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When Yuu walks into what will eventually become a haven, they don't expect much out of the place.
They see a broken-down Dorm and know that they can't fix it by themselves. They have no magic to repair holes, no past experience with such matters, and no strength required for such things.
They just want a somewhat livable place to stay while they hopefully find a way home.
Grim arrives first, drenched to the bone and desperately searching for validation despite how much he praises himself.
He finds warmth and safety in the walls of Ramshackle, a place that's become his first home now. He doesn’t help much with cleaning, but he can fix a thing or two if you know how to bribe him correctly.
He wanted a safe place to rest and attend his dream school, and he found it.
Ace comes next, knocking on the door at three in the morning once again after a night where he's unable to find sleep.
He finds solace in the familiar if broken, walls of the dorm, relaxing in a way that he just can't do in Heartslaybul.
He finds a sense of safety there that he never felt before in the rose makes and bright colors of Heartslabyul. It's broken and he complains about the miserable surroundings, but he never does anything to fix it.
Deuce follows soon after, saying that it wasn't the same in Heartslaybul without the redhead, despite the fact that they have a complicated relationship.
He didn’t feel safe there anymore, especially after his one pillar of stability up and left. He's the first one after Yuu to actually put effort into fixing up the Dorm, and with his knack for mechanics and Yuu's knack for finding useful things discarded, they get most of the appliances up and running.
Now there are four living beings in the dorm and it looks better than ever. The ghosts love having people in the dorm and are having the time of their afterlives with everyone.
Days are pure chaos with the one brain cell trio all together, but it's so much better than before for Yuu, who hates silence because it lets their thoughts run rampant, for Grim, who finally has a place to call home and a family of his own, for Ace, who can finally live free of restrictions for once, and for Deuce, who finally gets the acknowledgment he needs.
After Savanaclaw’s Sabotage plot gets sabotaged, Jack transfers to Ramshackle. It's louder than what he's used to and he's having to tutor everyone because he and Yuu have become the parents of the group somehow, but it's better than before because before has him alone in a place where might makes right.
And that alone might not be so bad but with what he overheard after confronting Leona and Ruggie, he just doesn't trust anyone there anymore.
Having the only authority figures in your Dorm being a lion who's too lazy to do anything and a hyena who'll do anything for a little cash raises little trust in those who are supposed to be in charge.
Somehow, Ramshackle is a million times better despite the Housewarden being the magicless Yuu and Ace and Deuce arguing every day over who's Vice before Yuu says that they're considering making Jack Vice. And while it's broken beyond belief, he's actually a big help with rearranging and fixing things, especially because he’s willing to help.
Things go on in Ramshackle for a while.
Petty arguments occur every day before being promptly forgotten about, Crowley keeps forcing Yuu to do his dirty work for him, and the paperwork is a nightmare, especially since there's no official Vice, but it's made better by the fact that only five/four people are in the Dorm. (Yuu and Grim’s two-in-one student deal is confusing.)
Until Jamil joins them as the first non-freshman. He needed to get away from Kalim, and transferring into a different Dorm seemed the best course of action.
He immediately stepped into the position of Vice and helped the others study- Ace, Deuce, and Grim particularly.
While he still cooked for the entire Dorm, it was far less people and work to do. With his precision with magic, he helped with the repairing process for the Dorm significantly.
Now there were six living beings in the dorm and the number of responsible people to irresponsible had increased significantly. Expenses are a bit of a mess considering Crowley's measly allowance barely kept Yuu and Grim alive, but the funding for the Dorm had been raised enough for all of them to have three meals a day and afford supplies for repairs, so it's fine.
And maybe the Dorm was falling apart at the seams even if it's no longer quite like that anymore and everyone's at least a little messed up in the head, but they find comfort or solace in each other's arms, whether it be through companionable silence where neither quite knows what to say or quiet words of reassurance that they will hide the fact that they were spoken for the rest of their lives, but it works and that's what matters.
Until the Dorm is chosen to house the SDC competitors because three of its members and managers live there and it's convenient, but suddenly it doesn't feel anywhere near as safe as before.
But they can't fight it so open acts of affection are cut down to silent crying into shoulders in the middle of the night and cuddle piles to stave away the nightmares are erased and changed to waking up covered in sweat and choking back screams.
And they begin to spiral, dropping back to how they were before they found a place they could call home.
Yuu stays silent most days unless they need to speak, only whispering to Grim some days.
Grim heaps evermore praise onto himself, seeking desperately for the validation that he’s become used to.
Ace reverts to being an annoying brat because that’s how he is when he can’t be himself, when he’s restricted, a bird stuck in its cage.
Deuce pours himself into his work, leaving himself exhausted as he searches for acknowledgment that’s not given.
Jack stays out of the others’ ways, only seeing them when he returns before heading to his room, having become more of a lone wolf than ever before.
Jamil drops the lowest, shutting himself off and acting as the obedient servant to Kalim once again as living under the same roof as the Asim heir recalls old behaviors that he wants to forget.
Epel joins them, some nights when Vil’s become too much and his dysphoria is acting up to the point where he needs someone, anyone, to validate his gender for him.
What was once a haven becomes a place where it’s not safe anymore. Where it’s not safe to need comfort in the company of others, where it’s not safe to actively seek the validation that’s desperately needed, where the only time you can find what you need is in the middle of the night when it’s still not safe because there’s an expert hunter watching you who probably knows everything that’s going on under the roof. And everyone’s hurting, but they persevere because then the month will be over and finally they can relax in their own homes and allow themselves things that would be social suicide in a place such as Night Raven.
Until it’s not, because the place that was worked so hard on to become livable is suddenly destroyed in search of a few specific people and everything is at its lowest.
With two members in the infirmary, two taken, one has to go back to a place where it’s not safe for him, and the last f a l l i n g into the abyss of their darkest thoughts, all that’s left is for the ones near each other is to cling to their hope and dreams and pray that they can make it through this.
Yuu and Epel, who’s become an honorary member of the Ramshackle family because they’ve become a family at this point, and tearing them apart is near-impossible, except that S.T.Y.X has done just that, leave to bring it all back together, because if they don’t have each other, what does that leave them with?
Nothing.
And it works, somehow.
Somehow they’re all back and Ramshackle was completely fixed up via the Shroud brothers’ money so it can’t really be called Ramshackle anymore but they’ve grown too attached to the name to let it go. (And aren’t they growing soft, to get attached to a name of all things?)
Everything’s back to how it was before the SDC sent them each into their own personal hell, except that this time they’re closer than ever because if they're torn apart, their bond is reforged, stronger than before.
And maybe the nightmares only stay away when they’re flopped onto someone’s bed in a cuddle pile and physical contact is a very common thing when no one else is around, but they’re fine because they’re together and they’ve all become used to picking up the broken pieces of each other and themselves and gluing it all back together before it all shatters again.
Epel’s joined them and he slots into the group like a missing puzzle piece. He’s just as chaotic and quick to throw down the gauntlet as the other first-years minus Grim, but he’s at least a little more sensible than him as long as you don’t call him cute.
His dysphoria has finally fallen to an all-time low because he’s finally in an environment where it isn’t constantly exacerbated by his Housewarden.
Instead, his new Housewarden is willing to hear him out and provide the validation that he so desperately needs when his body feels wrong and he has people who are willing to be there for him and he’s happier than ever.
The new video game console that Idia provided is a very common place to find the Ace, Deuce, Epel, and Grim although Grim’s paws don’t work all that well with the controllers because it’s a place for them to be themselves, and to be free from the cages they were trapped in before.
Ortho comes by often, to the point of having been named a dual student of Ramshackle and Ignihyde. He isn’t fully willing to move in because doing so would mean leaving Idia on his own, but he stays over enough to have his own room with his own stuff.
And then there’s another Overblot and Yuu’s health is being pushed to the side because Crowley keeps piling his work on them to where the others can visibly see how stressed they are.
So they do their best to lower the amount of strain put on them by taking up their work. Jack takes their place in cutting off arguments, which don’t occur as often anymore. Ortho takes up doing the paperwork, which he completes easily with his functions, and tells the others how Yuu’s health is doing with daily scans.
They just let Yuu rest because the Headmage is useless and is overworking them to the point of collapse.
Life keeps moving on.
The bags under Yuu’s eyes grow ever darker.
The tension in their shoulders never leaves even in their sleep.
They stay out later and are up earlier, but the others know that if Yuu had a choice, they wouldn’t be doing any of this.
Despite what other people who don’t know them as well think, they don’t have a heart of gold. Doing work needlessly is something that they don’t like, but they have to, or else the Headmage will pull funding for the Dorm.
Jack, Epel, and Ortho take up working at the Sam’s shop and funnel all of their savings into an account so that if the funding is pulled, they have something to fall back on. Ortho even adds some of the money from the large amount the Shrouds have access to while Jamil is willing to speak to Kalim about adding some from the Asim fortune.
They start growing a garden and working on making food that they can preserve, because the sooner they can pull themselves away from the Headmage’s fund, the better. While some things need to be purchased, they can work on funding themselves as much as possible.
Sebek joins them because no matter how much he cares for the others, he just doesn’t feel safe anymore in Diasomnia. Not after Malleus’ Overblot.
Additionally, his life has only been centered around his liege. He doesn’t know who Sebek Zigvolt is if he isn’t his liege’s guard, but he wants to find out.
His new dorm welcomes him with open arms even if it doesn’t seem like it.
The others tell him of the amount of work that’s shoved into Yuu’s arms, so he takes up work at the shop as well, working desperately to get everything running without Crowley’s money.
Despite his near-constant yelling that leaves ears ringing, he keeps his voice down when Yuu’s in the dorm because he’s seen firsthand how hard they’re being worked, day in and day out without a moment to rest. Even the other Housewardens have begun to express their concern, but the Headmage has the final say over anything and by this point, none of them trust adults enough to tell them what’s going on.
Cater is the next person to join them because Heartslabyul’s too much for him to keep up his constant facade.
He keeps it lowered as much as possible, but it’s become instinct for him to lie to everyone’s faces. Slowly, bit by bit, his carefully crafted walls begin to drop and everyone starts to see the real Cater Diamond. Not his Cay-Cay persona who’s cheerful and lively, but the Cater Diamond that lives inside him, who’s quiet and flinches at loud noises.
And despite how their grades may seem, none of them are stupid. They know what circumstances led to Cater being this way, but they don’t pry. It’s one of the few rules of the dorm: don’t pry into traumatic backstories. It’s also the one rule no one’s pushed back on ever because while all of them are from the infamous Night Raven College, they know better than to bring up traumatic backstories.
He fits in nicely, and slowly, his smiles become more real and he feels more grounded. While Yuu’s still being worked into the ground, he helps pick up the slack with his Split Card being particularly useful.
There’s nine/eight members of the Dorm, of the family now (Yuu and Grim’s situation is confusing) and they’re ready to start pulling away from Crowley’s meager fund. With the initial boosts from the Shroud and Asim family fortunes, the number of people working, and the food that’s being grown, they have enough to be self-sufficient.
Jamil and Ortho’s calculations show that with what they have and their current income, they can separate from the useless Headmage. The news takes a weight off Yuu’s shoulders and they start going out less and staying at the dorm more.
Crowley threatens to pull his funding, but they let him know that they’re fine with that.
He also threatens that he doesn’t have time to find Yuu a way home, but they’re fine with that, because why would they want to leave their family for a place that they barely have any memories about?
And Yuu has finally stopped running around the island from sunrise to sunset. They still help with the clean-up, of course, but things fall back to how they were before the final Overblot, just with more people.
Things are finally looking up.
And sure, they all lean on each other to the point where you pull one away without their consent, they all fall like dominos, but it’s fine.
They hold makeshift therapy sessions together because it’s too expensive for professional help and they don’t trust anyone but themselves anyway, so they make do with old psychology books Jamil digs out of the library and Ortho’s research.
And maybe being so codependent is a bad thing, but in a place where everything’s falling apart around them, they have to cling to the few things they have left.
Idia joins them next because his Housewarden position was taken by another student and Ortho decides that Ramshackle is the best place for him.
And while he’s overwhelmed by the people and chaos around, he begins to find a place.
Cater speaks to him often, worlds different from the Cater that Idia knew before because that Cater was just an illusion, much like the Split Cards he often makes.
Piece by piece, his social anxiety drops around the others, whether it be the sly Ace or the compassionate Yuu. Slowly, he begins to become a part of the family He starts to join in on their family activities, like joining the freshmen in playing video games and thrashing them, or the cuddle piles that he starts to join the edges of before growing confident enough to enter.
The others pay attention to his rants about his interests, even though most of it passes over their heads and some tease him for it, none of the jokes feel ill-natured, so he laughs along. He gets asked by some to see some of his favorite anime and games and he agrees happily, finally happy to have someone to share them with other than Ortho.
Azul angers someone with one of his deals and soon, his position as Housewarden and everything that he’s built up oh-so-carefully so as to not become the weak little octopus he once was shatters.
And so does he.
Seeking assistance, he decides to visit the Ramshackle Prefect because they’re one of the nicest people on campus not counting Kalim or Silver.
Jade and Floyd follow him, as they’ve always had, and soon they have tentative housing in the Ramshackle Dorm that’s not so Ramshackle anymore.
The others keep a careful distance away from them at first, and it hurts in a way he can’t describe when he sees them laughing joyfully from a distance.
But bit by bit, they pull the trio in.
Yuu learns how to handle Floyd’s moods as well as Jade himself. Ace teaches Azul how to play basketball with Jamil and Floyd laughs as he makes a fool of himself. (Despite how badly he plays, it’s still fun to him and time passes in the blink of an eye.) Jade starts growing his mushrooms for food because for these people, they need every bit of food they can get with how carefully they have to watch their budget.
Now there are fourteen people in the dorm and they all trust each other wholly and completely.
Despite the constant chaos, all of them are people who are hurting immensely inside and seek comfort from the world around them.
But while the world is cold, harsh, and unforgiving, they find a place that’s warm, soft, and comfortable for them in the once-abandoned Dorm. They inhibit each other’s spaces, orbiting around each other like a perfectly positioned solar system, all perfectly put together.
Secrets are nonexistent in the codependency that surrounds them, traumatic backstories are learned, whether through small hints dropped here and there, gasped out through choking breaths after a nightmare, or told in clear detail. They learn each other’s habits and quirks as well as they know their own, learn of Jamil’s multiple poisonings in the past that led to his paranoia around food not made by one of them, learn of how Cater’s family treats him, of the human Ortho Shroud, of Grim’s nonexistent biological family, because he has a family now, doesn’t he?
They learn the stories behind each and every scar, of the pain and joy that each and every one of them has been through.
The old Mostro Lounge was taken over by the new Housewarden of Octavinelle, much to Azul’s dismay until it was suggested that a new one be opened in Ramshackle.
Knowing that they could use the income, they decide to give it a shot, starting small.
It’s more of a hit than the other one because here Ace sits in the corner with magic tricks and poker games at his fingertips, Ortho plays music as he roams around and Deuce is available to talk to for ten thaumarks (and there's a long line for him). It’s more of a hit because here, Jamil, Floyd, and Jade are all cooking and Floyd likes to make a show of it when he’s in a good mood. It’s more of a hit because there’s a warm, comfortable environment here rather than the sea-like aesthetic of the old one.
(They like it better because this one is family-run and everyone working there is completely relaxed in each other’s company)
Kalim comes to join them because a student still angry about the events of Winter Break takes his position. Crowley’s too busy running around to care about any of the students, so he makes his way to the no-longer-aptly named Ramshackle Dorm where he knows Jamil is and knocks on the door.
His joyful and carefree attitude fits right in with the first-years and while there’s visible tension between him and Jamil, they talk it out and while it’s still awkward, it’s not nearly as bad as before.
His money adds to the stockpile that they have and they can now afford much better items.
The excess PDA doesn’t even bother him as he flings himself into the complex relationship that threads between all of them easily.
While he often has to be talked down from doing anything extravagant and be convinced out of doing stupid things by the others, he slots into the puzzle easily.
Vil’s spot is taken by someone sick of his rigorous methods and Rook would follow him to the ends of the world.
Of course, the hunter knows about the number of people living in the Dorm and drags them there.
Of course, it starts roughly because Epel shuts down as soon as he sees them and his dysphoria starts acting up for the first time in ages, but Jack pulls him aside and provides the reassurance he needs.
The SDC tribe minus Kalim of course, is extremely cautious around him but he doesn’t impose any strict rules like in the leadup to the competition.
Epel still avoids him and Rook like the plague and he disapproves of the acute PDA, but everything starts to grow on him.
Much like Rook became the one person he trusted other than his father, he begins to realize why they’ve all become like this when he sees the ever-composed Azul wake up from a nightmare and the honorable, lone wolf Jack comforts him.
When the entire world is against you, you can only fall back on people in the same predicament.
He and Rook speak with Epel and learn why he fought back as hard as he did against them when they were trying to emphasize the qualities he hated about himself because they reminded him that he was born in the wrong body.
And, bit by bit, he finds himself growing ever fonder of the Ramshackle students.
There are eighteen of them living under the same roof now.
While that’s a much lower number than every other Dorm, none of the other Dorms have people this codependent with each other.
None of the other Dorms have students arguing one minute and napping on the couch, cuddling the next.
None of the other Dorms have students this traumatized, and maybe that’s for the best.
None of the Dorms are a family of their own because NRC is a place for talented, arrogant students who all hate each other except none of them quite fit that descriptor, now do they?
Yuu is a random quiet magicless student from another world who can’t get back and now doesn’t want to.
Grim is an unidentifiable species that’s extremely arrogant yet seeks attention because he’s not used to it.
Ace is a bratty, free-spirited boy who hates rules because they restrict him to where he can’t be himself. (And if being himself entails being an asshole that no one likes, at least his family likes him.)
Deuce is a delinquent set on changing his ways and becoming an honor student to make his mother proud, so he doesn’t quite fit in with the trigger-happy NRC students.
Cater is someone who hides a bad homelife behind a happy persona as he searches for the acknowledgment he so desperately craves on social media.
Jack is an honorable lone wolf who’s a little rough around the edges but cares oh-so-much.
Azul is a victim of bullying that hides behind a businessman persona and places his self-worth on what he’s taken rather than what he naturally has.
Jade and Floyd are dangerous twins who seem like complete opposites yet get along brilliantly as they care only for their own entertainment.
Kalim is a joyful and kind heir to a wealthy family who acts and is completely different to all of the other students.
Jamil is Kalim’s snarky servant stuck in the shadow cast onto him by Kalim’s sunlight.
Epel is someone born into the wrong body but changed to be as happy as he could be and now fights his own mind over his discomfort in the body that’s not right for him.
Rook is a flamboyant hunter of beauty who’s widely feared and hated across campus for being a quote-unquote ‘stalker bastard’.
Vil is an actor often cast as the villain who just wants to stay on the stage until the end for one single time.
Ortho is a replica of someone his brother loved because he couldn’t go on without him.
Idia is someone who fears social interaction to the point of sending a tablet to meetings.
Sebek is a loud half-fae torn between the two halves of his heritage as he struggles to find himself.
Does any of that sound like the typical NRC student to you?
Yes, they’re all prideful (not counting Yuu, Ortho, and Kalim).
Yes, they fit into the general picture.
But if you look a little closer, you’ll find that they stand out in more ways than you think. And that’s why the world is against them.
Leona is beaten by someone because in Savanaclaw, might makes right. Ruggie follows him because Leona is his source of income, his way of providing back to the slums that raised him.
They find shelter at the Ramshackle Dorm and while everyone regards them with guarded eyes, having been told about what Jack overheard, they know about the Overblot memory dreams that Yuu experiences. They know why Leona did what he did, even if they don’t condone it. They know from Jack that Ruggie is from the slums, which is why he’s so desperate to find a way to pay those who raised him back.
So carefully, they lower their guards and begin to let the duo in.
While Leona’s laziness often got in the way, if he could be persuaded, he provided great tutoring. Yuu was often the one who got tutored before sharing their newfound knowledge with the other freshmen.
Ruggie will often cook with Jamil, Floyd, and Jade because that way there’s enough food for everyone and he doesn’t like seeing people younger than him hungry. The cuddle piles remind him of when some kids in the slums did the same thing so he watches them with a nostalgic smile before joining.
Leona thinks the level of codependency they have is ridiculous before hearing Vil waking up from a nightmare and getting comforted by Floyd, of all people. From there, he pays a little more attention to when Jamil’s hands are shaking in the morning or when Ace is shuffling cards nervously because he needs something to do with his hands.
Riddle’s defeated in a duel by a student fueled by rage about how he acted in the past and said student kicks him and Trey out because of how much Trey stood by and did nothing in the past.
Trey takes them to Ramshackle, where he’s been checking up on Cater every few weeks.
Ace and Deuce keep eyeing Riddle nervously, but Yuu welcomes them in with a calm smile that practically screams “I’ve been expecting you.” They don’t know what to make of it, but count their blessings over having a place to stay.
The amount of casual PDA is beyond shocking to the rule-abiding Riddle and even Trey, who’s seen it before, is flabbergasted by Epel casually flopping down in Jade’s lap and the merman not even batting an eye.
Riddle spends a little time scolding the others for not following the rules but Yuu speaks to him about how caged they, especially Ace and Epel, feel when following rules that aren’t necessary like the few rules in Ramshackle. (Such as quiet hours are ten to six, no prying into traumatic backstories, no purposefully triggering anyone, no discrimination, etc.)
After that, he grows a little more courteous with the rules, though he still follows them strictly.
Trey becomes the big brother/father figure of the group and spoils the ones who remind him of his younger siblings. He also pushes proper dental care onto the others to the point where they think he has a tooth fetish.
Trey joins the cuddle piles and PDA first, though it starts with hair ruffles and escalates into casual hugs for no reason. Riddle joins soon after, his face flushed red with embarrassment because he believes it improper yet still desires more of it.
There are nineteen of them now and the puzzle is almost complete, except that they’re still missing three.
Even without the final three, days are filled with laughter that echoes through the halls and warm smiles that are far more genuine than what’s shown in public while nights are where shaking hands are grasped in warm ones and quiet words of affirmation are whispered into ears.
There are no secrets between them at this point other than stupid ones like the fact that Ace was the one who used up all of Sebek’s shampoo and Kalim ate the last cookie Trey made.
Among them, they have little trust in adults, especially considering what they know. Very few of them have actually reliable parents, so they just cling to each other and ignore the fact that they’re going to have to separate soon.
Because of the amount of work that still needs to be made up after so much was missed from the Overblots, the entire school is redoing a year with no mark on their academic records. They all rejoice at that news despite the fact that it’s more school to be done because they have more time to be together and more time to pick up the shattered pieces left behind of themselves and put them all back together.
Silver visits Sebek and the two of them talk about what was going through their minds in the past. Sebek admits that the constant competitiveness was from a sense of inferiority from always being second-best to a human and getting bullied for it and Silver admits that he felt that his constant falling asleep was from laziness. The two leave with less of a weight on their minds and a smile on their faces.
Silver asks LIlia if he can move into Ramshackle and the fae follows his son because he would do so to the ends of the earth. Malleus follows soon after because loneliness is the thing he hates most in the world and the puzzle is almost finished because the final pieces haven’t been placed yet.
There’s a constant wariness around the new three, specifically Malleus, from everyone except Yuu. The dragon fae clings onto his first friend and the others soon find Malleus to be nothing more than a gargoyle nerd who’s not used to having friends.
Slowly, ever so slowly because trust is a rare commodity for the Ramshackle students other than themselves, they let the three into their hearts, and the space left over is where they fit in perfectly.
The final puzzle pieces are placed where they’re supposed to be.
They begin to join the chaos and cuddle piles.
Lilia hangs out with the Pop Music Club members a lot and the three drag their instruments to the basement because the others hate how loud they are. The basement is transformed into a place for them to relax and they spend a lot of time down there because it’s a place where they can feel like they belong.
Secrets are revealed, tears are shed, and they join the cuddle piles and PDA.
Yuu clings to Malleus on cold days, Lilia gets glomped by Kalim and Cater, and Silver is flopped onto by many people because he barely blinks when they do so.
The final pieces lock into place, and the puzzle is finished.
The world may be against them because they stand out from the crowd, but twenty-four lost souls have found their homes in a place that’s perfect for them.