, despite the large size of his tank, it's the easiest thing to clean cause he goes out of his way to help you out. Though he does have a meticulous system that you have to follow or he will give you the silent treatment.

Oh and the guppies are weird little things. They're these shapeless forms of ink, they tend to take on the form of clione but sometimes they look like jellyfish. Either way, it's a sentient thing that hide within the fins and frills of Valenio. They're not a hazard, nor does it bother him.

Vio is a another human, a brat of a human fae, but a human nonetheless. He's attending the college nearby and is trying to expand his social network in order to make something of himself and his family. To that point, he actually does, initially, look down on the existence of the Caretaker since all he's heard about them is that they're a shut-in that everyone else spoils. So, to his eyes, the Caretaker is a leech. Basically, he's rather ignorant of the plight of the Caretaker cause he has tunnel vision on his own goals. He has magic, so the job industry and the education system treats him as well. Vio has his own troubles to deal with, so he sees his efforts and his well treatment as a result of all his hard work rather than it being something he was always going to get. He will get humbled when he sees the stacks and stacks of rejection letters on the Caretaker's shelf.

Cheridal is a red sea snake that has taken up home in a little ice cream shop by the sea. His owners really do love him to death, but they can't be with him all the time, so they arranged for him to be staying with the Caretaker whenever winter rolls around. His owners don't live near here and they're hesitant on taking him with them as they don't want him to be too far from home. Cheridal is actually smaller than Jamil, thinner too, but that doesn't stop him from play fighting with all the pets. Hell, he'll even play fight with the Caretaker. He'll beat them one day, he swears! He really has too much energy, so when he's not wrestling, he's usually swimming in the pond outside. If the Caretaker is not looking, he will try to sneak into the freezer for any frozen treats that might be in there. He's a weird creature. He likes to take an ice cube, toss it to the floor and skid it across the floor and chase after it.

With permission from the often reclusive housewarden(via some mild pressure), Valenio’s room had a small extension added to it. Creatures such as he are given many an accommodation given their sensitivity to noise, but Valenio knew he was slightly overstepping that right when he asked for a bigger room. It wasn’t out of line, given his size, but the extra room and the scattered objects inside implied there was once three different students in here.

Well, such guilt no longer matters. What’s done is done and now this extra room has been converted into a study and lab. Well, to Valenio, it’s his study. To the rare few that have visited, they would call it the coral room, for at the center, what takes up the eye was a large tank with a pure white coral branch.

It was bone, once, at least more bone-like. Smooth, darker in color, always the slightest bit off in the way bones do when blood vessels run through them. Valenio remembers his small hands once gripping them when he was being taken for rides on a strong back. He remembers the currents being made in that gentle abyss from how fast he and his brother swam.

He remembers when Rahkan broke them off, he and another promising him that everything will be okay once he ate them. The pain will go and the wretched curse would be silenced.

“The dust has gathered to one spot,” Valenio tapped the glass, focused on the little white granules that have gathered in the corner of the tank, away from the artificial current he’s made, “They’re reforming back into it’s coral form. And growing.”

It always grows. The tallest branch came from the smallest jar embedded in the sand. A baby blue jar, decorated in messily beaded bracelets and dangling sea glass. It has long since cracked with the sheer size of the tree like coral, the tips of its branches peeking over the tank. All of it was powder, once, mixed with mashed fruits from when he couldn’t digest solids.

Even at the sight of it all, somehow or another, it still looked tantalizing to Valenio.

Eat it.

Valenio reach over.

Crunch it.

He grabbed a saw.

It is your cure.

Valenio grabbed the horn.

It is your gift.

He sawed off the top most pieces and drop them to the ground. Gravity still surprised him sometimes. He forgot he wasn’t back home. The horn landed and broke into smaller pieces. He can pick them up. Their glow was unmistakable. The power, the magic sealed within will not leave unless he consumes it or he finds a way to return it to its rightful owner.

Valenio’s stomach growled. He grabbed snacks, multiple of it, of all different brands and flavors and stuff them in his mouth. He didn’t care for the taste. He just wanted this hunger to stop so he can focus.

Valenio wiped his mouth. “Which extraction theory am I on again?”

The cafeteria wasn’t a place Valenio often goes to, nor does he see any need to linger more than needed. Not only was this place too far from the lab he was let out from, there’s also just too much noise for him, too many things that distract him from his own thoughts. Eating in peace was a luxury that Valenio can rarely find when in here. Especially since many of the newer, more sheltered students tend to stare at him and his climbing plates of food.

Valenio’s confidence wasn’t so brittle as to crumble under the weak, nervous whispers of gossiping students looking for a new topic to speak of. He’s made his rounds in Pomefiore before, he can handle a brutal verbal beating or two. Compared to them, all of this was child’s play. Staying away from here wasn’t a matter of pride so much as it was to protect his head.

The messy layers of noises pick at his brain, leaving him irritated. And when he finally gets to the safety of his quieter dorm, he’s left exhausted just from stewing in it.

So then, why would Valenio linger here despite all these negatives? Well, that’s because you were here, with people that think they have what it takes to be close to you, that think they deserve it. There’s a man with red hair and a heart on his face, a little beast trying to dig his claws into the other’s plate, and another man with a spade trying to sneak a fork into your food.

Really, you should be more picky with your friends. But, he won’t stop you. He also won’t stop said friends from fleeing from you with a well placed scare or two.

Valenio’s steps were naturally loud and clear, though it was lost in the cacophony of noise around him. It was only when he sat down next to you, when the seat and table shook with his height and weight did this group you were in pause.

Spade retracted his fork, Trappola had wide eyes that immediately narrowed, and Grim hid half his face with the table. He still managed to snatch a piece of cheesy bread, though not from your plate, thankfully.

Valenio’s not surprised when Trappola barked.

“Alright, who said you could sit with us?” He looked more than ready to flip the plate at him, despite the tremble in his hands.

From the side, you gave a big, well placed yawn. Immediately, whatever tension Valenio naturally brings was gone. You were not tense, which was only natural. You both know each other, after all.

You greeted Valenio with a bumping of shoulders. “What’s up, Valenio?”

Valenio couldn’t help but stare directly at your little friends, just to remind them that he was there, and force them to watch as he leaned down to your ear to whisper in a baritone voice, “I finished the catch up guide you wanted. All the basic and mandatory information should help with adjusting.”

It’s amazing to him how often people forget that you’re not from here at all, that you are missing what most would consider the most basic of basics. Trying to learn what others had grew up with in such a short time frame can’t be easy.

Valenio couldn’t help pressing up against you. There’s a part of him that wants nothing more than to kiss the top of your head, but, he’ll have to make do with what he can get away with, and that’s proximity. He drank in the confused expressions on those two students faces, of both confusion and deeply hidden, probably undiscovered envy as you allowed for Valenio to touch you.

You were comfortable with him. It made Valenio’s heart soar.

You took the notebook he so carefully crafted. “Hey, thanks buddy.”

Antas as a yandere...oh boy...okay, so since I already established the fact that he can disguise himself as anyone he sees, he would probably try and see all side of your personality via pretending to be your friends. And if he spots anyone that may or may not fancy you, he will take on their faces and do something that will ruin their reputation in both the eyes of NRC and yours. However, I would imagine that somehow or another, you end up being able to recognize him no matter the face he wears, which gets to him, both that he likes it and is also afraid of whatever substance you may see underneath it all.

Valenio as a yandere is just, a silent guardian. With the development of the obsession though, the call of the deep sea is much stronger than ever, until eventually he ends up embodying many of it's aspects, leaving only his obsession behind. So, he loses interest in his research, he's no longer as strict on taking his potions and medicine. All he wants to do now is just, go home. He wants to drag you to the bottom of the sea with him, where he will sing a lullaby for all to hear. But, of course, he doesn't. He wants you to take his hand, but he also enjoys your presence too much to do so.

Tul'Veith, aware of his very weak, very bulliable state, plays it up to very masochistic levels. Deliberately fabricates situations where he gets hurt and humiliated so you can come swoop in and save him. When attention is lost, he will tear up or start to sniffle. Probably at some point or another starts to refer to you as his god. Years of existing and reincarnating has chipped away at so much of his pride that he's on his knees to never be forgotten. He hates looking like a fool but he fears the same fate that all of his siblings have met. So your attention is very much something he feels he needs to live.

Vio is...a prideful brat. His mind is doing circles, always focusing on your presence but he denies it to death that he wants anything to do with you. No matter how many hours he spends thinking about you, no matter how his body responds, he is in denial of it all. If anything, he starts snapping and just, being a not so good person. However when you had enough and command him to shut up, heat shoots up his spine and basically becomes meek. Vio basically discovers he likes being put in his place and both hates and loves it.

And Cheridal is a pleaser. The kind of guy to drape himself on you when he can, gives you very expensive things that you have clue where he got but it's yours anyway. And gives you a coupon for whatever sweet treat you want from his parents shop. He catches anyone talking shit about you? He will beat them to unconsciousness and present their bodies to you. Basically something of a guard dog. Is tame for the most part, but will froth at the mouth if he even so much as suspects someone did something to you.

Antas is surprisingly okay with the presence of other yanderes, not in the sense that they can have you but in the sense that they're very useful tools to keep the other riff-raff away from hurting you. Their loyalty is something he can put trust in, but the ones he does see as a threat would have to be Valenio and Tul'Veith. Valenio because he's the younger step-brother of someone he knows, and Tul'Veith because he uses his frail deposition as a weapon. Cheridal is easy to keep busy, all he has to do is let a rumor rise about you getting bullied and he's on the hunt. And Vio...yeah he's the son of a failing noble house, it won't be hard to pile on even more shame onto him.

Valenio only registers the others as mosquitos. People that he can swat aside with little to no issue, and for the most part, he can. Whatever you want, he will follow, so if you want to hang out with the others, he won't mind, but he will make sure that they don't step out of line and try and take his place as the favored one. So, Cheridal and Tul'Veith really do annoy him because of their overly attached behavior. He doesn't mind Antas, mostly because there are aspects of himself that he hates so much he'd rather hide from you for all eternity behind others faces.

Tul'Veith is another possessive one, but keeps it under wraps as he needs to seem harmless. He's uh, he's rather extreme though and will probably break his arms or legs just so you have to look after him.

That morning, there was a crowd gathered around one of the statues. One didn’t need to be near them to hear the whispers, laughs and jeers being thrown around.

“Ha! ‘Bout time someone taught him a lesson!”

There’s a flash of a phone camera before someone smacked that hand holding it.

“Dude! Don’t! You’ll get us in trouble.”

“Come on! You know this is hilarious.”

Valenio had no need to linger here. He’s walking with you, after all. That, along with the fact that he can see over the heads of all the students gathered around. He didn’t need to make his way through the crowd to see the shivering, sniveling and glaring student that was the subject of all this humiliation.

He didn’t need to make his presence known to this particular student. A single glance his way had this student's head turning sharply towards Valenio. This no name student wasn’t worthy of his time, nor the headache all of this will bring if he lingers too long.

“Seriously, I wonder who you pissed off this time, man. You must’ve messed up big time.”

When you started to lag behind, likely caught in your curiosity, Valenio laid a hand on your upper back, gently guiding you along with his pace. A flush of warmth ran up his arm and settled right into his chest.

“If Crowley comes here while we’re here, we’ll be stuck in a lecture.” His voice was almost too low to be heard, but none of that was a problem when it gives him the excuse to lean close to you.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” you sighed out, adjusting the bag you had filled with books and papers. You rolled your shoulders, nudging his hand away, “Careful, I’m still tender there.”

Valenio retracted his hand, cold injected right into his spine. “I’m sorry. Are you sure you don’t need to see the nurse again?”

Underneath his skin, he felt the slow roiling of his blood give life to an anger thought satiated.

You waved off his concerns. “It’s fine, man. The nurse gave me the okay. It could’ve been worse, honestly.”

Your injuries being hypothetically worse is not the problem, it’s the fact you even have them in the first place that has Valenio so worried. Not having magic here, in this place overflowing with it, has made you such an easy target. Most are usually satisfied with just spitting out words, but some people, especially the one currently getting laughed it, loved to talk with punches and kicks instead.

“Ah, pisses me off but, what can I do? Can’t exactly do much against people that can magically set me on fire if they wanted to.” It shocks him, how easily you shouldered off the fierce anger that was once in your eyes when he found you there, sitting up against the wall, glaring at the disappearing backs of the one who hurt you.

“The statue.” Valenio finally said.

“What?” You raised an eyebrow.

“He was there. Tied up against the statue.” Will this give you some solace?

“Seriously? Wow.” But you didn’t turn to confirm. You continued walking with him, as though this conversation was more important. “Must’ve kicked the wrong person then.”

…

“…I have some money to spare from a friend.” He showed you his wallet. “Would you like anything before we finish the report?”