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escape-from-arcadia · 2 years

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0: THE FOOL

Meet Cayden Tran (they/them). Cayden is an ordinary human who seems to be cursed with bad luck (spoiler alert: they kind of sort of actually are). They're a self-proclaimed cryptid hunter and conspiracy theorist, and they accidentally stumble into the mysteries of Arcadia.

First full piece I've done for one of my TOA OCs, and the first formal introduction to them. I'm going to try and make more cards from the Major Arcana for my OCs.

More info about Cayden under the cut:

Ever since they were little, Cayden has been surrounded by bad luck and near-death experiences, always managing to barely escape from danger. They explored the woods behind their house all of the time, and always came home covered in dirt and scratches. They’ve seen strange creatures and took up trying to photograph them, getting a few successful shots (various trolls and goblins). Their father, despite being a busy researcher, would always carve time out to camp with Cayden on the weekends and take care of them. Cayden and their dad moved to Arcadia when they were 10 from Washington state after their father picked up a job at the museum.

Cayden didn’t like Arcadia much at first, but when they heard about the strange creatures, it piqued their interest. Now they run a moderately successful blog all about the mysterious sightings. Every night (or as often as a high-schooler can) they go out and explore the forest or streets, looking for the strange and unusual. In their bag, they keep a composition notebook (for notes), a digital camera (for evidence), and a tape recorder (for interviews). They have the passion and researching capabilities of their father and use their skills to find out what’s really going on in Arcadia Oaks.

Cayden is also kind of the ultimate secret keeper, which is ironic given how much they love talking about what they find on Tumblr. Even though they love uncovering mysteries and sharing what they learn, if they find something personal about others or the creatures they meet (yeah, they've tried interviewing gnomes, and goblins before), they won't share it.

This is how they happen to learn that their classmates Aja and Krel are Akiridions, the waiter at one of their favorite cafés in town Hisirdoux Casperan is actually a centuries years old wizard, and James Lake Jr. in the grade below them is the Trollhunter. (It all happens in this order.) Cayden serves as the unofficial guardian of secrets in Arcadia, learning about the lives of the magical and extraterrestrial beings in it, and trying to keep their secrets from coming out.

With their bad luck though, things rarely go well for Cayden. Notebooks go missing and never return. Their camera breaks al of the time. Cayden also always seems to find their way into the ER. They become good friends with Dr. Barbara Lake, who grows increasingly concerned about Cayden as a mom. (I like the idea that part of the reason she gets worried for Jim is because of Cayden - she sees that Cayden clearly gets themself into trouble all of the time, but they always brushes it off as fine. She's seen their medical history. They're not doing great.)

Design-wise, I wanted Cayden to feel a bit patched together. Their jeans, which you can't see here) are ripped (not a fashion choice). Their zip-up hoodie has a ton of patches sewn onto it and pins. Cayden has very dark brown-black hair and dark grey eyes. They have a few piercings and wear a (plot-relevant!) piece of obsidian around their neck, something apparently from their mother. They usually like dark reds, blacks, and grays. They are average height at around 5' 5" (165 cm).

Personality: Cayden is stubborn and quiet, but also intuitive and resilient. Cayden isn’t the most out-going person you’ll ever meet. They don’t talk much with many of the other kids in Arcadia. They don’t like having people joining them on adventures in the forest and around Arcadia. Once they get to know people, they actually don't mind having them around; they actually like teaching people about cryptids so long as they keep an open mind. They don't like having people around them because they're scared of bad things happening to them. Even so, Cayden does have a few moments where they think they’re invincible and can dive headfirst recklessly into dangerous situations just because “bad things have happened to me before and I always make it out, why can’t I do it now?” This does begin to spiral out of control.

Other bits and bobs:

Cayden is Vietnamese-American and non-binary. They are panromantic asexual.

They bought their own binder before they came out to their dad. He was actually incredibly supportive of them though and is incredibly protective of them.

Cayden speaks Vietnamese conversationally.

Cayden is horrible at math, but is too stubborn to ask for help.

They're in junior year.

Their birthday is November 14. They're 17 years old in Trollhunters Season 2/3Below Season 1.

Cayden has many scars on their body from various accidents. They're incredibly self-conscious about them, which is why you won't catch them dead without at least a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

Their dysphoria and scars are the reason Cayden doesn't like pool parties.

They've had surgery four times before seventeen for a number of different reasons.

They're highly agile from doing track. They would do field, but Coach Lawrence won't let them anywhere near projectiles in class for the safety of themself and others.

#ananonsart #oc: cayden tran #tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia oc #toc oc #original character #toa fanart #you can spy a few flags on their hoodie #they also have a symbol for one of the toa shows on there

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escape-from-arcadia · 2 years

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WIP Folder Chaos Game

Rules: “post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

Got tagged by @honeyxmonkey. I'll try to make this as organized as possible. Also thought it'd be fun to put down the days I last opened/worked on them.

Writing

Heart X Beat! (September 6 2022)

[OC] Selene Acies (September 6 2022)

[OC] Cayden Tran (September 6 2022)

toa fic (September 6 2022)

Ambrosia Diner (August 30 2022)

[FIC] TOA Drabbles and Oneshots (June 21 2022)

[FIC] Inkpot Gods (June 18 2022)

[FIC] TOA Pirate AU (March 27 2022)*

[FIC] This Action Will Have Consequences (March 20 2022)

[OC] Zelos "Zachary Blank" Z3L-ORK0001 (December 7 2021)

[FIC] Sims Boy (October 17 2021)

[FIC] TALES OF CAMELOT (September 11 2021)

[OC] Alazraizrilados "Raizri" (July 24 2021)

Art

ambrosia diner au-new(1) (yesterday)

sheet (4 days ago)

heartxbeat! (5 days ago)

mothership gets stuck in a wormhole (2) (2 months ago)

zouxie2022sketch (3 months ago)

selene (3 months ago)

toa-order-doodle (8 months ago)

toa-zoe-hair (8 months ago)

toa-bj-au (last year)

ahhhhhhh (2 years ago)

douxie doodles (2 years ago)

Send in "Untitled Artwork" and I'll give you a random one out of the many I have.

Music**

[DRAFT] Trollhunters: Siren's Song

Trollhunters: The Musical

I'm not tagging anyone because look at this list. Look at it. Way too long. If you have WIPs and want to join in on the fun, be my guest. Also, feel free to send in an ask for any of these (including the art, not the music) because I only put my TOA works here.

*This is the only fic I won't accept asks for because it contains someone's OC and I'd rather keep this private between us.

**Lyrics only.

#ananonspeaks #tag game #asks open

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escape-from-arcadia · 2 years

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Headed for A Small Disaster: A TOA OC Fic

Chapter 2: Water and Wizards

| 1 | 2 | ? | Ao3 |

Summary: It looks like it's going to be another long night for Cayden Tran when they visit a friend at the café

CW: Swearing, blood, brief scar mentions,

Words: 4001

Reblogs > Likes

If you need me to tag any other content warnings/triggers, send me an ask or comment, and I will update the warnings appropriately ASAP!

Peace fell over Arcadia long ago. Every few minutes or so, a lone car or motorbike would roar by, but for the most part, Cayden was alone on the streets. Their sweatshirt was tied around their waist in the warm California evening heat, but they felt even more bare without their camera.

“Getting late,” they murmured to themself. Pulling out their phone, they sent their dad a quick text explaining where they were. Heading back from Delancy, they passed the cafe, where a familiar face was working overtime. Douxie scratched the ears of a black cat, who pulled away from his touch, opening his mouth and...talking? Cayden whispered, “Not the weirdest thing that’s happened today.” Certain they hadn’t been seen, they squatted down outside the store window and peeked inside, before pressing their ear to the window to try and hear the muffled conversation inside.

“You shouldn’t be working hours like this Douxie,” the cat scolded as he stretched out on all fours. “We’re already late for tonight’s watch.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Archie. But it’ll be fine. Just need to restock in the back, clean up the front of the shop, and we’ll be all ready to go! Need the overtime anyway.” Cayden shrunk down as Douxie pulled out a chair at the window and sat down at the bar, looking out on the streets.

Oh god, oh god, oh fuck. He’s right in front of me. This could not be more awkward. How does he not see me? Oh, god, oh god-

“Arch, you ever wonder what it would’ve been like if I got the amulet?”

Cayden was in the process of laying down on the pavement, earning a few stares from passing cars, when they looked up. Douxie rested his head down on the countertop, absentmindedly doing somethingwith his wrist. Whatever he was doing cast a soft blue glow on his face, shadows growing on his face. His eyes seemed sunken, and the energy and vitality Cayden often saw him wear were gone. He looks so much older, Cayden realized.

Archie, the cat, leaped up onto the chair next to Douxie and onto the bar. “The amulet?”

“The Trollhunter’s amulet. The one that-”

“Ah, yes. The one that you and…” the cat paused. “Well, I suppose it would make no difference would it?”

Douxie sighed, turning his head to the other. “If I had it, I’d at least matter to someone other than you and Zoe. I’d be remembered.”

“The boy is doing a fine job already, and it’s more likely than not that you’re unfit to handle the pressure of the duties of the amulet and Merlin’s.”

Silence. What amulet? Who has the amulet? And why is this cat talking?

Douxie rose from his seat and chuckled lightly. “Forget it. Come on now, Arch. Can’t have cat fur everywhere.” He picked up the cat, who began to claw his way out.

“Come on now, Douxie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that-”

“Go out in the alley, and I’ll meet you outside for the watch.”

Shit, shit. Cayden scrambled to get up on their feet as Douxie opened the door to the cafe. They were halfway up when they tripped over their own feet and came crashing down at the door to the cafe and Douxie’s feet. The waiter stumbled backward in surprise, the cat in his arms and holding the door open. Face flushed, Cayden gave a small wave. “Hey.”

“Oh. Fancy seeing you here again today.” Douxie knelt down, setting Archie on the ground, and offered a hand. “You alright?”

Blushing, Cayden reluctantly took his hand and rose. “Yeah. Yeah.” Recalling the incident earlier that day, they suddenly found it incredibly difficult to meet Douxie’s eyes. “Look man, um. I’m sorry for being so douchey this afternoon. I was, well, there’s no excuse for how I was acting. I’m sorry.”

The waiter hesitated, wringing his hands together as he nodded slowly. “No, it’s alright. I understand. Hey. How about this?” He held the door open, stepping aside. “You come on in, I’ll put on some music as I clean up, and I can make you that hot chocolate before closing up for tonight.”

“Well, it’s late and I should probably-” Cayden’s stomach roared.

Douxie laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

They gave a slight smile and shrugged. “Sure, why not.” Cayden looked down at the cat, Archie. Sleek black fur and a strange white marking on his chest. Otherwise, there was seemingly nothing odd about him. But Cayden knew what they heard, and as Douxie beckoned them inside, Cayden kept their eyes on the cat, who slunk around the corner of the building and vanished. “That your cat?” They asked, jerking their head outside as they set their bag on the floor.

Douxie’s eyebrows raised. He took off his apron and threw it over a chair, scratching his head as he walked behind the counter. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to find his words. ‘Well, it’s complicated.”

“A secret stray you take into the cafe after hours and hide from your boss?”

“Well, that’s an oddly specific question,” the waiter chuckled as he made some drinks. Cayden gave a soft happy sigh as Douxie poured their hot chocolate into a small to-go cup. “But yes, in a way. We’re not allowed to bring pets in the store, but Archie, the cat, comes in towards the end of my shift once my boss has left. We’re good friends now though. A sort of... partnership.”

Cayden snapped their fingers, walking up to the counter to grab their drink. “I’ve got it. You let him in to draw in more customers because everybody loves cats.”

Douxie laughed merrily. “Ha, sure. Remember, it’s on the house,” he said as Cayden pulled out some cash.

“Technically not since I gave you a twenty this afternoon.” They shrugged and gave a soft smile. “But thanks, dude.” Suddenly, they became aware of Douxie’s eyes on their bare arms. Littered with scars and bandages from throughout the years. Their face heated, they untied their sweatshirt from their waist and pulled it over their head. “Anything I can do to help clean up? I’d feel bad just sitting here and drinking cocoa while you have to work.”

Douxie quickly shook his head, “Ye-yeah, no worries mate. It’s appreciated. I’ll wipe down the counter and check on stock in the back.” He pointed to a broom, leaning against the wall by the door. “Can you sweep up the front?” Cayden began to sweep up, and Douxie flipped on his phone. With a few taps, the cafe speakers began blasting rock music. “Oh, buckets-”

“We planning on waking up the neighbors?” Cayden yelled.

“Nope!” The music suddenly cut off in the middle of a guitar solo to gentle acoustic guitar, a folk song with a familiar voice.

Cayden suddenly stopped. Their eyes glimmered with mirth that seeped into their voice. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

“I’m a part of a band. Ash Dispersal Pattern.” The waiter pointed to a flyer posted on the bulletin board at the far end of the cafe. “You should come check us out sometime. We usually play rock though. These songs you’ve heard were erm, actually works in progress.”

“They sound hella good dude! I’ll come check you guys out sometime. Can’t believe I haven’t heard of you guys before though. Apparently, I live under a moss-covered rock in the middle of the woods.”

Douxie winked as he wiped down the counter and opened the door to the back of the shop. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.” With a smirk, he slipped past the swinging door which eventually came to a full stop behind him.

As soon as Douxie left, Cayden quickly returned to sweeping. Eight minutes later, they had swept down the entire front end of the shop (‘This is a lot of cat hair”) and found spray to clear up the tables and bar stools. Douxie had not yet returned. Cayden took a quick sip of their cooling cocoa and returned to wiping things down. Ten minutes later, they had finished cleaning up and finished the final dregs of their hot chocolate. Douxie had not yet returned.

“Where the hell is he?” they muttered, peering out the front windows. “I don’t see him outside.” Cayden swirled the remains of their cocoa around the bottom of their cup. Summers in Southern California got cool at night. The burning sun going to sleep to let his sister rise for the night. Tonight, the moon was covered by clouds, but she and the stars peered out every so often as the clouds thinned out before coming back in again. Streetlamps were spotlights in the dark. They flickered and cast shadows on the few cars and Vespas parked on the road. The soft guitar continued in the background, and Douxie’s voice gently told a tale of mythical creatures. Arcadia was at peace.

A sudden stream of buzzing jolted Cayden out of their thoughts. Douxie’s phone was still on the counter, and it was suddenly buzzing like mad. Reluctantly, Cayden picked up the phone and shut off the music. It continued to buzz with text messages from ‘Zoe.’ (“From the record store?” Cayden wondered.) Whoever she was, Zoe was clearly unhappy.

“Douxie?”

“Douxie”

“HISIRDOUX.”

“Where are you??”

“Youre late for watch and I’ve got a hellheeti i need help with”

“Archie got here ten minutes ago. He said you’d be here soon”

“Hisirdoux for the love of Freyja where are you??????”

“Your first name is Hisirdoux, huh? How do you even say that?” The thought of responding to Zoe crossed Cayden’s mind, but they weren’t a tech wizard and couldn’t get into a locked phone. Biting their lip and looking around the clean shop one last time, they stuffed the phone in their pocket and carried it with them into the backroom of the café. The lights were on, but there was no Douxie in sight. However, a back door leading into the alleyway stood open. Putting two and two together, Cayden huffed and marched outside. “You really ditched me. Unbelievable.”

There is nothing to fear about the dark, and Cayden knew that. In fact, they loved the dark. But chills ran up their spine as they stepped out into the brisk night air. As they walked further into the alleyway, sure that they would’ve seen Douxie walk past the front of the shop if he went the other way, they became more aware of their breathing as their muscles tensed to fight. Their eyes darted around in the dark, trying to adjust to the low light as they walked away from the street, and every part of their body told them to run.

Shivering with anticipation and the chill of the night, Cayden turned a corner and was met by a burst of blue light. They stumbled backwards into a trashcan, knocking it over and yelping at the sudden crash and the sound of tearing plastic. Scared by their own yelping, Cayden jumped up and threw a blind jab forward at the source of the light before slipping on a banana peel. Literally. But before they could come crashing down once again, a pair of arms grabbed them.

“Whoa whoa whoa- easy now.”

Instantly recognizing the voice, Cayden rubbed their eyes and frowned. “Douxie, what the hell?!” He opened his mouth to speak, but Cayden continued, angrily tearing themself away from him. Their grey eyes flashed as they marched Douxie against a wall. “You leave me to clean up the shop without saying anything and you pull some kind of weird flashbang prank on me? Do you know how dangerous that is? Also,” they pulled the buzzing phone from their bag, “You left your phone inside and you’ve got someone else who is also upset with you. You better get to the point and explain what is going on.”

As Cayden spoke rapidly, Douxie’s attention began to drift to something beyond them. His eyes widened, and as the words “what is going on” left Cayden’s mouth, he he pushed them to the side against the opposite street wall. “Dude, what are you-” Cayden turned to see what he was looking at and gasped.

A blazing monster of fire, like a lioness, leapt between where the two of them were just standing before. It crashed further down the alley before getting back up on all fours. It slowly approached them, snarling and baring its teeth. Cayden had seen some photos of this creature submitted to their blog, but never had they seen one in real life before. They never found a name for it before, but with Zoe’s texts, they instantly knew what it was. A hellheeti.

“Douxie,” Cayden said warily, rising from the pavement. “I’ve got this.”

Whatever Douxie was expecting Cayden to say in response to seeing a flaming cat, it was not this. He turned to them incredulously. “No, no, no, Cayden you don’t understand. That is an incredibly dangerous creature, and I can-”

“I said, ‘I’ve got this.’” They slowly approached to meet the hellheeti and knelt down. The creature stopped it’s snarling and approached with curiosity. Cayden began to sweat in its proximity and remained still as Douxie looked on in amazement. The creature was inches away, its flames reaching out to try and lick Cayden’s hand before they bolted past it.

It howled and gave chase, Cayden’s feet light upon the ground. “Track shoes don’t fail me now!” they yelled as they ran down the street.

“Cayden!” Douxie yelled. Looking around quickly, he picked up the lid of the fallen trash can and chased after them. “Wait for me!”

The three raced down the streets in a furious chase. The buildings and occasional cars blurred together. Not daring to look back, Cayden could hear the panting of the hellheeti and it screeches, like the sound of fingernails against a chalkboard. (Don’t ask how Cayden knew what that sounded like. That was not a pleasant experience.) The creature was never too far away so that they couldn’t feel its heat or see its light throwing away the shadows, and Cayden’s sweatshirt was soon drenched in sweat. Swearing under their breath, they tore off the thick fabric, somewhat content to run through the streets of the silent Arcadia Oaks with a tank top on.

I’ll draw them over to the woods. Wait, no, stupid. Fire and trees in California are nota good combination. Come on, come on, come on- Without realizing it, Cayden realized that they had made a long circle around the block. “Well, shit.”

They ducked into the alleyway behind the café and stumbled over the knocked over trash-cans and to the ground. The hellheeti snarled. Cayden looked down to find their hands badly scratched up. Blood. They were bleeding. As the hellheeti closed in, it snarled and Cayden gasped for breath. Their lungs felt as if every gasp was a stab to their chest. (Don’t ask how Cayden knew what that felt like. That was just from not working out for weeks after one of their worst foot injuries.)

The creature was now inches away from their face when a figure jumped between them. Douxie. The hellheeti leaped backwards and gave a low growl. “Easy now, I’ve got this.” He began to slowly inch his way to the creature. “I’m going to ever so slowly...and carefully...just…” The fire cat howled and fell as Hisirdoux threw a trash can lid at it. In his brief moment of success, he cheered and smiled at Cayden, who, still a bit angry, slowly stood and nodded.

Suddenly, their eyes widened and they yelled, “Heads up!”

The hellheeti threw the trash lid off with a loud clang. Or rather, the two hellheetis threw the trash lid off with a loud clang.

They began to circle the two teens, who stood back to back. With every fiber in their body, Cayden was torn between running through the creatures again or punching Douxie for his mischief before. But before they could make a choice, they noticed how Douxie paused, as if contemplating something. Casting a quick glance at Cayden, he turned his attention back to the fire cats. “You want to know more about me?” He raised his left arm, and for the first time, Cayden noticed a sort of bracelet or cuff, glowing with blue symbols, runes, letters, things they didn’t understand. The boy faced the beasts and yelled, “You’ll want to duck! Flumne surgerte!” A jet of water burst out of the nearest fire hydrant and soaked everything in the back alleyway, including the hellheetis and the teens. The creatures yowled before they were doused out, thin lines of steam rising from where they stood moments before. Cayden was in amazement to say the least.

While Douxie helped Cayden to their feet, a young woman, short with pixie cut pink hair and brilliant blue eyes, ran in with Archie. Cayden recognized the woman from Zimoc Records, one of their favorite places in town, and from the way she glared at Douxie, instantly knew she was the one texting him.

“Zoe! My favorite hedge witch!” Douxie chuckled nervously.

“Quit it, Hisirdoux.” She walked up to him, half his height, but twice as intimidating. Unsure whether or not it was a trick of the light or their lightheadedness, it seemed that Zoe’s eyes were flashing with pink lightning. “You’re soaking wet! You have a lot of explaining to do.” Despite the bite in her tone, her eyes softened as she touched his cheek. “Where were you? I was worried.”

“Are you two dating?” Cayden asked bluntly, holding their hands as to not drip blood everywhere on the concrete. “‘Cause you two sound like a married couple.”

The two quickly stepped away from each other and sputtered into a chorus of “No no no” and “Absolutely not. Never in a million years” as Archie chuckled. Cayden’s attention snapped to him as he pulled out a pair of glasses, gently wiping them down before putting them on his face and walking on his two hind legs. “If you ask me,” he said lightly, “They do sound like an old married couple.”

“I knew you were a weird talking cat!” Cayden yelled in excitement before scrunching up in embarrassment. “Oh, um. Sorry, that came out really wrong. No offense?”

Archie bristled slightly, as he answered dryly, “Some taken. I’m not a cat. I’m a familiar.”

“Arch is a dragon to be precise.”

“So, that’s what you meant by ‘partnership!’”

Douxie and Archie began to dive into a deep explanation of magic and familiars, while Cayden nodded slowly and skeptically, continuing to slowly drip blood on the concrete. Cayden was never one to believe in magic. Cryptids felt more real than bending the laws of physics for magic. But after seeing whatever the hell it was that Douxie did, they couldn’t deny that it was real. It was still just...difficult to believe. But that didn’t stop them from taking time to listen. All they wished was that their hands weren’t bleeding as much as they were and that they could sit down for once. But remembering how they treated Douxie in the same alleyway earlier, Cayden stayed quiet as Douxie and Archie continued to give a not-so-brief lecture for the next ten minutes.

“And you see, we’ve been around for almost a millennium or so,” Douxie explained, “Travelling all over.”

“So, how old are you?”

“19, give or take nine hundred years or so. Archie here is older, and Zoe is what? Five, four years older than me?”

Zoe had also listened patiently to the explanation, using a wrench-like wand that zapped with pink lightening to clean up the knocked over garbage bins. You’re magic too, Cayden thought when sshe didn’t answer the question, crossing her arms instead. “Didn’t your boss tell you needed to lay low and, you know, not reveal that you’re a wizard?”

“Well given the circumstances, Ms. Ashildr,” Archibald said as he leapt up on the garbage bin behind her, “I believe that we owed Mx. Tran a proper explanation. It is certainly not every day that a hellheeti attacks a civilian in the street. Oh! You’re bleeding!” Archie was the first to notice Cayden’s wounds.

They shrugged half-heartedly, their hands still cupped in front of them. “Eh, I’ll be fine.”

Douxie hurried over, waving a ball of blue light into his hands. “Arch and I have been going on for ages! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt! Besides, it’s not the worse I’ve gotten.”

The others scoffed in a mixture of amazement and frustration. “Let’s get you inside,” Douxie said, gently placing a hand on Cayden’s back. “We have the first aid kit in the kitchen.” Cayden shrugged his hand off and quickly stepped into the backroom of the café, as Zoe followed them in. Douxie moved to follow, then doubled back. “Actually, I should try putting up some protective wards up around the shop. There’s been a lot of trouble in Arcadia, and I for one don’t want to be attacked while I’m working overtime again.”

Archie slunk around Douxie’s legs. “Mind if I join you?”

“Of course. The case should be in that cabinet by the door there, Zo.” The wizard pointed to a white box by the swinging doors. “Everything you need is in there! You can pull in a chair from the front if you need to!” The heavy door slammed shut behind the wizard and his familiar as Zoe and Cayden were left alone.

“Thanks,” Cayden mumbled as Zoe helped wash and wrap their hands. The witch didn’t say anything, only nodded. Oddly enough, the snarky tone she often used was nowhere to be heard as she remained silent. “We’ve met before,” Cayden began. “At Zimoc Records. You put on the records I wanted to listen to ‘cause you knew I’d probably end up breaking them if I so much as thought about them.”

Zoe looked up to match their gaze and smiled wryly. “Yeah. I did.” Her attention turned to Cayden’s arms and her brows furrowed. “What happened here?” she asked. It wasn’t exactly a question that was uncalled for; she was dressing Cayden’s hands, they were wearing a tank top, and it would be hard for her to ignore the scars littering their arms. “Did you…”

“Oh, god no. Just a bunch of accidents over the years. Nothing important or of note.”

At least she knows better than to pry, Cayden thought to themself as Zoe finished wrapping their hands. She sat across from them, staring intently. “Hisirdoux almost got hurt because of you,” she said at last. “Hellheetis are dangerous. You can get incredibly serious burns from them, and he’s not well trained in monsterology. He’s reckless and jumps into danger without thinking things through. Even though he’s really really good at thinking of plans on the fly, those plans don’t always go right. Things tend to get broken around him; his plans don’t always work out, but he’s determined to protect everyone and fix everything himself. He wants to prove his worth to...well, he wants to prove his worth.” Zoe slapped a palm to her forehead. “Ugh, I’m rambling again. Look, my point is: Douxie is seriously prone to mistakes. Sometimes, he’s a hazard to himself, and he doesn’t need a bad luck charm around. I know that things aren’t really in your control, but please. If for some reason he calls for your help or you try helping him, don’t make Douxie regret trusting you.”

“You love him a lot, don’t you?” Cayden called after her, as she began to head out into the main dining area.

She looked back at them and nodded. “Nine centuries of knowing each other can do that, yes. Douxie is very important to me. And I’d do anything for him.”

#ananonswriting #tales of arcadia #wizards tales of arcadia #wizards toa #tales of arcadia oc #toa oc #toa fic #hisirdoux casperan #archie toa #zoe toa #zoe ashildr #oc: cayden tran

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escape-from-arcadia · 2 years

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Headed for A Small Disaster: A TOA OC Fic

Chapter 1: Eccentricities and Extraterrestrials

| 1 | 2 | ? | Ao3 |

Summary: Cayden Tran isn't having the best day. Seemingly cursed with bad luck their entire life, things always seem to go wrong for them at the most inconvenient times. But after a particularly stressful day, they accidentally stumble upon some out-of-this-world guests in their small little town of Arcadia Oaks.CW: Swearing

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A/N: I actually had to split what was originally one chapter into multiple because of how ridiculously long it was. So more "chapters" coming soon. If you need me to tag any other content warnings/triggers, send me an ask or comment, and I will update the warnings appropriately ASAP!

Cayden never liked math. Every time someone came up to them, asking if they could help with their homework, they would stand up and leave. They might throw the occasional, “Sorry, but no,” but more often than not, they’d simply grab their things and get out. If they ever had the energy to tell people off, they would. Just because they're Asian doesn't mean they liked math, much less understood it. But oftentimes, explaining themself was more difficult than just walking away. As they went into high school, it definitely got easier. People made fewer assumptions; and by sophomore year, other students got the message that if they asked Cayden for help with math problems, the chance of them getting kicked in the shin by Cayden’s boot was incredibly likely.

After their daily visit to the museum to check on their dad, Cayden walked over to the nearest café (a little corner store called Café Benoit's) to at least try and understand their latest math assignment. They had a long discussion with their dad, Vinh, about their math grades and what they could do to improve them, but these conversations always circled back around to Cayden simply saying that math was never their strong suit. Nor was...anything really. Vinh recommended talking to their teacher, Ms. Janet, but Cayden always made the same excuse: Ms. Janet was a pain for them to deal with and pre-calculus just wasn’t fun.

Cayden decided (read: begrudgingly listened to Vinh’s advice) to head over to their favorite cafe down the street and study for their upcoming test. “Get something to drink, maybe listen to music.” Vinh said as he hung up the banner for the museum’s newest exhibit. “Whatever helps you focus. Even studying a little bit and understanding some of the material is better than nothing at all. And maybe you need to try studying somewhere else for a change. The hustle and bustle might be good for you.” The café was busier than usual, that's for sure. But after waiting for a couple to get up from their seats outside, Cayden didn’t hesitate as the waiter came over to clean up the table and sat in a warm seat.

The waiter began picking up cappuccino cups as Cayden set their bag down. “Sorry man. That was rude of me. Wanted to snag a table, and well, y’know.”

"It’s no big deal,” he said, wiping down the table. “Don’t worry about it, mate. Same as always?”

"Yup. And you? Same 'fit as always?" The waiter (who Cayden always forgot the name of) always wore his signature black hoodie and a low-cut tank top with his white half-apron wrapped over his black jeans.

The tips of his black hair were dyed a deep blue, and his eyes sparkled with gold and green when the student prodded at him. "Ah, cheeky now, huh?" He scribbled the order down on his notepad. "Not my fault people in Arcadia are awful at tipping, save for a few other people around here."

"Oh, come on. I always shoot for 15%."

"Before or after tax?"

Cayden looked down and mumbled sheepishly, "Before..."

The waiter laughed brightly before waving goodbye. "I'll be back in a bit with your drink. And try not to break another chair while you're out here!"

"That was one time!" Cay shouted, before snorting. "Good grief."

Yes, Cayden had in fact once broken a chair. They had slung their bag over the back and sat down, and the chair immediately collapsed. But both they and the waiter knew that they just so happened to pick an incredibly old chair that was in need of replacing anyway. It certainly wasn’t because Cayden was one of the clumsiest people in Arcadia. Cayden was not clumsy. The waiter ("Douxie! That's his name!" Cayden said aloud to themself) helped them clean up and offered to take them to the back to help patch up the few scrapes they got on their hands.

"No thanks," they said. "I've got a first aid kit in my bag, and I wasn't that hungry anyway."

"Well, come back another time. And maybe don't put your bag on the back of your chair when you decide to come back around."

So when Cayden came back to the café that day, they made sure their bag was on the ground instead, and slowly and carefully sat down. Setting themself up for success, Cayden laid out their math textbook and notebooks of scribbled functions, matrices, and graphs in front of them. Numbers and letters, letters and numbers. Who decided that the Greek alphabet should be in a math textbook? They sighed and turned their attention away from their books to the street. From their seat, they could see the city green, where old geezers were playing chess on the gazebo and some kids were rolling in the grass with their corgi. Weird. Cayden took their camera out from their bag and took a picture before Douxie came out with a tray.

"One peppermint hot chocolate with extra fudge and no whipped cream!" he said, setting the steaming drink down on the table.

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime! I'm still expecting that tip by the way."

And as Douxie pulled his hand away, the mysterious forces that plighted Cayden’s life began to wreak havoc. A car on the street honked loudly, startling the two of them. Douxie's hand knocked over the steaming mug onto Cayden's book and the drink spilled onto their lap. They yelled "Oh shit!" and dropped their camera onto the pavement with a sickening crack. "Oh, come on!"

"Oh, Modra- goodness. I'm so sorry." Douxie pulled a towel from his apron pocket. "Here let me-"

"It’s fine, it’s fine.” Cayden winced as they stood up and grabbed their bag. Slinging both straps on their back, they slammed a twenty from their back pocket on the table. “Here's your tip." Douxie opened his mouth to object, but they knelt down and carefully lifted the camera up. The lens was cracked, and with their luck, there was probably some internal damage as well. It wasn’t a high fall, but it was directly onto the hot California pavement. Cayden cringed. "It'll be fine. Happens all the time. I’ll-I’ll see you around." They left Douxie standing dumbfounded as they walked back home, holding back tears.

By the time Cayden got back to their apartment, their dad wasn't back yet. Understandable. The Arcadia Oaks Elementary School was having a field trip to the museum the next day, so Vinh would be there a bit longer that night working with the other museum curator. (Nice lady, Cay thought when they first met her. A little creepy, but nice.) They dropped their bag, the soaked book, and the broken camera off in their bedroom before grabbing a new set of clothes and taking a shower. Changing into fresh jeans and a t-shirt and putting away their binder, they put on fresh bandages over their latest set of cuts, scrapes, and bruises and turned their attention to the camera on the table. Pre-calculus could wait. Camera first.

Sitting down at their desk and flicking on a cool lamp, they carefully turned the body over in their hands. “God. Really?” The body of the camera was fine, albeit a little scraped. They hadn’t noticed at the time, but the camera battery latch had popped open and their battery pack was missing. But the worst part, the part that made them physically cringe and heart drop was the lens. The ND filter was completely shattered and the camera lens was badly scratched. “There’s no saving you,” they muttered sadly to themself as they set the camera down. The dull ache in their heart wasn’t something they could describe in the moment, but later, they were able to recognize it for what it was: the grief of losing an old friend.

Cayden bit their lip, and slammed their hand on the desk, causing some of the papers and books to topple over. ”Damn it! What am I supposed to do with this thing now? Should’ve invested in a disposable camera instead,” they grumbled. They groaned loudly and looked out their bedroom window, rolling over on their desk chair. The sun was beginning to set over the city, casting long shadows over the quieting streets. The streets ran red with the warmth of the setting sun and the clouds in the sky moved lazily along. Cayden would still have a few hours before their dad came home and the sun completely set. But what were they going to do that night if they couldn’t go out to the woods and take photos exploring at night? What would they do if they were stuck inside of the city all week?

"Hell. I've been sentenced to hell." With a sigh and a quick spin of their chair, they were back in front of their desk. Flicking on their laptop, they quickly hopped on their blog.

“Sorry gang. Dropped my camera today on the pavement. Not an awful fall. Just about three and a half feet. But my lens is all janked up, and I’ll be needing a new battery and ND filter. I’ll send updates when I can and try using my phone camera for now. This isn’t the end of our cryptid hunts, just a temporary set back. Signing off, Cayden T”

Notes began flooding in as soon as they hit ‘post’, and a few people began commenting.

good luck getting a new lens!

happens all the time. I dropped my camera a few weeks back and now it’s all messed up

yo wtf. take care dude and good luck with the repairs

As they looked over the responses, something caught their eye.

You’re in Arcadia Oaks, right? Check out Stuart’s Electronics. Not the best place in town, but you can usually get a good bargain on stuff. They probably have some stuff and repairs there. It’s over on Delancy

“I don’t need help,” Cayden grumbled, slamming the laptop shut. They spun around in their chair aimlessly and looked out the window down at the streets. Dad wasn’t coming home anytime soon. They cast another glance at their camera with another pang in their heart. The repairs would be expensive, but so would be buying a whole new lens. At least a thousand dollars for the same one. Grabbing their bag and having completely forgotten about the math textbook, they carefully stuffed the camera inside a jacket and wrapped it up before putting on a red sweatshirt. “Time for a field trip.”

It wasn’t a pretty sight. The neon light of a lighting bolt flickered with a hazy yellow glow in the light of the setting sun. TVs were stacked up in the grimy windows, and the blue paint on the front of the building was slowly peeling away. Checkered blue and yellow tiles were dangerously loose and held up by what Cayden presumed to be duct tape.

“Well, this seems like a trustworthy place.” The bell gave a light and happy jingle as Cayden headed inside Stuart’s Electronics and found two familiar faces.

“Oh, hey Aja. Hey Krel. Good evening, Mr…Tarron?”

Aja Tarron, a new transfer student to Arcadia and gym class superstar (Coach Lawerence’s words, not Cayden’s), giggled nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear and smoothing her dress as she walked forward. “Cayden! It’s so lively to see you! You’re so...unexpected! This is Varvatos Vex! Our…geezer! Our geezer.”

“Uhh…okay?” Cayden looked over her shoulder at Krel and Varvatos. “Aja, why is Krel holding back your grandpa from presumably killing me?”

They weren’t wrong. The old man named Varvatos was angrily shouting incoherent nonsense, something about killing them all and ‘nosy hoo-mans’ as he shook his walker at Cayden. Krel was trying his best to hold him back, slapping his hands over the old man’s mouth and pushing him towards the store counter, though it seemed to be a losing battle.

Aja glared at Krel who laughed nervously in response. Her voice was strained as she continued, “Oh, you know! Grandpa hasn’t erm…Now’s not a great time, Cay!”

“Don’t call me that. Only my dad calls me that.”

“Sorry! Well, uh, how about an embrace?” she asked, approaching Cayden with open arms. They recoiled backwards, as Varvatos gave a mighty yell that sent a shudder up their spine.

“Now is not the time for an embrace!” The old man roared, surprising Cayden given his tiny stature. “Unless it is the sweet embrace of a glorious death!”

As they continued backing up, Cayden bumped into a shelf housing several boxes of random tech. They sprung forward from the sudden contact. “My bag!” They tore off their backpack and were about to check the condition of the camera when their eyes widened as the shelf gave a sickening creak. “Oh shit.”

Aja saw their fear, and immediately came to their aid. “I’ve got it!” she yelled as she pushed Cayden out of the way and miraculously held up the shelving unit with her own hands. Boxes slid off the shelves around her as she tried shoving the unit back in place. “Varvatos!” she groaned. “A little help?”

Cayden stood stupefied, as Krel let go of Varvatos for an instant to hover over the fallen boxes. “Is everything in there alright? We could be using some of this for the ship!”

“Little brother, now isn’t exactly the time. Besides, Stuart already said these human parts are barely compatible with our technology!”

Krel crossed his arms from his crouched position on the floor. “You don’t know that. Do you know how many manuals Stuart has said he’s lost?” He knelt on the floor of the shop, rummaging through the boxes some more. “We should take these back so that we can see if there is anything that we might be able to use to fix the ship and go back home…”

His train of thought slowly pettered off as he and Aja turned to look at Cayden, still very present with their eyes wide and hands clenching their backpack straps. “Am I interrupting something? I feel like I’m interrupting something.”

“No, no, no, not at all!” Krel insisted, rising to his feet. “We’re just working on a science project for school about…” He looked at Aja, who had shoved up the shelving unit with the help of Varvatos, much stronger than he seemed.

“I think you guys just rolled a nat one on deception. Wait, that's not a skill is it?”

“The young royals didn’t roll anything! And they have no intent to deceive the enemy!” Varvatos shouted, stepping forward towards Cayden. He had a very strong set of lungs for a senior citizen, which made it all the more unnerving when he looked up at Cayden and said quietly, “But you on the other hand, are interfering with royal businesses. Is it customary for your kind to sneak up on your enemies, learn their secrets, and betray them with no honor?”

Cayden backed up, stopping before they hit another shelving unit. Their hands raised in a show of surrender. “I’m sorry, sir. But I’m no backstabber. I just want to get my camera fixed! I also didn’t sneak up on you guys since there’s literally a bell over the shop door.” They pointed to the bell, which had in fact rung when they entered through the shop door. “I’ve got such rotten luck that I’m the last person anyone would ever hire to be a spy.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just clumsy?” Krel asked, lifting up a box full of vacuum ends.

“I’m not clumsy. Anyways, is the famous Stuart of Stuart Electronics around? I need to get home soon.”

The shop fell silent as the four stood awkwardly. Aja hummed as she put boxes on random shelves and Varvatos tapped his foot impatiently. Cayden bit back the temptation to ask about the “royals” and the “ship” as Krel turned a few knobs on an old radio. He muttered as he tried tucking back his shoulder-length brown behind his ear while tuning for a signal. “Need a hair tie?”

“Why would I want to knot my hair?”

“No, like. Tie up your hair. Keep it out of your face.” Cayden reached into their bag and found a gray scrunchie. “This’ll have to do.” They offered the scrunchie, and Krel hesitatingly took it. He looked it over with confusion, before Cayden walked behind him. “May I?” He nodded, and they took back the scrunchie and began to tie his hair back into a ponytail. “Don’t worry, I’m fast.”

Aja looked on in wonder as Krel looked at his reflection in the nearest TV. “Does it look good? What’s happening?” Varvatos let out a small hmph of approval.

“There.”

Aja laughed and touched the ponytail. “It bounces!”

“Does it look good?” Krel asked, shaking his head around. “It feels much more…lighter.”

“You should be able to work on that radio now without your hair getting in the way. And the look suits you, dude!” Cayden smiled softly as they sat on the floor. “I just wish this Stuart guy would hurry up. What’s going on? Is he lost in Narnia or something.” As they spoke, a low beeping began to fill the store.

Krel’s eyes widened in recognition and he looked up at the clock. Aja looked on with concern as he loudly whispered, “Our transductions are about to wear off! Get them out of here!”

“‘Get them out?’ Are you talking about me?” Cayden began to stand up when Varvatos stood in the way.

“It’s time for you to go, Caydoom.”

“Okay, sick nickname, but also ‘go?’ What do you mean go?” Cayden’s voice began to rise along with the speed and volume of the beeping, but they didn’t notice. “We just had a heartfelt moment and you want me to leave? What’s going on here? I’ve been holding back my tongue and all my questions because clearly something weird is going on here, but after that you’re just asking me to leave. And I still need to get this damn camera fixed?”

“Sorry I took so long. Now, here’s the box with all of my- What is going on out here?” A brown-haired man in a red robe, Stuart Cayden supposed, came out from the black with a large briefcase.

The shop fell silent, and the rapid beeping became one solid tone. Krel looked at his sister. “Oh, kleb.”

There was a flash of blue light and then…Blue people. Two- no, three blue people. Two had four arms and one was several feet taller than Cayden. They all glowed with soft blue light and looked on at Cayden in shock.

Stuart chuckled and turned to Cayden. “Uh, hello. Now’s erm. Now’s not the best time.”

After a cup of tea and many reassurances from the Tarron siblings that Varvatos would not in fact rip their limbs off, Cayden had calmed down. It was more of them calming the extraterrestrials down than anything else, but still.

“You can’t let anyone know!” Krel repeated for the hundredth time, while Cayden sat in a folding metal chair at the center of the shop. “This secret was never meant to get out, and we don’t need any other people knowing.”

“And if you speak of word of this to anyone, Varvatos Vex will pound you into-”

“Does he always talk in the third person?” Cayden interrupted.

“Yes,” the siblings answered simultaneously.

“And you guys are called Akiridions, not aliens? And he’s a Durian, but not the fruit kind,” Cayden said, pointing to Stuart, who was looking over the unwrapped camera.

“Oh my Gorbon,” the Durian began, as he transformed into a green extraterrestrial in a poof of green light, “You would not believe how many times I get that.”

The Tarrons and Varvatos held their noses. “Ugh, Stuart! In the shop?” Krel scowled, fanning the air. He turned to Cayden. “To answer your question, yes. We,” he gestured vaguely at himself, his sister, and Varvatos, “We’re Akiridions from the planet Akiridion-5. The term alien is deeply offensive and generalizes all extraterrestrials as one group of creatures. The world doesn’t revolve around you humans, you know!”

Aja coughed and wheezed, “Now a question for you, Cayden. You’re completely fine with this wretched stench?”

The human shrugged, breathing normally. “I never liked the texture of it, but my dad always bought durian when I was a kid, the fruit I mean. We’d eat it about once every few weeks or so. Now can you please untie me?”

“Not until you guarantee your silence,” Varvatos boomed. His six eyes unblinkingly stared at Cayden. “You must not say a single word of this to anyone.” He peered curiously at them, as they recoiled just a bit into their chair.

“I mean yeah, if Aja and Krel don’t want this information shared I won’t share it.” They turned to look at the siblings. “I mean it. I’d prefer to share this with other people so we could all learn and stuff, get to know each other and all. But if your safety is at risk, then yeah. I won’t say a word.” They returned their gaze to Varvatos and looked him in the eyes. “I promise.”

The shop fell silent. Varvatos gave a huff and helped Cayden up from the folding chair. “Do you humans always ask so many questions?”

Cayden shrugged as best they could. “Eh. Some people don’t ask any questions. They live in a world of close-mindedness and complacency. I, on the other hand, ask all the questions. Interroga omnia.”

“I’m sorry.” Krel approached, shaking his head. “What language was that?” He pulled out a white and blue device from his pocket. A blue hologram- a holoscreen?- flashed up in a text Cayden couldn’t understand. Krel began tapping, pulling up different screens, and typing in information. “I calibrated our translators to understand the human languages of English and Spanish, not whatever that was.”

“Latin. Kind of a dead language, but “interroga omnia” means ‘question everything’. Kind of what I live by, I guess. And there are more languages than just English and Spanish on Earth. Like. A lot of them.”

The prince nodded his head, “I was aware of the multitudes of languages, yes. I just never expected someone to know a language so ancient as that!”

Cayden pulled out a tape recorder and their notebook from their backpack and opened to a blank page. Krel and Aja watched on in curiosity as with a press of a button, the tape recorder whirred to life. “You guys cool if I record this? I have a few questions. Just a standard procedure for me to log intervi-”

Turning around to face them, Cayden was met with the pointy end of a long glowing blue weapon, resembling a curved sword. They looked up slowly and met eyes with Varvatos.

“Uh. Hi, sir.” Despite how incredibly tempted they were to touch the pointy blue thing, Cayden slowly backed away. They began to carefully pack things in their bag and back away towards the door. “You know what? It’s a school night. I’m going to head home. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. And uh, Stuart. I’ll call you tomorrow. I’ll try to pay you ASAP. My number is written on the tape at the base of the camera. Just call me with the diagnostics or whatever. Uh, later.” Cayden turned and walked face-first into the door. They laughed nervously and waved goodbye, filled with more questions than ever.

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