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In a world where soulmates were found because each pairing had their own unique song, Cater felt a little hopeless. Feeling how utterly vast the world was with every move, with every bit of hope that slowly fell and dimmed the more he couldn’t find them. His mystery soulmate. What were they like?
(“Knew it already fine, misery inside”)
Would they get along? Would they fall in love? Would they be good friends? Would the other.. Understand ?
But what if he didn’t?
In a world where you find your soulmate through song.. One that belonged to you and your soulmate alone. That person would only know parts of the song, their part, and upon meeting their soulmate, singing it together do they feel ‘complete’. The half that only they know becomes a completed song.
("At myself, I would laugh, fallen down behind")
Cater had seen many people singing duets of their song together. It was a popular topic. Like a fated love– Well, it didn’t have to be love, it could just be a good bond with another person. Eventually it grated at him a little that people seemed to be finding theirs so easily while he struggled.
That wasn’t true though, there were so many things he wouldn’t see on the surface, that it was only the loud ones that got their voices heard.
("But I don't know a thing, love or losing, see?")
With soulmates came websites where people would post them singing their part of a song. Since their part was unique to them, people couldn’t steal it and pretend to be someone else’s soulmate (..people like that were horrible).
It was often, though, that parents would sing to a child, or siblings to another, because it was like a song that got stuck in your brain. Something you would hum often without even realizing it.
("So I threw to the side any human in me")
A song between soulmates was.. special. It was calming, something like ‘you aren’t alone’. It was reaching halfway through the connection to your mystery soulmate.
Cater had bit the bullet and put it out for the internet to see. Had sang something that was so personal to him, that made him feel a little vulnerable and.. Nothing.
Who was it then? Someone who didn’t frequent the internet? Because these websites would listen, would see if there were any others that sounded similar. It felt like an invasion of privacy but people were desperate.
("If I live a lie of shallow words and empty replies "Then what am I?"")
There were also people in general that listened to a bunch of those songs and would say something if they might’ve found the other’s soulmate. It was a community effort. Heartwarming. Except when it didn’t work.
He didn’t get far that way.
("Hitting the walls of a stage that I couldn’t break")
So he gave up. What does it matter if he meets his soulmate or not? He can live his life just fine without some fated connection. (A part of him still yearned, still feeling as if a part of him is missing.) Plenty of people made it without ever meeting their soulmate.
(Cater heard horror stories that when someone’s soulmate died before they could meet them, it was something that struck their whole being. Because their core reached out a thread, hoping to connect with the person on the other side– To meet nothingness, nothing but the absence of warmth– It fractured, and there were many who’d never recovered. Forever shaken.)
And if his soulmate wants to meet him.. Well they can find him themself!
(“Then it stuck to my head, gotta run away”)
(It didn’t make him feel any better. It didn’t make him feel any less alone.)
It.. hurt that many of his romantic partners had left him the moment they found their soulmate but.. He didn’t know if he could really blame them. He didn’t know how he’d react if he suddenly found his soulmate.
Besides, it never would’ve lasted that long anyway when his family keeps having to move. When long distance relationships never worked out.
At least his phone addiction helped him pretend he wasn’t so miserable.
(“Playing out like a scene, posing every lead”)
It was going to Night Raven College that provided him some semblance of stability. Something that would last for three years. Three, because his fourth would be out on internships.
Cater felt.. Weirdly surprised that there were a bunch of students who were soulmates to each other at the school. Well, of the pairings he could see at least.
He’d landed himself in Heartslabyul. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but one of his roommates was a guy named Trey and he seemed.. cool? Unfortunately not his soulmate. (Look he didn’t do anything cringy by asking! But a lot of people had a habit of humming or quietly singing to their song so it was generally easy to tell.)
("Near the end of the show, waiting in the wing, see?")
It sounded a little something like… ‘Looking at you got me thinking nonsense’. A love song then? A classic. Cater felt a little disappointed that his song was so much more… not that.
Sounded familiar but he didn’t wanna get the guy’s hopes up if he couldn’t find the original source.
("Run to the front stage, you're all actors anyway")
But regardless they hit it off in the friend department. That was nice. It felt a little weird that Trey probably knew more about him then he let his.. Friends? ..acquaintances know. Well it wasn’t like he wanted to pretend all the time in the one place he had some semblance of me time (ignoring his 2 other roommates outside of Trey, they didn’t really talk to each other).
There was something about having to join clubs, so he’d gone through the list to see if anything caught his eye. ..And it felt a little stupid, but he wanted to join the Pop Music Club. Maybe to feel a little closer to his soulmate. Maybe to learn.. Something . And outside of that, he liked singing his song more often then he’d like to admit.
("No one to watch, you're all part of the play")
But outside of that.. There were so many soulmate songs flooding music in general that something made without some sort of connection, without it being born from a soulmate, between two– That felt more important in his eyes. Something that was uniquely and only theirs, no one else’s. Something that wasn’t even made by some mysterious power that connects people (he didn’t want to say fate).
(..He wondered if there were people born without a soulmate. No, if there were people who had a song but it was only theirs. If there were no parts missing from birth.)
There were a lot of people wanting to sign up. It was really loud and really started to make him regret wanting to join, but he ended up making friends with someone from Diasomnia. His name was Lilia. Cater found his dyed hair cool, and having seen Lilia with a mic (and singing) was, well– It was certainly intense.
("There’s no one inside me")
Completely unexpected considering his more cutesy appearance (He was worried it would offend him but Lilia said he didn’t mind and that he could call him -chan) but that was not a bad thing! He was curious if that meant Lilia’s song was something metal as well, but it was very rude to ask someone about it, especially if you don’t know them well.
He met a bunch of other people throughout the year. Cater had tried to invite the famed Vil out and do whatever influencers did but he might’ve messed something up and gave him a bad impression.
("There's no one that's hiding")
Well.. If Vil thought he was shallow then it wasn’t like he was wrong, was he? When he made friends he put a distance between them. He was friendly but he barely opened up. It made it easier to leave but on amicable terms. Why make close connections if it wasn’t going to be permanent, right?
..But at least for a while he’d be here. So should he try..? But was there a point? He didn’t know.
(And thinking back to the topic of soulmates, he knows the public have been really curious about Vil’s. They don’t know anything, and there are VERY few clips if any before they get taken down of Vil humming to it when he’s seemingly distracted. Cater didn’t watch it. He’s always felt a little iffy about how people treat those in the public eye as if they have no right to privacy at all.)
("Always been me, empty, a body but nobody here to see")
Later in the year, everyone in the club was still fighting until collectively everyone left. ..Except him and Lilia. It turned into less of a music club and more of a hangout session. Not that he was complaining, it was fun! ..Although he should never let Lilia cook again if he can help it.
Lilia spoke to him fondly about Malleus, but Cater hasn’t really seen him around that much so he doesn’t have an opinion on him yet. There was also something about a 17-year-old freshman in Savanaclaw but he couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by Savanaclaw to check it out.
The year ended and he became a second year.
It had a uh.. Very explosive start (let’s pretend that entrance ceremony never happened).
..It kinda became a lot considering within a week the former housewarden had already been beaten and a new one had taken his place– Being a lot stricter on rules than the previous. Cater didn’t know what he’d do without Trey to remind him of the rules.
Regarding clubs, a bunch of people joined the Pop Music Club again only to drop it because they kept clashing with someone else. All that left this time was him, Lilia, and an excitable freshman named Kalim.
..Cater wasn’t sure how it happened but Lilia managed to teach Kalim the drums through pure onomatopoeia (..well, if it works it works).
“So what’s your goal? What do you wanna achieve through this club?” He prompted.
Kalim fidgeted a little. “Well… For one, I really like music! And I like dancing and singing along! But.. I wanna meet my soulmate!”
Lilia tilted his head, “Ooh, tell me more!”
The freshman cheerfully started, “Well- You guys do your concerts and stuff, and you get a lot of attention–” (Considering Kalim joined because he heard Lilia belting it out, well– yeah.) “And I thought. What if I sang my soulmate song on stage, and they heard it and then they sang back!? Wouldn’t that be so cool?”
That was– certainly.. idealistic.
The fae was more hyped about it though. “Ooh? Then we’ll certainly have to make such a large racket that they can’t look away even if they wanted to!”
“Mmm!” Kalim vigorously nodded his head up and down. “Uh, do you need to hear it? Umm it goes–” He started bobbing his head and tapping his fingers to an invisible beat. “ Nothing ever works out for me,”
“Can’t trust my karma or good energy,” despite the lyrics, it was pretty light and upbeat.
“I plan a party and it rains, leave early and end up late, oh universe give me a break.”
The two other members of the club were starting to get an idea of how it went.
“Uh, Kalim, isn’t it something personal? Are you sure you wanna broadcast it on stage, much less share it with us who you’ve barely known for a few days?” Cater stopped him.
Kalim shrugged, “I mean.. It feels like a shame to just keep it to myself, don’t you think? If it’s fun then I want everyone to experience it, not just me and one other person. And I’m sure they’d understand and support me too! Besides, I'm not that unlucky.”
He paused. “..I think. It’s exaggerated. Like the party and it raining- It’s my unique magic! I can make a bunch of water appear and rain, and I like doing it at parties. I mean.. Maybe it fits with how I feel sometimes, but since it’s not something more sadder, then doesn’t it mean it’s like.. Acknowledging it and then moving on because it’s not that big a deal? Plus I don’t know, it can also be applied to my soulmate and not me.”
“Huh,” Cater shifted from where he was sitting crisscrossed. “I never thought of it like that.”
Kalim smiled cheerfully. “So um, what about you guys? If you wanna share.”
He shrugged, “Mine’s a bit sadder. Wouldn’t wanna bring the mood down. Uh, what about you Lilia? Is it something metal?”
Lilia had a melancholy look on his eyes as he laughed, “I think you’d be surprised. It’s more of a lullaby to sing children to sleep.”
Cater felt a lightbulb go off in his head. “You mentioned you raised Silver yourself right? So you must’ve sung it to him often.”
“Mhm. It was the only thing that would calm him down– And Malleus, bless his heart, was younger so he didn’t know what to do. But I also sang it to him, so he knew it well enough that he could hum it and that managed to calm Silver down easily.”
“You must love them a lot, huh?” Silver, Malleus, and his soulmate.
Lilia had a smile on his face, “I had two. They were the greatest people I ever got to meet.”
Oh. “I’m sor–”
He shook his head, “It’s okay. You didn’t know. I’ll see them again when I pass anyway.”
It seemed like neither Cater nor Kalim knew what to say.
Lilia sighed, before suddenly wrapping his arms around the both of them and pulling them close to lean on him. “Wh-”
“Love, you are safe here, cradled in warmth..” Lilia’s voice sounded soft and gentle.
“All I have, my starlight and my pride, my joy.”
Cater felt.. Complicated.
“Even now, I am watching over you..” It felt a little bit like a father’s touch, being a comforting presence that made him feel.. safe.
It was odd. As much as Cater was touchy-feely, at the same time, he didn’t actually like touch that much. But for some reason, leaning against Lilia’s shoulder he felt like he could fully relax.
“Let’s stay together dear. Nothing to fear. Though we will part.. And dreams won’t last.”
A pause.
Cater glanced over towards Kalim only to see him outright sobbing causing him to panic a little. Lilia must’ve sensed he was about to do something as all he said was, “Shh. Let it all out.”
..He kind of wanted to cry too.
“Rest well tonight, my dearest, now rest in my arms.”
Cater ducked his head so at the very least nobody would be able to see. (..He’s pretty sure Lilia knows, though. He wanted to say it was a father’s intuition.)
“Listen to these words I sing. I pray you will walk, to-wards the light.”
Lilia slowly rubbed circles on their backs, “And never be lost.. In sweet, dreams, for life…”
Kalim cried, “wHIwuiaH…” The freshman took a breath so he didn’t sound so choked up. “That was so sad!”
“There there.. It’s okay.”
The fae’s hands raised and patted them both on the head.
To Cater.. Being in the presence of Lilia made him feel like a child again. It was stupid considering they should be around the same age, but maybe he was just one of those old souls, or the parental figure of the group.
…
Some time passed, and then it was time for the Spelldrive tournament. From what he knew, Savanaclaw’s new housewarden, Leona Kingscholar had been on the team last year, and was someone plenty of people had eyes on.
(Well Cater was on the team but everyone got wiped out except Savanaclaw and Diasomnia. This was the final match up.)
On the other hand was someone from Diasomnia. Malleus Draconia. Cater wasn’t too sure what got Mr. Top 5 Mages interested in Spelldrive but it would certainly be an interesting match up. The obvious answer would be Malleus would win, but who knows.
Cater figured to try asking Lilia, except he merely had an amused look on his face and said something about him wanting to make friends with someone else on the team. Huh.
No one was really surprised that Malleus won except Savanaclaw who had been the winner the previous year, and likely had the same idea this one.
Suspiciously he watched the two housewardens interacting and he.. Kind of had a bad idea about the two of them. Uhhhhh. Potentially invade privacy, yes or no?
..Curiosity killed the cat. And unfortunately, a majority of Cater’s name had ‘cat’ in it.
He carefully made his way over to where the changing rooms were. It’s not that the dorms shared but that they were all in one area which was where you could expect people coming back from a match to be.
He stopped when he saw Leona and Malleus, trying to keep out of sight. ..He didn’t have any illusions that Malleus wouldn’t have noticed him but it would’ve bothered him for ages if he didn’t do anything.
“--Wish you were able.” ..?????
Malleus was.. Singing. “ To see there's so much more to life.”
Leona stayed turned away.
“Than fortune and fame, validation and pain–
When you always want more.
..There's nothing to gain.”
The beastman clicked his tongue, before turning around, “ We used to talk about the fakers in this place..”
Oh fuck. They were soulmates?!
Leona laughed, “ But now you’re one of ‘em and damn it hurts to say.”
His expression twisted. “ Damn it hurts to say.”
Cater quickly left before he could hear more because holy fuck that was unexpected. ..And they seemed to be fighting which was really not his problem and anyways Malleus could be the one to tell Lilia that it wasn’t going well —
…
Like halfway through the year he noticed Trey seemed to be kinda glowing. Not literally.
“Did you meet your soulmate?” He questioned.
Trey nodded.
“Cool.”
And then they didn’t really mention it again. It didn’t really matter to him but now that there were more people near him finding their soulmates he was feeling a little frustrated.
(What Cater did notice was that Trey was making extras of the sweets he normally made. Probably for his soulmate.)
…
Cater was looking at his phone, feeling a little curious about a student-run place called the Mostro Lounge. Relatively new. Set up this year, actually, run by a trio of Octavinelle freshmen. It seemed to be doing well but it was hard to tell if something’s good until its trendiness passes and seeing whether or not it sinks or floats.
He could at least check it out? The photos from @ OF_MostroLounge seemed alright but it could be better. Considering they came from the sea though he supposed he could cut them some slack.
“Monsieur Magicam!” A voice called.
The sophomore startled, turning around to see a blonde bob of hair in a Pomefiore uniform.
"I've heard quite a lot of you from Chevalier des Roses! My name is Rook Hunt."
Cater blinked at him for a moment. “..Chevalier des Roses.. Do you mean Trey?”
Rook nodded.
“Are you Trey’s soulmate?”
The other shook his head. “As lovely as that would be, it is my fine companion who is Chevalier des Roses’ soulmate. You on the other hand I am quite curious. I would be enchanté if I could endeavor to join you.”
“Huh. M’kay.” He wanted to test the waters a little. “I was planning to check out Mostro Lounge, see the atmosphere and everything. How about we make it a date?”
To his delight, Rook laughed. “I would be honored, Monsieur Magicam.”
Thus they made their way to the Mostro Lounge, keeping a steady stream of conversation along the way.
When they were seated, they were greeted with someone with teal hair, and a streak of black on the right. He couldn’t help but make a little bit of a face of the reminder of what happened to his look-a-like on orientation day.
“Greetings esteemed customers, I am Jade Leech, and I shall be serving you today. What would you like to order?”
“Ah, could I have this, this, and this?” He pointed to the respective items on the menu. Cater was a bit grateful that this wasn’t the kind of place to sell a lot of sweets because he’d have to order them for nice photos but the last thing he wanted was to waste them.
Eating them still made him sick though.
Rook, sitting on the seat in front of him, then gave his order.
“We’ll be with your order shortly,” Jade then left promptly.
Cater shifted a little, thinking. The seats were nice, and everything looked pretty high quality. The underwater theme was interesting as well. It only made sense considering this was in Octavinelle, but they worked with it pretty well. He especially liked the jellyfish lights, and the view of the sea at the side.
It was then that there was some sort of commotion coming from the kitchen, and there seemed to be some kind of conflict. From the doors came Jade’s look-a-like. Cater couldn’t help but remember during orientation when the other had been set on fire and blown across the room. Somehow he’d set off Riddle during day 1. He’s pretty sure Jade burst out laughing then.
(...Even the teachers had had to get involved to stop Riddle from doing worse.)
Any problem there might’ve been was dealt with however, and soon, Jade came back swiftly with their order, hoping for them to enjoy their meal, before leaving just as fast.
Well that’s not really his problem.
He whipped his phone out, adjusting it very minutely for a nice angle. “Sorry, hope you don’t mind.”
If Rook made a motion, he couldn’t see it with how focused he was, “I don’t mind at all, Monsieur Magicam. It is quite magical to see you at work.”
A few snaps from multiple angles, including pictures of the place itself (as well as the sea visible behind a glass), before he started posting it to his Magicam. “#newexperience #NRC #mostrolounge #food checking out this new student-run restaurant on campus, ocean right next door!.”
The engagement seemed pretty well within the first few minutes. He figured it was something that interested a bunch of others considering it wasn’t everyday they got to interact with things in relation to people from the ocean.
“All right, I’m done. I might take a few more photos if I see anything photo-taking worthy, just so you know.”
Rook waved his hand, “No no I don’t mind! I find it interesting how you manage to find angles that make the subject pop out so easily, sparking people’s interests and spreading trends.”
Cater shrugged as they started in on their meals. “I don’t know about that. You just get a knack for it after you do it for a while. I can’t help but stare at things and think of it as if my eyes are a camera lens. ‘What angle would make this pop out the most?’ That kind of thing. If it becomes trendy then it just means it’s something that people would find and like eventually. I don’t have anything to do with it.”
His companion smiled amusedly, “Of course.”
“Speaking of, if you have free time at the end of the year the Pop Music Club is hosting a concert. I can send you the details through Trey if you want?”
“I would be delighted.”
…
It was after his visit to the Mostro Lounge that he started encountering Jade much more often. Jade who expressed an interest in what he did and asking a lot of questions.
A lot to the point of–
“Okay, what do you want? You’re not really gonna get anything by beating around the bush so tell me bluntly.”
“The photos you took of the Mostro Lounge boosted our sales. I’d like to learn how to take photos like that. You’ll get paid.”
Cater blinked, “I see.. Well, I can teach you, but I can’t promise it’ll be perfect. It might be slow going as what works for me might not work for you.”
“That’s fine.”
“So gimme a date. Maybe exchange numbers so we can reach each other?”
Suffice to say, Cater was teaching Jade but most of the time he couldn’t help himself and took over instead to retake a photo. Jade was definitely doing better than he was before but Cater was also a perfectionist. Which wasn’t the greatest match up, were Jade not a perfectionist, except Jade was also one.
“How bout this,” He renegotiated. “I take photos to promote the lounge, and teach you how to do it yourself on the side? Don’t get me wrong, you’re a fast learner, but it’d be less frustrating if you knew someone had it handled so you could take your time to learn how to do it yourself right?”
“Alright. How much do you want?”
Cater waved his hand, “You don’t have to pay me, I don’t mind doing it for free.”
Jade stared at him blankly.
“..Okay. Then how about you repay me by eating more?”
“...”
This time Cater stared back, “You really think I don’t notice Floyd slipping you more food all the time? I don’t know why you’re eating less than you’re supposed to but your performance is going to crumble without that needed energy.”
Jade sighed, “Fine, but you can’t forget to eat either.”
He shrugged, “Then we can both have food breaks. That’s fine with me.” In all honesty sometimes he’d get too focused on things that time would pass by way too fast to where he’d just forget to eat entirely.
It was a habit he wanted to break, but he got distracted way too easily.
In any case, it felt like there was a budding friendship between him and Jade. It felt a little weird considering Jade was as observant as he was (and also pretty sneaky) but he couldn’t say he hated it.
..Now Riddle and Floyd on the other hand– Yeah that never really got any better since orientation. Worse actually, with Floyd purposely angering Riddle instead of accidentally like the first time.
…
Another soulmate pairing he ended up stumbling upon was.. Azul and Idia (a freshman and a sophomore) from the Board Game Club.
“Your sad little - stories - have been getting
kind of tired - why do you - just keep on talking?
They’re poking - and joking - and when they’re tired
no more happy - or laughing - wait, what just happened?”
..Cater felt really bad that he was overhearing something like that so he rushed past the hallway as fast as he could while being as quiet as he could since nothing worse was realizing someone heard.
…
The next was Jamil and Ruggie who were seemingly… teasing?? Testing?? Each other??
Like, seeing where boundaries lie.
“Oh why do you feel the need
To kill your esteem and people please
If you fixate on their eyes
You’ll let life pass you by
What do you hope to achieve –”
Uh. They seemed to be having fun at least..? Truthfully the only things he knew about Jamil was what Kalim told him, and getting the shovel talk by Jamil to make sure that he wasn’t using Kalim.
Well. It didn’t really matter to him if Jamil had a side to him that he didn’t show to Kalim but showed to his soulmate.
…
Before he knew it, it was time for the end of year concert.
Cater couldn’t help but grin at their unique fits as they made it onto stage.
“Welcome everyone, to the end of year concert, performed by the Pop Music Club!”
“Our newest member has something he’d like to say.”
Kalim held onto the microphone, “Hello! It may sound a bit hopeful, but what I really wanna do is sing my soulmate song, and maybe somewhere out in that crowd is my soulmate who’ll sing with me and we can complete the song together! I think it’d be really fun. And even if it doesn’t work out I still had a lot of fun workshopping this with Cater and Lilia!”
The freshman took a few steps back with a bright grin on his face, while Lilia did the first few starting notes.
“Nothing ever works out for me
Can’t trust my karma or good energy
I plan a party and it rains
Leave early and end up late
Oh universe give me a break.”
Cater took the stand this time,
“I can never go with the flow.
In my experience it's too unknown.”
Lilia,
“Everyone in my life lets me down,
Yet I keep my hopes up like a clown–”
And then all three of them,
“Always ending up on the ground.”
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Back to Kalim,
“Can't help it.
I'm jealous!” He dragged out that last one, making exaggerated movements.
“Clumsy to the worst degree,
Walking catastrophe..”
Another voice chimed in, “Can’t help it!”
Kalim shot up so fast Cater was worried for a second he’d get dizzy. “Hey! C’mon get on the stage!!” Then he’d rushed to the edge holding his hand out for someone to grab it.
“I’m jealous!”
Unfortunately the white-haired teen was too weak so the other ended up outright jumping onto the stage.
It was Rook!
“Can't help it,
I'm jealous!
Wanna be you 'cause things don't fall into place for me.”
Tap tap tap tap.
The both of them started sharing the mic together, Rook leaned down a little.
“Ooooh…
Whenever I think I'll be okay.
Ooh. oooh!
I have an unimaginable day!”
Man they looked like they were having so much fun he couldn’t help but bop to it.
“My tire popped when I was driving home,
And when I fall I always break my bones.”
And judging from crowd reaction it seemed everyone else was having fun too. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face even if he tried.
“I'm sick of being optimistic.
This world - I need to be forgiven!
Stop when traffic needs to go,
My hands shake when I play pianooooo.”
It looked like they were clapping along to the beat. Thank goodness that it was catchy– The three of them had been brainstorming for a long while trying to decipher how the rest of it sounded without the soulmate’s half so he’s glad it was close enough.
“I'm sick of being optimistic
It's clear
This world wants me to give in.”
His second year ended on a fun note.
Unfortunately the entrance ceremony for his third year was quite… Chaotic. Cater sighed at the sight of flames in the Mirror Chamber once more– Blue flames this time.
Juice was muttering something under his breath. “That even when you're stone cold, you're sorry. Tell me why you gotta be so outta your mind..”
Slowly, Ace paused, turning his head.
Hesitantly, “I know you’re choking on your fears. Already told you I’m right here. I.. I’ll stay by your side every night.”
Click.
“You– You’re my soulmate!?”
Deuce gawked at him.
(Ace could tell Yuu was staring at them questioningly.)
“N-No fucking way!”
Suddenly Yuu grabbed both of them by their arms and pulled them back towards the mines, “Alright I don’t know what the issue is but we gotta hurry before we all get expelled!”
So much stuff happened (like an overblot or two) but jobs wait for no one– So here Cater was, heading into the Mostro Lounge as he did on a regular basis to take more photos. (He’d schedule the posts on the official account so there’d be a regular daily stream of posts instead of just in one big burst.)
He spotted Jade in the empty lounge (it wasn’t open yet) and he was about to call out when–
“–So, hurry up and bite down whoever you found,”
It took him a moment to realize it wasn’t in his head. It matched perfectly to the song that played on loop in there.
“Game over, give it up now. Mayday, a double agent-”
His breath hitched.
“Struggling over love and discontent,
And here I wait for something to twist the plot dramatically again..”
Cater started, taking a step forward, “Oh, you too? Yes, yes! Take a deep breath.”
Jade jolted, turning to meet Cater’s eyes.
The Heartslabyul student smiled nervously, “You know how this will all end.”
“Head shot, we took it too far..” Jade hesitantly continued. “But if you aim, go for the heart.”
“We're pulling at the boundary, unseen
A curtain dyed in black soon came to be
And knowing that those eyes are watching…”
“Ah.. It turns out we’re soulmates..?”
Duh! No wonder soulmate finding websites wouldn’t have found him, considering Jade was UNDERWATER all this time.
“I-” Jade stumbled. “..I don’t know what to do with this.”
Cater stood stiffly in place, “..I don’t know either! Um. Do you want this to change anything?”
Jade took a deep breath, “..I’m not sure. I.. enjoy your company, but I don’t..”
“Yep, that’s fair–” He looked away.
“I mean– ..I’ve.. never really thought about it. Soulmates are about.. Love.. right? I’ve never..”
Oh. Cater made some weird noise that the both of them were seemingly deciding to ignore. “Well.. It doesn’t have to be. The thought of it being about love is more of an idealistic thing and isn’t always realistic. Like, yes, we.. have a connection. But it’s up to us to determine what we are. Nothing else.”
“..Can I think about it?”
“Mhm! Take as long as you need, no rush.”
“..Can we still talk?”
Cater tilted his head, “I don’t see why not.”
Jade exhaled, tension he hadn’t noticed until now seeping from his shoulders. “Okay. That’s.. That’s good. I’ll- I’ll get Azul.”
Cater waved him off.
..That was better than he thought it would be for sure.
…
For a long moment Floyd stared at him scrutinizingly.
Cater didn’t really know what to do except stand there. Clearly Jade must’ve told him something.
It lasted long enough that Riddle caught sight of them and clearly understanding that he was uncomfortable, got in the way. “Floyd! What are you doing!?”
Floyd then leaned back, uncharacteristically serious. “Sea Bream. If you were a coward I would’ve squeezed you. Don’t do anything that’ll make me have to. I can’t promise you’ll survive.”
Cater stiffly nodded.
Riddle continued to yell at Floyd but the mer walked away– Not before ruffling up Riddle’s hair though, much to his housewarden’s displeasure.
The redhead fumed trying to fix it before giving up and turning back towards him. “Cater, what was that about? Are you in danger? If anything is going on…” ‘Tell me and I’ll do something about it’ was the unsaid implication.
Cater waved him off, “It was just some sort of shovel talk.” Well he thinks it was at least.
Riddle stared at him puzzled, “..Okay then. If you’re sure it’s okay.”
Cater and Jade’s relationship became a… maybe..????? Suddenly everything they did together was nerve-wracking. Like holding hands.
Lilia had taken one look at him and laughed saying, “Ah, young love.”
Kalim beamed at him, “Cater! Did you find your soulmate?”
“Mm.” He made an affirmative noise. “..I didn’t know it was so daunting though.”
Losing against the Charons frustrated Floyd. It was a new feeling. Well, he’d gotten frustrated before but most of the time it was fun to lose. This time? It was irritating in a way he couldn’t explain.
Having to wait around as everyone was figuring out to get back the people that were taken.. Was so utterly boring. Usually he’d be entertained by messing with Goldfishie when he’s in a mood like this (his reactions were just the funniest!) but he wasn’t here .
Then Goldfishie came back with white hair, and suddenly he seemed so much more shaken.
Floyd found Goldfishie alone in an empty classroom.
“We froze in place like it was true,” his voice was slow, stopping in places as if he needed a second to get himself to continue.
“We knew the world had just changed but nothing on it moved.” It was quiet, like anything louder would disturb something.
“We sung our favorite questions that felt more like confessions.” It had a whisper-y quality to it.
“Dodging all the lessons that we already knew.”
There was a part of him that he couldn’t decipher that made him walk up and put his hand on top of Goldfishie’s head. The smaller stiffened.
“We fought the weather and the stars.” Goldfishie turned to look at him surprised.
He thinks that the last time his voice was this soft was during Halloween, talking to the little minnow.
“We threatened every fortune that wasn’t in the cards.”
Slowly, Goldfishie relaxed, listening to him quietly.
“We sung about our gravestones, crossing different time-zones..”
Goldfishie started again, “..People in our old phones. And not caring where they are.”
Floyd felt content to just sit there in silence.
For the longest time Ortho had heard a song in his head.
(“If I'm a robot or a doll”)
He’d never known what to think about it, but he’d never had the urge to sing it out loud. He knew the entire song, except for its ending. He wasn’t sure what that meant, as according to the internet, it was a soulmate’s song, and it would be separated into fragments of the song.
(“Am I anything at all?”)
What he did know was that it was very unlikely he’d ever get to meet his ‘soulmate’. If he even had one considering that he wasn’t an actual person.
(“Maybe a thing like me doesn't yet deserve to know”)
..It was after meeting the other Ortho that he realized.
He was soulmates with the other Ortho. An existence with such acceptance that he felt.. different. He felt more alive then ever.
And his song had changed to its ending only.
“Not robot nor a doll, I’m not anything at all. I’m just an entity finding out the way to go…” Ortho was obsessed with singing or humming this song often. It made him feel like he wasn’t alone, that the other Ortho was right there with him, loving him despite all his flaws, despite his clear non-humanness.
“But these fingers and these palms, full of love despite the scars. They show indisputably I have so much more to grow.”
Despite that the other Ortho could’ve hated him for taking his place, but he didn’t. They were just two brothers who loved Idia as much as he loved them. Two brothers who wanted to make Idia the happiest he could be. And two brothers who loved each other just as much, acknowledging they were different people but were still family.
“Oh, I can change, I can evolve. I can get up when I fall. I’ll live contentedly, I don’t need a reason why.”
Ortho placed his hand over where his heart would’ve been.
“Standing tall and standing strong, I have found where I belong.
In the arms of somebody, there is no more need to cry.”
Never had felt so complete.
(“Don’t you dare make me fall in love with you”)
“You idiot!” Sebek yelled, holding onto Silver’s shoulders who were trembling.
(“Don’t you dare do something so cliché”)
Their song beat stronger than ever.
(“Just gеt out of my daydreams”)
“ Why don’t you understand? Why do you doubt?” Tears threatened to spill in his eyes.
(“You’re an unwelcomе guest”)
“Don’t tell me you think I’d leave you too Silver!”
(“And stop making me miss you”)
“I.. But Malleus..” Silver’s voice sounded weak in protest.
(“‘Cause you leaving’s for the best”)
“What about him? Are you going back on your promise!? Weren’t we going to end this dream? Save Lilia, save Malleus..! Isn’t it that you’re still here, the proof of their love? That your strength is a direct result of Lilia’s love for you? That he taught you to be able to protect yourself even when you are alone, to never give up. To where you are even willing to face our liege’s wrath.. And I truly don’t think he would hold it against you. The sins of the father are not the sins of the child. You have not done anything so don’t you dare.”
(“‘Cause I just couldn’t stand having you as my crutch”)
Don’t you dare leave.
(“You’re a simmering stovetop I was tempted to touch”)
Silver jolted at the words repeated so often in their song. “I..”
(“If you ever return, it’ll burn me too much”)
“If you give up I will never forgive you, you hear me? Lilia and Malleus love you so much. I love you so much!”
(“To bear”)
Silver stared at him wide-eyed.
(“So don’t you dare”)
“Get it into your head already you fool!” He was losing his steam as tears started to spill and he couldn’t hold back his sobs.
“Lilia loved you so much that he raised you to be strong! Malleus loved you so much that he wants you to be his knight! I love you so much that I want you to stay by my side!” (Even if you are human. Even if you are born of the blood of the fae’s greatest enemy.) “So.. So if you leave again I won’t forgive you. Not even if you come back.. You hear me..?”
Silver startled, before quickly catching him the second Sebek started to collapse.
“..I’m sorry, Sebek. You’re right.”
He sniffled, “How could you have not already known that?”
“I’m sorry.”
List of all the songs because my notes are a mess and I hit the limit:
Cater/Jade (Dramaturgy - Eve (Jubyphonic Lyrics))
Ace/Deuce (Be Kind - Marshmello & Halsey)
Epel/Jack (I'm Born To Run - American Authors) (Sadly did not get included)
Silver/Sebek (Don't You Dare (Make Me Fall In Love With You) - Kaden MacKay)
Vil/Trey (Nonsense - Sabrina Carpenters)
Leona/Malleus (City of Angels - Em Beihold)
Lilia/Maleanor/Raverne (Maleanor's Lullaby) (Eng lyrics by Cure Kibouka)
Azul/Idia (Clean Freak - Scop (Jubyphonic Lyrics))
Floyd/Riddle (Mothers and Fathers - Dom Fera)
Jamil/Ruggie (No One Likes a Wallflower - MonochroMenace)
Kalim/Rook (Never For Me - MonochroMenace)
Ortho (Language of the Lost - RIP)