#she finds out before she gets back to vesuvia and Understands but

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

The Arcana HCs: M6 with an introverted MC

Julian

To this guy, being alone is cruel and unusual punishment, so the first few times you give yourself some alone time he freaks out

Did he make you mad? Did he say something to hurt you? Are you bored with him?

His solution is to glue himself to your side and pull out every charming trick he can think of

Look, he can swordfight! Look, he can sing! Look, he reads big books full of obscure medical terms! Please don't shut him out!

Needless to say this gets irritating after a bit

Once you sit him down and get to the bottom of why he's acting so weird you're able to explain

He's much more understanding now

You'll still need to be very blunt though: "Julian. I love you very much. For the sake of my sanity I am going to spent the next few hours in this room. By myself."

After a few instances of this it's able to settle in his mind that you needing alone time isn't a rejection, so now he takes these opportunities to go get himself in trouble so he has a dashing story to tell you about later

Asra

They've known this already, they've known you further back than your memories go and they spent at least a year being your caretaker

He's also an introvert so this works out great

Loves sitting quietly on opposite ends of the room, dozing and daydreaming and mentally fine tuning a spell or two while you do your thing

If they feel like being around people when you don't they'll leave Faust with you and go exploring

Never stays away for too long, now that he knows what he gets to come back to

Alone time is a lot harder to get when you're traveling though, so they will happily take a day with you to hole up in some B&B or camp out in whatever nature you're passing through

After the events of that disastrous masquerade, you have a lot more friends than you did before and more reasons to be social

So if you're in the mood for human interaction and he isn't, he doesn't feel nearly as guilty taking some time to himself if he knows you'll take that as a chance to pay some visits

Nadia

What else did you think her thinking tower was for? She gets it

As dedicated to you as she is, she's able to pick up your inclinations pretty quickly

She makes sure you have your own chambers next to hers at the palace to use as you see fit

Not that you aren't welcome in hers! But she likes having her tower so much she figured you should have something like that too

Has secret passages installed with a little magical help from your chambers to several important places

Those places are the library, the kitchen, the gardens, and her private bath

Sometimes if it feels like a while since she's seen you, she'll send Chandra with a little love note to check in

If she needs alone space while you're feeling chatty, no worries there. The palace is packed with people

Now that her family visits regularly, you're able to get to know them while she's occupied and learn more about her

Every now and then she'll come downstairs after a quiet afternoon and find you in the drawing room with one of her sisters, sharing the things about her you love most

She'll be blushing for the rest of the evening

Muriel

King of the introverts

If you need a day to yourself, the hut is yours while he goes about his daily routine

The chances of him wanting to be social when you don't are highly, highly unlikely

In fact, unless you are also as extremely introverted as he is, you are more likely to need more company than what he can comfortably provide

Going into town isn't always the best solution either, because after half of Vesuvia camped around his hut for a month everyone recognizes you

Thankfully Nadia built a back entrance into the palace gardens from the forest in case either of you wants to visit

And you have a very convenient glamor spell for when you need to stop by the shop

You always pick up pumpkin bread and something new to sample on your way back

Inanna especially loves it if you bring her a treat or two

It's also not uncommon for somebody to stop by the hut for old time's sake, to invite you to a wedding or birthday or just to check in with a gift

Portia

Oh boy, she does not get it at all

Like in her mind she knows some people are just like that, Nadia's quite the introvert too, but she cannot relate

Mostly she'll just be worried that you're losing your happiness. Everything about being around people brings her joy, why don't you want to have fun??

She loves you though, so she'll leave you in the cottage or garden for a morning with some pastries and a book recommendation while she catches up on palace gossip

If you're traveling it'll look similar, she'll make sure you're set up for a comfortable few hours while she does her ambassador stuff

She draws people to her without thinking about it, she'll never be without company

You're still her favorite company though, so she'll pop her head in pretty regularly to see if you're recharged enough to hang out

She'll also let you know every single place she's going to be in so you can come find her as soon as you're ready

Her smile when you do will light up the room

Lucio

In case it wasn't obvious from the amount of parties he likes to throw, he is an extrovert

Half the time, if he's caught up in something, he doesn't notice if you take a few hours to yourself

The other half the time, he's very concerned and slightly hurt

Why wouldn't you want to spend time with him? What do you mean you want to be alone? Being alone is the worst! You prefer being alone to being around him?!?

You do try to explain it to him, and he does do his best to understand, but the concept is so foreign it just doesn't make sense

Your best bet is to suggest an activity that he enjoys and tell him that you're tired and you're going to rest while he does that (which is basically true)

This actually works really well for the most part

Sometimes something will remind him of you or he'll get bored quickly and come bursting into your quiet space when you least expect it

You can try suggesting a quiet activity, but most likely that's going to be all you get until he finds something else to enjoy that doesn't require your participation

#the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana game #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #portia devorak #lucio morgasson #muriel of the kokhuri #the arcana #arcana shitposting

[totally-not-here-for-the-smut]

Once while looking up ADHD I found out coffee can make you tired.

'Some people with ADHD get tired when they drink caffeine. In those with ADHD, caffeine may have the opposite impact, as it is a deterrent to brain hyperactivity. In these cases, the individual may experience a slow-down of thoughts and urges, which can seem like exhaustion.'

Looking back at Portia's route she gave Mc coffee to wake them up and in Nadia's in a paid scene someone gives Nadia and Mc coffee. I've been wondering how do you think the M6 would react to finding out coffee makes Mc tired? Like they give Mc some coffee to wake them up only for Mc to be even more tired than before they drank it.

This is an interesting question! Basically, I read it as "what if MC showed some signs of ADHD, like a weird reaction to coffee?". Well, my answer is... they wouldn’t have any reaction besides a "oh, that's funny!", but allow me to elaborate.

I have several personality traits and minor conditions that got misdiagnosed as adhd, so I had to study a bit the matter to understand what was going on (still, mind that I am not a professional).

ADHD is a very "modern world" problem. Mind that I'm not saying that it is a "previously non existing condition caused by or invented by the modern western society", but that is a condition that has always existed but is seen as a problem only in the world we live in because of how our society is deeply flawed and, on a deeper level, unfit for human beings.

In Vesuvia (as I picture it), much like in several past cultures and societies, kids aren't required to learn passively by sitting way too many hours. Students don't have to hyper specialize in their subject of choosing, but it is much more appreciated a wide variety of interests. In our world, until the late 19th century, literate people often studied many different things: like, most scientists were philosophers as well. Earlier in time, figures like Leonardo Da Vinci were much more common than the "super expert specialised in only one field", and there wasn't much of a formal one size fits all education system that makes life very hard expecially for non-neurotipycal students. Da Vinci himself spent YEARS on pointless and useless projects, didn't finish many of his artworks, had many weird theories about stuff, wrote right to left... in a modern world, fixated on time and productivity and specialisation, his life would be a mess. But in renaissance Italy? He was seen as a great wise man of science and arts.

I think people in Vesuvia aren't as fixated on precision, specialisation, productivity and time managing as we're required to be in our neurotic society, therefore ADHD's traits wouldn’t be a problem at all. Even the more "internal" issue (RSD, overstimulation, emotional managing...) wouldn’t be a problem there, since Vesuvia's culture seems very open about emotions talk, welcoming of differences, and way less ego-fixated.

Imho, Asra, Lucio and maybe Portia would be great candidates for an ADHD diagnosis today... but in Vesuvia? Their behaviour is functional and appreciated even, because the whole cultures is way less messed up and obsessed on stuff that puts a huge pressure on people with ADHD (and, honestly, everybody).

So, this is way I think that the perspective of MC having ADHD wouldn’t be even noticed, and getting "tired" after coffe would be seen as something curious, and maybe a "Oh yeah, some people reacts in that way" from our dear doctor :)

#the arcana #the arcana game #the vesuvia files

[eurydice-thefool]

Community OC asks! What is some original lore you added to the Arcana-verse with your character? (locations, cultures, magic, etc) Tell us about it!

Hey @theroyalmage I’m sorry this took so long. Thank you for thinking of me when you do these Community OC asks, I love them 💙

Well apparently cults are canon thanks to me so thats fun for everyone involved

The Arcana’s world is (thankfully) free of a lot of bigotry that’s associated with religion, so I never wanted to focus on the cult that Eurydice was born in.

It functions more as a way for me to vent my feelings to Eurydice so we can deal with them together. So we could escape together, I guess.

But, yeah, even with the overwhelmingly tolerant atmosphere of the Arcana’s world, I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that a small group of people would take things too far.

When I planned her backstory with Ruth– how Eurydice was in love with her, but Ruth wanted to stay, and agreed to an arranged marriage within the cult– that’s complicated for me? Cause yes it’s me dealing with growing up gay in a conservative, religious environment. But in universe, it’s not homophobia at play so much as the cult’s need for control. I don’t want to introduce that to the universe if I don’t have to. It’s... nice to imagine a world where we don’t have to deal with that bullshit.

I’ve also had to make up pretty much every part of Mila’s selkie backstory, so that was fun! It was hard to find a lot of?? Literature? from lore? So I sort of conflated a bunch of ideas together into the Arcana selkies. I’m not the expert on selkies in general so I’m super open to ideas here.

In my head, they live in colonies, mixes of blood- and found- families.

They generally follow migration routes, but that’s more of a suggestion than a strict rule. They go where the sea takes them! Or they’ll change course to get something they need or to visit somewhere special.

They must have their sealskin to transform, and must keep it within a certain distance or fall ill (a la Song of the Sea).

Mila’s LI is Muriel so yes she has to take the road trip. Her sealskin is still hidden on the palace grounds when she leaves, and Muriel and Asra worry about her. But she currently has the body of the Fool, not a selkie’s body, exactly– so I think she’s fine being far from her sealskin. It will be different when she finds it and begins to use it again; the connection will be re-established and she’ll need to keep it close from then on. But during that journey, that’s just one more secret she’ll need to coax out of Muriel and Asra.

Mila’s aunt Circe left the colony to live on land with the woman she fell in love with; this isn’t required for a selkie, she wasn’t banished or shunned! It’s uncommon, as selkies have different needs from humans and tend to take care of each other, but there aren’t hard feelings between Circe and the colony.

Selkies can absolutely do more forms of magic, if they learn to! Mila’s not too much of an oddity being a magician selkie. It’s a skill that needs to be honed, as in humans.

I don’t think selkie’s song is quite as important magic in Arcanaverse selkies as it is in, like, Song of the Sea, but it is an important part of their culture, and it’s not unusual for a selkie magician to incorporate music into their magic.

#theroyalmage #apprentice asks #community oc asks #eurydice carolina #mila the selkie #fan apprentice #cause like asra cant tell mc stuff about their past without risking injury #so he wont be able to tell mila she was a selkie #so he's worried about her leaving and muriel's worried about her leaving and she?? doesnt know why?? #why are you reacting this way im gonna be with muriel i'm gonna be fine #'okay but come back if you start to feel... you know. sick.' #if i get sick i can take care of it thanks asra #'okay but talk to me as much as you can okay? and keep an eye on her muriel?' #poor baby had no idea. thought he was just freaking out like a parent seeing their kid off to school for the first time #she finds out before she gets back to vesuvia and Understands but #hmm might write a drabble of a thing i was thinking up #a scene i thought might happen #but yeah mila doesnt know at first #morga figures it out before mila herself does rip

[demetris-cocksleeve]

(A/n: Happy Valentine's Day guys!❤️)

(y/f/f means "your favorite food"; f/f means "favorite flower")

Hope you enjoy~

Navigation

Warnings: mentioned spicy actions, nothing explicit though

Age Rating: Pg 13

The Main 6 on Valentine's Day x GN! Reader

-------------------

Asra

Spends all day preparing

They sent you out on a wild goose chase for some magic ingredient that doesn't exist just to make sure you wouldn't walk in on them setting up the shop

When he finishes decorating and cooking he sends Faust to bring you back

There are candles set up around the shop making a pathway to the back room where Asra waits with steaming dishes of (y/f/f) set out on the table

You guys talk about the most random things, laughing and joking with each other in the dim candle light

The night ending with Asra gently leading you to your shared bedroom; the two of you becoming a tangle of limbs and love

Julian

He's freaking the hell out

What if you don't like it? What was your f/f again?

My guy is basically drenched in sweat by the time you meet him at the pier

He'll shakily hand you a beautiful bouquet and ask you if you'd like to take a walk along the beach

Leads you to a secluded part of the beach where a picnic is set up in perfect view of the horizon

As you guys watch the sunset, feeding each other bites of the food that Mazelinka 1000% made (he denies it though), he'll pull your back against his chest and rest his head against yours

It's moments like this that he fully lets his guard down and drops his joking façade; he'll tell you just how much you mean to him and how he's so grateful you didn't give up on him

Honestly, you probably both end up in tears by the end of it..

Muriel

Truthfully, he probably doesn't even care that it's Valentine's Day

What do you mean there's a day for people to show their love for each other? Shouldn't they do that everyday?

Once you explain it to him, he'll probably plan something small (even though he still doesn't really get it)

Maybe a stroll through the trees, or he'll take you to see his favorite places in the woods

A hidden waterfall maybe, or a meadow filled with the most bright and fragrant flowers

He might not understand Valentine's, but he still wants you to know that he loves and appreciates you

Portia

She'll definitely spend most of the day before making both of your favorite baked goods and treats

Another Devorak that loves a good picnic

She'll find the prettiest spot in the royal gardens and set up a large blanket and a basket

Once you guys get settled and she starts unloading the food, you're stick wondering how she fit everything in the basket

Like, do you guys remember Hermione's bottomless purse? It's like that..

You guys will just sit basking in the warm Vesuvian sun, chatting away about what others would call the most mundane things, snaking on the little sandwiches and cakes

Pepi definitely had to chase away Camio at some point..

Nadia

Has the palace cooks prepare the most extravagant dishes and desserts even when you assure her that she doesn't have to go through all the trouble

Like, shush, let your sugar mama pamper you

Definitely has the servants bring you the most articulate and stylish outfit and tell you to meet her on the veranda

After you guys finish your meal and talk for a bit, she takes you into one of the many rooms of the palace where a show is waiting for the two of you

She had hired the most well renowned acrobats and stunt persons she could find

The night ends with you both cuddled up in bed, engaging in the sweetest pillow talk of your life

Lucio

Nadia 2.0

Has the most expensive and lavish dishes and clothes prepared

Tries to be romantic but fails with his crassness and bluntness

"Have I ever told you that your the sexiest person in all of Vesuvia?"

Will definitely get freaky in the sheets after dinner if you let him

I'm talking not being about to walk the next day freaky😅

If not, he's perfectly fine with just holding you close; though, he will whine about it

After all, he IS still the same spoiled and irritable count we all know and love

#the arcana x reader #muriel the arcana #julian the arcana #the arcana portia #the arcana nadia #the arcana asra #the arcana count lucio #valentine's day #count lucio x mc #asra x mc #julian devorak x mc #portia devorak x reader #muriel kokhuri #muriel x mc #nadia satrivana x mc #nadia x mc

[thefools-journey]

So. Some of you may be wondering why we haven’t written a whole ton about the secondaries or what have you. Here’s the reason: we were waiting for them to end before we really dug into the problems we were noticing. We felt that it was only fair to wait for the routes to finish so that we had an understanding of the writers’ vision. Who knew, we thought, maybe they would see the problems themselves and course correct, maybe they are building to something we can’t quite see yet and these issues will have actual payoff, maybe-

In light of Muriel and Lucio’s endings, and the general mess that has dominated Portia’s route for a year plus now, we are breaking our silence. We are actually going to talk about this shit show.

The fandom at large has talked about a bunch of issues with the secondaries but for me, the cardinal sin, the thing that really all the issues lead back to, is this: the writers lost sight of the tarot themes which so strongly defined and held together the primary routes. Let me explain.

The primary routes each center around three thematic cores:

The Love Interest’s Major Arcana and its Reversed/Upright meanings

The MC’s Fool’s Journey, both how it can go right and how it can go wrong

A question about the MC’s identity and their relationship to said identity

Asra’s route asks: Who was the MC? How does the MC navigate a past they cannot and will not remember? What do they owe a past they cannot remember? How do they handle the revelations of what Asra, Nadia, Julian, etc did? How do you right the past? Can you?

Nadia’s route asks: Who is the MC? The MC has no past. Are they the Fool only? Are they actually the same person they were? How can they tell? Who are they, really? Are they an imposter? No one can answer these questions for them.

Julian’s route asks: Who will the MC become? How does the MC see their future? Is there anything worth fighting for for that future? What will become of them and their loved ones? 

Now, if you notice, these themes are expertly woven throughout the primaries. Asra’s past dominates his route, Nadia is also missing memories and trying to construct her identity both with her family and with Vesuvia, and Julian’s fear of the future drives his flailing for control. Asra has to learn to take a broader view of his actions to get his Upright Ending, Nadia has to learn to trust herself and those around her for hers, and Julian has to learn how to let go for his. These lessons are the issues their cards stand for. The primaries are so dang elegant and delicate in their handlings of theme it is honestly awe-inspiring.

Thematically, the secondary routes have completely lost their hearts. First of all, the MC does not have strong, core questions which need to be answered. They just don’t. I suppose the writers did not want to retread old territory (which is weird considering how tightly bound the primaries are; it really tricks you into thinking you’re living the same events but from different angles depending on your route) but they did not replace the old with anything new. Muriel’s route is, on the surface, about discovering and owning his past, the good and the bad. Why not tie MC’s self-discovery to that story? Or they could have taken the angle that Muriel’s route is about convincing him to be present and active in the world while MC builds an identity for themself outside of Asra, the shop, and the memories they cannot retrieve. Why not tie the investigation themes running through Portia’s early route back to MC and their past? Portia has the unique angle of being as in the dark as MC about all of this, why not discover the past together? And for goodness’ sake, Lucio has no future when his route begins, why not tie that to his need for growth, responsibility, and MC’s own future between the Fool, the Devil, or something mortal and in between?

Secondly, the routes lost their tarot backbone. We have a primer on how to get specific endings for each LI and it still holds, but the writers did not follow through on the thematic coherence of each secondary. The Hermit is looking for something, be it perspective, insight, a solution to a problem, whatever. The key here is that the Hermit must find or learn what they are searching for, this thing must change their understanding of the world, and finally, they must bring this lesson back to the world from which they retreated. Can someone please enlighten me as what exactly Muriel learns then teaches the world around him? Nothing Muriel learns from Morga, MC, or even the Hermit ties back into anything. The Devil warns that you are out of control and exerting a lot of manipulative, destructive behavior on the world around you. It asks you to take responsibility for yourself and your actions. So can someone tell me why Lucio’s route actively avoids any interaction or reflection on two of Lucio’s biggest victims: Muriel and Julian? Why does the route only try to make amends with the “easier” of his victims in the cast? The Star is first and foremost the card of clarity, the light at the end of the tunnel. Perseverance, if you will. Yet Portia’s route has been the muddiest of the trio; the writers drop the investigation aspect of her route in favor just handing her and MC information they could have easily found and muddying the waters with Tasya (she blows up the palace but it’s all okay bc she has a secret daughter Julian never thought to bring up or mention) and the complete removal of the Devil as antagonist. 

So that leaves just the Fool’s Journey trying to hold this stool up with only one leg. And well...it doesn’t go well. At best, the secondary route books pay the barest surface level homage to the themes of the individual cards. At worst, they ignore the cards completely. Muriel's Moon book has nothing to do with illusions or delusions or lies or even an Alice in the Looking Glass upside down world. Portia's back half is a complete and utter mess, starting with her Temperance book being so badly mangled that Muriel's aftermath book does it better. Lucio's route too bungles the Tower and the Star. There just isn't enough here to carry the routes alone.

Add to the core loss the loss of intertextuality. The primary routes are very good, even great but they too do have their moments and mistakes. What helps strengthen them when the cores stumble is how the trio is woven together. Things you learn in Asra's route can inform the way you play Nadia's, for example. Julian's route informs what is going on in Asra's route and slots some missing puzzle pieces together. Nadia's route tells you of the power struggles she is facing and informs the other two routes' handling of Julian and his trial. On and on, the three routes support each other because they are built out of the same basic plot beats, just tackled in very different ways. Now, the writers are allowed to try and write whatever they want. They apparently wanted to be more experimental and less tied down to an overarching plot with the three secondaries. Okay, fine, they are allowed to do that. The problem is that they sacrificed one of the key strengths of the primary trio and didn't replace said strength with anything else. They also, on some level, harmed the very premise of the game, which is that only the player's choices and route selected change the overall plot. Instead of feeling like legitimate possibilities or offshoots of the same timeline/plot, the secondaries feel almost like Arcana AUs. The secondaries throw out all relations to the primaries and each other as quickly as possible and for what? 

It is probably the height of arrogance to suggest fixes for works whose behind the scenes I do not know. At the same time, some small, obvious changes could have salvaged Muriel and maybe Lucio's endings (rip Portia). Instead of having the Hermit appear as a disappointing cameo, why not have him say something cryptic to Muriel, then have MC start trying to seal the Devil. Then let Muriel use his forget me mark to cloak MC and hide them from the Devil's attacks. Protecting MC by hiding them from Lucio, keeping him focused on Muriel, seems to me a simple third solution between Muriel's desire to run and his desire to never fight again. It lets him stand up to Lucio and let him have it while holding onto who Muriel has become. The Reversed End would have MC try to draw Lucio's attention at some point, disrupting the sealing, and eventually leading to Muriel killing the Devil. With Lucio's Upright End, I just have to ask: why doesn't MC fully claim the power of the Fool instead of the Devil? We don't need the other Arcana involved in this fight; we have three routes that demonstrate that. Just have MC pull Scout into the conflict, then have Lucio tell MC he believes in them, then add his power to the mix. You got yourself a full Fool who leaves Scout guarding the realm until they and Lucio's mortal bodies fail and they return to the realm to be together forever. Boom, you're done, you can even add some ambiguous lines so that players can decide how happy their MC is with this arrangement, send me the check.

Here is the bottom line. Our group is full of aroace, and several combinations therein, individuals. We are the last group who should have gotten into a dating sim of all things. But the Arcana did something with the primaries that was special; they wrote a compelling plot with dazzling lore, complex characters, and strong themes wrapped up in a dating sim bow. The writers know better and we know they know better. I do not know what happened with the secondaries, especially around books 10-11, which is where minor issues slowly start spiraling into major ones, but it is clear that Nix Hydra needed some more planning before they released these routes. Hopefully they will learn.

TL;DR: Nix Hydra fired their tarot consultants about eighteen months ago and it has wrecked their secondary routes until they were just embarrassments. They never intended for the secondary routes to even exist and once they had to make them, they scrambled and threw out everything that made the primaries work.

- Mod Telos

#the arcana #The Arcana Game #arcana game #arcana game meta #arcana meta #arcana discourse #the arcana lucio #Lucio route #the arcana muriel #muriel route #the arcana portia #portia route #lucio morgasson #lucio montag #muriel #portia devorak #The Wheel Turns

[genderfluid-insomniac]

General Headcanons with the main six

Asra: + He fully will take care of you and sometimes have to drag you away from what you’re doing to have a self-love self-care day, in which Faust is with you so you actually have to relax.

+ When he goes on long trips, sometimes he takes you but when he has to go alone he will leave the gold and emerald necklace with you, placing a protection charm on it. You and he will occasionally do the water portal spell, cuddling when he has the chance and smothering you with kisses.

+ Asra’s love language is touch and verbal affirmation, he is very open about your relationship and gives you affection every chance he gets. You never tell him to stop because you enjoy it too much, always being connected to him in one way or another.

+ You will prepare spells for the shop when you have free time or do a card reading with Faust around your neck. When Asra comes back, you run up to him and hug him with him laughing and returning the hug.

+ On cold nights you both snuggle up together under blankets and enjoy each other’s company, giving each other soft kisses. Asra will whisper sweet nothing and positive affirmations, rubbing small circles on your arm. Your head went into his neck humming a forgotten tune with blankets draped on you both and resting in your shared bed.

+ In the morning, Asra is usually a morning person and gets up prepares the shop, making some herbal tea for the both of you. If you’re still asleep, he will leave Faust with you and get some pumpkin bread for you (which is yourself); coming back and leaving the pumpkin bread on the table for you upstairs, placing a kiss on your cheek, and gave you an Eskimo kisses.

+ Asra loves giving you readings and seeing your reaction, even though you’re well experienced with it, it still fills you with joy. Enjoying how the cards speak to both you and Asra, revealing different messages each time and different lessons to learn. It will usually end up with one of you asleep beside the other, deciding to sleep curled up together (knowing that you both will probably be sore in the morning).

+ When you get sick, don’t expect to do anything because Asra will not have you being active while you aren’t feeling well and this goes for if you’re having bad period cramps as well. Making an herbal tea for you to drink while you get better, stepping out to gather more herbs if he doesn’t have what he needs. Calling Muriel to help him get herbs if he cannot find them, knowing the silent man has memorized the forest.

+ It’s raining and lightly thundering outside when you both rush into the shop, coming from a dinner with the Countess discussing how to decrease the poverty in Vesuvia, and laughing to yourselves as you both shut the door, dripping wet from the storm outside. Asra will dry Faust off, placing her down on a comfy pillow and taking off all his wet clothes and you doing the same. Setting the damp garments in a small woven bin to dry later.

+ Asra comes back with some towels and soft robes for you two to wear. Cuddling by a small fire with Faust curled around the both of you in front of a small fire lighting up the room and enjoying the warmth emanating from the both of you.

Julian:

+ If you ever get sick, Julian will not leave your side for the first couple of days, even if you assure him that it’s just a small cold. Since the incident with you and the plague, Julian doesn’t want to take chances and repeat the same incident that cost him you. Since he has a bad immune system, ironic since he is a doctor, he will hold himself back from cuddling you when you’re cold. Loudly rejoicing when you get better and he can be affectionate with you.

+ Some nights you will have to drag him back from the Rowdy Raven tipsy, which sometimes is amusing because drunk Julian is actually a soft cuddly drama queen and it might take a while for you both to get back. Mazelinka is usually called by either you or Portia every time this happens and be ready for the morning hangover he will not have because for some reason Julian never gets hangovers. You still don’t understand it yourself.

Muriel: + On rainy days you cuddle up with Muriel in front of the fire and with Inanna’s head resting on your lap. The rain hitting against the roof and the light of the fire softly highlighting both of your faces.

+ Muriel will sometimes arrive home from hunting or errands when he leaves you with Inanna and see you asleep on the rug or with blankets and her snuggled up to you, protectively placing a paw on you. Muriel finds it absolutely adorable and tries to be as quiet as possible to not wake you up.

+ Most days you both will get up just before the sun rises and walk to a nearby cliff that overlooks Vesuvia with the sun climbing right behind it. The view is stunning and it’s a spot that you and Muriel have kept secret for special moments with one another. Leaning against Muriel, you give soft kisses and rub circles on his arm, humming softly as you watch the moon set on the opposite side of the horizon. Feeling the morning dew wet your legs and feet as you both walk back to the hut to start your day.

Portia:

+ You and Portia definitely play hide and seek in the castle using the secret passageways that she’d showed you. Occasionally running into Nadia who doesn’t mind at all finding it funny and sweet. Nadia even jumps in with you guys sometimes and the three of you playing for hours until one of you has to stop.

+ When you go over to Portia’s house to sleep over or hang out, Pepi is always the first to greet you and jumps on your shoulders, purring as she nuzzles your neck and face. Meowing loudly to alert Portia that you’re here and sometimes causing crashes to be heard as Portia comes running out, looking frazzled but happy that you’re here.

+ After a long day, you sit with Portia on a window seat in her house and brush her hair as she hums softly, caressing Pepi as you all were bathed in the golden hour light. Trying your best to get the tangled out of your lover’s hair and not hurt her, successfully brushing through her orange curly lucks and tucking pieces behind her ear.

Nadia:

+ Nadia is someone which you might not spend a lot of time with but when you do it’s a time that you treasure and you both make sure it’s spent well. Oftentimes going down into Vesuvia’s streets to window shop and say hello to Nadia’s citizens, always stopping by to say hello to Asra and Muriel if you can. Enjoying the fresh air and warm sunlight as you walked through the streets, scents of different baked goods and herbs catching your noses.

+ It’s night and you wake up to hear a soft knocking on your door and assume it’s Portia or Nadia since both have offered to take walks with you at night because of insomnia or nightmares. You open your door to see Nadia with rose-tinted cheeks and gracefully smiling at you as she brushes some imaginary dirt off her nightgown. She asks you if you want to sleep with her in her room because she feels that it gets lonely and doesn’t want to wake you up every time she has a nightmare.

+ So there both of you are, snuggled under the covers with each other, legs tangled and Nadia caressing your cheek, rubbing your head as you sleep soundly. Comforted that you are with her and her nightmares are wrong, drifting off the sleep to the sound of your soft breathing.

+ Be ready because you will have to stop Nadia sometimes or a lot of the time if you don’t want to be spoiled or given many gifts from her and even though she knows that you deeply appreciate her gifts but aren’t fond of how often she does it, still wants to show you how much she loves you. Oftentimes coming back from a business trip with something new for you, brightly asking Portia where you are and Portia lying that she doesn’t know with full knowledge that you are trying to avoid being spoiled by Nadia when she came back.

+ You do really appreciate all of her gifts but at times you feel unworthy of Nadia’s affection and all her presents, which you bring up to her, and Nadia responding that you deserve every bit and this is how she shows her love. After that making sure that you know you are worthy of her affection and gifts, but also respecting your feelings and asking you if she can spoil you (sometimes she fully spoils you without telling because you can’t stop Nadia from showing you how much you’re loved).

+ If it’s not clear Nadia’s love language is gift-giving and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming at times but you love her and happily indulge in her escapades. Finding yourself in soft luxurious clothing and wrapped inexpensive fabrics, Nadia admiring you with adoration. You do tell her that she can spoil you by helping those in poverty and giving them shelter and food, which she obviously is doing but increases per your request.

+ Nadia’s owl, Chandra, is often near you while you work making sure you’re safe and showing you small bits of affection while she is away or not able to be with you. You both have gotten into the habit of using Chandra almost as a messenger and sending each other letters when Nadia is away from you for a couple of days or is on a trip somewhere nearby. Letters going back and forth telling each other about your days and how work was going, explicitly saying how much you missed each other.

#the arcana #muriel x reader #muriel #asra alnazar #asra x reader #portia devorak #julian x mc #portia x mc #countess nadia #nadia x mc

[the-melting-world]

IX. The Hermit | Shelter from the Storm

Asra x Reader

Enjoy these daydreamy highlights from Asra’s Route! Masterlist

In-Route Prompts & Options Selected Prompt: “We should go home and rest.” Options: “We should go to the shop” / “We should go to the palace” Prompt: He wants to introduce me to his oldest friend Options: I’m happy / I’m nervous *Coins* Prompt: “Don’t tempt me” Options: “Come lay by the fire” / “Don’t take too long” Prompt: Asra can’t look away... Options: “Like what you see?” / “I must look a mess.”

~ 1.3k words

****

As you and Asra approach Vesuvia, you see that there are red storm clouds brewing over the palace minarets. When you start asking questions, Asra hesitates.

“We should go home and rest.”

You wonder, is Asra simply deflecting? Or is he being genuine about the two of you needing all of your rest and wits about you when you come before the Countess? In the end, you decide to take him up on that offer instead of suggesting that you head to the Palace.

The two of you take the path through the forest. Somewhere along the way, Faust appears. You’ve never seen her so chipper as she greets you and Asra. Not long after, the air grows heavier and it begins to rain. Asra says that the two of you can wait out the storm at his friend’s place.

Suspicious, you think. Who lives all the way out here in the middle of the woods? There’s not really time to probe him with questions. The worsening weather forces the two of you to run through the rain, hand in hand, while you leap over roots. Asra calls forth a floating glow-orb to light the way.

Asra, who is grinning and enjoying this more than you or Faust, wheels you out of the way of sudden downpour of water from a canopy of leaves overhead. Close one.

The two of you huddle under a dryer tree to take a break. “We’re almost to my friend’s place,” he says as he glances around, as if he’s getting ready to do something.

“How come I’ve never met this friend?” You tease him.

Another one of those glimpses of sadness flickers across his features before he mumbles, “He’s not much of a people person.”

Before you could press the issue any further, Asra is drawing you in and humming contentedly as he bathes your cheeks and chin in the rainwater clinging to his own. Then he kisses you for real and you kiss him back, guiding his spine against the trunk of the tree that shelters you both from the rain.

You blush at the soft smack of lips when the two of you finally break apart. He gives you an encouraging smile and pulls you out from under the tree. He leads you to a hut made of stone, pulsing in magical wards that Asra takes some time to unlock.

You enter the hut and it’s like night and day. The protective stone walls and the woodsy dryness in the air is a stark contrast against your cold, soaking bodies.

Once again, Asra gives you the chance to test your elemental skills. Your spirits lift at the opportunity to help him get warm instead of the other way around.

While you conjure the flame needed to warm the hearth, Asra explains the spell that his friend is under and the reason why you’ve never heard of him. You process what he tells you and… it’s so sad, is all you can think.

You assure Asra that you’re happy about meeting his old friend. And you are, truly.

This seems to put him at ease. He’s excited about the two of you becoming friends as well. Muriel is his name.

As much effort as you’ve put into getting the fire started, you’re still cold. Before you know it, you’re snuggling up under Asra’s arm. Still it’s not enough. Asra promises to be back with more wood. You decide to shed some of your wet layers in the meantime.

You’ve pulled your shirt over your head when you realize Asra hasn’t left. He’s still at the door, staring at you in a way that makes you forget the two of you were ever roommates. Determined to keep the moment from becoming any more awkward, you stretch out beside the fire, tip your knee towards the ceiling and add a slight arch to your spine.

“Did you leave something behind?” You meant it as a joke, but then Asra leans his back up against the door for support and lets his heavy gaze slowly drift over your body. He shakes his head once.

“Don’t tempt me.”

There is a slight purr behind each word, altering his usually airy voice.

Before you can stop to think about what it could lead to, you beckon him back towards you.

Asra’s purple eyes turn to magenta flame as he comes and lies down beside you. Soon his arms are wrapping around you and his forehead comes to meet yours.

“Oh, you’re so cold” He chides. In a way, it almost sounds like he’s blaming himself. You play it off. It’s not that serious and besides, you don’t really notice the cold. You raise Asra’s spirits again with a little game of footsies. But it doesn’t last long before Asra’s tilting your head back and filling you up with his warmth. He’s determined to warm up every part of your face. Carelessly, his lips move over your blushing skin. Every spot he greets spikes heat at your core. Now he’s onto your neck. You whimper in confusion when he suddenly breaks away.

“Let me get some of these clothes off.”

Asra mutters something else – something about the furs while you’re lying on your back, trying to catch your breath after all of that. How can he manage to busy himself with some household task seconds after bringing all of the heat in your body to the surface? You take a moment to swallow and try not to stare too hard at him while he’s taking off his clothes and hanging them over the fire.

Asra muses, “If we weren’t in my friend’s living room right now, we could…” he lets the thought linger in the air.

You lift an eyebrow. “We could what?”

Asra bites his lip and breaks eye contact. He shakes his head, chuckling, “Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Soon he’s back with a massive, smoky gray bundle of fur.

Whoever this Muriel person is – he better not come through that door. You’re too wrapped up in heaven under these furs with Asra, listening to him recall a time when he used to yearn to be close to you like this. The two of you help yourself to more kisses, the slow and lazy kind. You could stay like this forever…

It seems as though the same is true for Asra. He can’t take his eyes off of you.

“Like what you see?” You ask, hoping he’ll give a little insight into whatever is going on behind those otherworldly irises.

Asra’s answer is immediate. He loves what he sees. He loves everything he sees in you.

But then he takes it back as if he’s said something wrong. You thought he was being sweet and playful, but now that you’re turning his words over in your head, you understand how they could be taken the wrong way.

But… even if you had registered his words that way, did it feel wrong?

As always in these strange moments, Asra finds something else to do. He gets up to leave and tells you not to open the door. Not even for him.

“Especially not for me. I’ll open it myself. If I can’t do that… it isn’t me.”

This gives you goosebumps because... what in the name of the gods was going on in this desperately dark and eerie wood? What could possibly be walking around wearing Asra’s face?

After Asra leaves and you’re still shivering over what he told you, someone enters the hut. It has to be Muriel, who else could it be?

Before you get a chance to explain yourself to this guarded fortress of a man, he takes one look at you and speaks in a way that reminds you of the sigils on his door – meant only to keep everyone out.

“You’re not welcome here.”

#the arcana #asra x reader #asra #asra alnazar #asra the arcana #asra fanfic #asra fic #asra fanfiction #gender neutral reader #gn reader #the arcana fic #the arcana fanfiction #asra route #asra's route #asra x apprentice #my writing #asra x mc #asra’s route #muriel the arcana #muriel #muriel of the kokhuri

[seeminglyseph]

Brainstorming Lake's relation to the main 6. I'm stoned and just trying to get back in the vibe.

Portia: they probably know each other the least out of them, they like each other as fellow chaotic souls, but also he brings out the worst in her brother and she really wants Julian to like..... stop doing self destructive things.

Julian: They are like so similar in certain ways that they get along really well in the worst possible way. Having similar shitty coping mechanisms and negative self image causes them to get to similarly dramatically destructive places. They hooked up once while working the plague and Julian became so uncomfortable with the situation he started avoiding Lake out of Feelings and eventually ended up assuming it was Lake "getting the message" and not wanting to work it out when Lake stopped showing up to work. He feels "slightly" guilty about that now. It does not help the self destructive tendencies. They both refuse to actually talk about it.

Muriel: like... he doesn't really hate Lake, he just gets frustrated that he causes problems for Asra and also by proxy Muriel. Lake likes him a great deal despite Muriel's frustration with him, in part because someone getting angry at him is pretty much the only form of affection he understands. Realizing that did not improve Muriel's mood about the whole thing. He was anti-necromancy but helped Asra 'cause he loves Asra and what the fuck if he can't stop the little gremlin he may as well get stuck in jail with him later. Damn it. Post resurrection Muriel did find Lake a lot more agreeable and they have a few moments that Lake can't remember. Ultimately for the time being he's just letting Lake forget because like... fuck all the Lucio business like shit. Unless they are staging an intervention. He is kind of concerned we aren't staging an intervention. What the fuck was the point of the Necromancy Bullshit Asra?

Nadia: did not improve her headaches at all. How? A blood bond with her *dead husband's* goat ghost? Like okay ultimately he did save the world and get Lucio's ghost out of the palace but surely it would have been significantly easier if they had *stopped to plan* for like *five fucking minutes*. At least he gave Lucio something to do afterwards instead of whine about being banned from Vesuvia. What a fucking nightmare.

Asra: mutually Lake and Asra run on a similar vein of Chaos Will Rein and so they tend to get into a feedback loop of energy and vibes no matter what direction that vibe happens to be going. The only impulse control they have is Muriel and when they separated the consequential emotional low that came with the breakup put them both in the worst possible places (Lake's place was slightly worse due to dying but that's kind of how Asra's place got worse) post resurrection Asra had to deal with his emotions feeling dulled and blunted compared to before and the very difficult task of rehabilitating Lake. They spent a lot of time at Mutiel's cabin before Lake learned to get enough motor controls down that he didn't need to be lifted places anymore, though Lake of course cannot remember this. It also made part of his mental recovery a bit difficult when they realized a lot got reset when he forgot most of being in the cabin. This caused a mild fracture in Asra and Muriel's relationship for a little bit and is part of why Muriel avoids Lake. When you're trying to build memory it's bad to cause more holes in the memory. Asra is super not hyped about Lucio, not okay and going to put a stop to it, but it's gotten all fucked up by all the magic and he is absolutely furious that Lucio is fucking shit up this much oh my god thing were really starting to look up what the fuckkkkk

Lucio: so before Lake died their only real interaction was Lake breaking into the palace to steal supplies for the clinic out of some really misguided impulse to do something good, as a result Lucio lost his temper and sent Lake to be Valdemar's test subject which ultimately ended up killing him. Now he kind of forgot about Lake even existing until a little while into their magic isolation gaslighting adventure at which point he starts to panic because he super super definitely needs Lake to like him really really badly and now that he likes Lake he feels really ashamed of having had him killed and he tries to lie about it and does get found out during the route, but so much magic shit and more gaslighting isolation time means he manages to twist it to like "look, you brought the plague into the palace. And like... it's Valdemar. I was scared of them like a LOT so I feel like while it was super shitty of me to have let them do that to you, with them and the Devil breathing down my back at the time I think it can be at least understandable that I didn't have the strength to resist them on something that seemed like a small battle in the grand scheme of things." And just you know being a fucking abusive nightmare about it because that's the trainwreck I am conducting! You have been warned lol

#the arcana fan apprentics #the arcana mc #the arcana apprentice #lake caliburn #lake and lucio #lucio morgasson #asra alnazar #julian devorak #portia devorak #nadia satrivana #muriel of the kokhuri #arcana headcanon #arcana apprentice headcanon

[malaks-perch]

your eeka

muriel x reader

the mountain man doesn't go out of his way for most people, but you're the exception

warnings: none i think, it's muriel, the most i should warn you about is jealous muriel? super fluff???

muriel allowed you to stay with him being that asra had left yet again. believe me when i say that he was not happy when you'd first showed up uninvited to his home. maybe it was when you tripped over his chicken. he seemed particularly annoyed with you then.

the tension had eased some. there was no doubt in your mind that it had. it wasn't the fact he would give advice when you whittled some nights. it wasn't how he would cook a little too much for both him and inanna.

it was what he did today.

inanna was already quite pleased with your visits to the hut. often times she would sleep with you by the fire when you found yourself worn from helping muriel with his chores. but winter had come a little earlier in vesuvia this year.

usually, sleeping on the cushions and collected fabrics in front of the fire was enough for you but last night was particularly cold. it was nothing you couldn't handle as you snuggled into inanna who simply curled into you.

this morning. this morning, you woke up with that cloak muriel wore nearly all the time. the ripped fabric was so worn down that it was soft to the touch. inanna was still curled into you, her head resting beside yours with some of the blanket covering her haunches.

you sat up and replaced the fabric wrapped around inanna with one that you laid on. creeping towards the door and sliding out as to not wake up inanna.

but when you turned and found muriel crouching in the snow, you forced a hand over your mouth to stop the oncoming gasp.

muriel was crouched in front of a deer the size of a horse. it stood alert, two nubs sitting between ears that were turned in your direction. it stared you down when muriel noticed the baffled look on your face.

"it's so pretty.." your voice was nothing more than a whisper as you clutched the makeshift cloak to your shoulders.

muriel turned to open his palm a little wider to the deer. it cautiously eyed you as it leaned down to eat whatever it was from muriel's hand.

"what is it?"

muriel lifted his other hand. his finger brushing the ear of the animal, making it twitch before it went back to where it was turned in your direction.

"reindeers from the north." muriel gently let his fingers run over it's head and watching it with the smallest of smiles. "she usually stops by time vesuvia gets winter."

you inched forward, going as far as the deer would let you without getting too overwhelmed.

she inched over to you, the snout only a hair away as the deer sniffed your face and trailed to get a whiff of your body.

"what is she doing?" you winced only making the deer press on, now moving the blanket as you let your body fall back into the snow.

without a word, muriel stood up catching the doe's attention. he turned to walk toward the abandoned chicken coop and scooped up a bag of feed.

the female deer eagerly approached the mountain man when barking sounded from the hut. it took off, running into the forest upon being startled.

your feet were moving to keep up with the doe that was quickly disappearing into the woods, but a tug on your clothes kept you from moving.

"inanna—" your voice died upon seeing a large hand wrapped in the dark fabric clutched to your shoulders.

muriel's usual apathy was replaced with something that looked akin to worry. a faint pink colored his cheeks, but it was assumed it was from being out in the snow.

"thanks. for the cloak i mean!" you smiled, starting to peel off the fabric when muriel shook his head, turning his eyes away from you.

"you'll get sick." his voice low as his fingers toyed with the dark green pants he wore.

"did you name her?" your sudden question making him ponder a moment, glancing at you before nudging snow on the ground.

"eeka." he muttered, "thats the sound she makes when she runs."

muriel's evergreen eyes flickering up at you he nudged you towards his hut. the visitor definitely had you wide awake now, but your mind was still foggy with thoughts of sleep. you watched him for a moment trying to get your bearings.

he wore a shirt. one asra gifted him with, a simple black long sleeve that made every curve of muscle on him.

"w-why are you staring at me?" muriel's voice snapped you back to reality and understand just how long you'd been staring.

you unfurled his cloak from your shoulders, "your shirt looks nice."

muriel grunted out his thanks. something nudged your legs and you peered down to find inanna looking up at you. never had she looked so smug. you scratched her head.

"thank you." you held out muriel's cloak, "i didn't think i needed a blanket."

"you were shivering and inanna was worried." he muttered, putting another log on the fire. doing anything to distract himself from your presence.

"inanna was worried?" you smiled, plopping down on the bed and inanna came up to you, setting her head on your knees with a whine. "aww, he didn't care, 'nana?"

from the corner of your eye, muriel flustered, turning his head away from you, "i care when you're not teasing me." he grumbled.

you laughed, rubbing up inanna's neck so she let out a pleased whine. if you hadn't come up from staring into inanna's face then you wouldn't have been able to see the small smile on muriel's face as he fiddled with the wooden figurines across the room.

"do you.. can.. c-can i show you something?" muriel asked, turning his head away from you.

in the months you've been visiting him, never had muriel directly offered you anything.

he blushed deeper upon seeing your eyes light up, practically buzzing with excitement from where you were perched on his bed.

this was how you ended up following muriel through the forest. he insisted that inanna stay home today for the sake of what he refused to call a surprise.

both of you trekked through snow, muriel was easily walking as if nothing had changed, but you were tripping over yourself. your foot catching buried roots and rocks every so often.

muriel stopped and motioned ahead of you to an opening in the trees. it seemed as if all the breath had escaped your lungs.

there in a clearing stood an entire herd of reindeer. muriel ventured out into the clearing and sat down on one of the boulders peeking out of the snow. you cautiously followed as the herd's attention turned to you.

"muriel.." you whispered, hands shaking as you slowed your walk.

he slid over on the boulder, "if you sit, they won't think you're a predator."

you sat on the cold rock, pressing into the mountain man as the does began coming towards you. eeka was practically trotting over, but the sight of the other much larger females approaching made you nervous.

"why are they getting closer?"

muriel held up a burlap sack, a small smile on his face when eeka started sniffing his face and hands. "you didn't get a chance to feed eeka."

your stomach errupted into butterflies and your heart swelled, but upon being surrounded by creatures much larger than you, anxiety forcing you to grab at muriel's sleeve.

muriel opened his hand, allowing one of the deer to eat from his palm.

with wide eyes, you watched as muriel, with all the confidence in the world, fed the female reindeer. he glanced at you, a shy smile on his face as he held out the sack to you. "do you want to try?"

you tentatively reached into the sack and let the grainy chicken feed spread in your palm. almost immediately after you brought it from your chest, two of the reindeer started feasting from your hand.

you were unaware of how you were leaning closer into muriel's side. he noticed, watching you intently. he saw the way you were smiling and gazing at the deer with the same bright eyes you gave him.

suddenly he was envious of the deer, but before he could say anything, the doe you were feeding swiftly jumped away. you watched them scamper over to muriel when you noticed the mountain man's wide eyes. he stared at something behind you.

a stag, twice the size of the doe leaned down to eat from your hand. it's wide antlers keeping the doe from reaching the food in your palm and framing your body, unintentionally distancing you from muriel.

it snorted upon lifting its face to yours and sniffed at your cheeks before standing upright. it curled it's head around you and gave a firm push so you stood upright.

it nudged you toward the rest of the herd that grazed further into clearing when it jolted and swung it's antlers behind you.

muriel was standing, never flinching as the antlers were directed at him. his arms falling to his side when he met eyes with you.

his green eyes had taken the same tone as grass in spring, bright and lively except the worry that creased his brows made you falter.

"what's wrong?"

"he.. he wants you to.. uh..." his arms hesitantly reaching for you, "join his herd.."

"oh.." you turned and set a hand on the neck of the stag. it stared at you, snorting and pawing the ground. "i'm sorry."

you stepped around the deer and stopped at muriel's side, making the mountain man ease a little now that you knew about the stag's intentions.

but when the stag stepped forward you tensed until muriel did the unexpected.

his arms wrapped around your waist and pulling you flush to his front. when you looked up, his eyes were set in a glare, his hold tightening on you as he took a cautious step back.

the stag had ran off, but you were still captivated by the abnormal dominant side. you didn't realize you were staring until muriel's eyes had met yours.

back to their original shade and free of worry. you set a hand over his arm, smiling up at him. "not worried, huh?"

muriel flushed and let you go, picking up the chicken feed as fresh snow began to shower down from the sky. he muttered about it getting cold, glancing back at you, an invitation to follow him.

you hurried along, ducking under his arm and pressing into his side with a smile.

"in case that big deer comes back."

he rolled his eyes, turning his head. he didn't pull away, but he did in fact hide his smile.

#31DaysofArcana #muriel of the kokhuri #31 days of arcana #31daysofarcana #muriel x reader #muriel x apprentice #muriel x mc #muriel x oc #muriel x you #muriel x y/n #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana muriel #the arcana oneshot #muriel oneshot #muriel imagine

[ahjustroza]

Hello, could you write an HC about an GN!MC who used to be a mob boss or run an illegal organization and the Mains 6 + Valerius' Reaction? Doesn't need to be angsty just dramatic

I wanted to go dramatic with the CGs lmao. Also, it got long and everything is under the cut.

Warning!

Headcanon includes the mention of murder, suicide, crime, and depression. So I would say it is NSFW.

Mob Boss MC Headcanons

Asra

He always knew it

He knows everything about you even the things you don't know about yourself

I can see you as the type of boss that doesn't create mass murders for personal gain

However, I can see thievery, blackmailing, and playing your games dirty

Maybe illegal underground market business in the red market (a version of the black market in Vesuvia)

You are smart but also have a soft spot

For him

And only him

Since MC canonically lives with him for a long time I can only picture you being a mob boss in your past before him

But your past is probably still haunting you

You don't necessarily need a tragic childhood to be a mob boss

I want to leave the reasons up to you but I refuse to believe you would be cruel and unreasonable

Because you are all amazing human beings

Many people get into this lifestyle by mistake, choice, or by someone else's force

Whatever reason that made you get into this lifestyle however did change you

You have trust issues, always on defensive mode, and always observing everything around you for possible threats or problems

But he came into your life and became the center of it

You told him what you did before moving to Vesuvia step by step

Not in one go

You tried to see how he would react to you

When you couldn't keep this secret from him anymore, you just told him

It was very impulsive of you

Highly surprising

You told him how you started from the bottom and climbed to the top

you told him how everyone in your home knows your name

How many people were your followers and how if you ask they will come and continue to follow you without a question

You did dirty work, you hurt people too

Violence is something he can not tolerate

At all

But just like you, he is also at the loss of words when any topic comes to the possibility of you leaving

He doesn't want you to go

And you don't want to leave

So expect him to stay away from you for a while

He will not speak of it out loud ever again

Never going to tell anything to even Muriel

No one has to know

Because you are now here and a different person

He will assume that you did what you did to survive

Just like his best friend...

When you lose your memories and slowly starting to gain them back

He is hesitant to answer any question regarding your past

But he knows that he has to

So he does

And you get involved in the red market

Asra is disappointed but you assure him that it is to find ingredients for your magic shop

He will never leave you, but he is not approving illegal business

Yet who he is to judge?

He made a ritual to bring you back by killing the Count of Vesuvia

So he is more on the stick close to you so that you won't get hurt side

Nadia

She will either use your connections for spy mastering or lock you up until she gets rid of your gang/illegal organization

But oh no she will not give up on you for being a simple mob boss oh no

She grew up into the royalty and probably dealt with and seen worst situations

She will not allow you to put yourself into any kind of danger and if she must she will put you on house arrest or even lock you up in dungeons

She dealt with a crazy husband before and she learned from her mistakes

So do as she says

She will give you two options, either listen to her or leave Vesuvia completely

Nadia will want her answer on the spot because if you truly want to be with her, you shouldn't need a lot of time to think about it

She will be even more dominant around you

She will make sure to remind you who has the power

If you leave Vesuvia she will never want to see you again

But she will be there personally to put you to the ground if you cause any trouble

If you choose to stay then you have another two options

You leave the business completely or run it for her favor

Provide him important information about the underground market and other organizations in Vesuvia

Yet that only can happen if you can hide your identity as a mob boss

So get creepy and wear a Tokyo Ghoul mask during business hours

I'd say if you chose to go disguise and spy on the underground for Nadia

You two will be the dictionary definition of the power couple

Like hot damn

Imagine

You live like royalty during the day and go be a mob boss during the night

She will even make you her spymaster if you are willing

Julian

He will volunteer to be your henchman (is this what it is called?)

Yeah

You have now extra trouble because he is not leaving your side

He will even find you more connections for business

He knows key people in different countries and cities

He knows roads to pass without getting caught

He did live this lifestyle for quite a long time after all

Minus the mob boss part

He is by no means not letting anyone he doesn't like to even have an audience with you

My man knows his way with people and not afraid to put up a fight for you

He is impulsive but useful in the underground world

He is a doctor without a license (or it is just a myth? who really knows...) so he was really doing illegal consultations on regular basis lol

He will patch you up when you get hurt and probably will teach you how you can make lethal damage to your enemy during a fight by teaching you anatomy

You will have to send him to horny jail whenever he talks about anatomy because he is a visual learner

And the best way he teaches anything is to show you

So lock him up

It's not like he will resist

He is good with reading body language too

I can think of Julian to be giving you the most understanding reaction when you tell him that you are a mob boss

He has a history (again I remind you)

So if he is in love with you, he is stuck to your side and yes he will still have his leeches with him

His plague doctor mask becomes popular underground too

If you didn't know better, even you would find him scary and intimidating looking during the friendly business hours

And Julian being Julian, he will insist that you find yourself a mask too

So that you will be a power couple

But make it romantic

However, this is the best scenario where you are just doing business in the red market by selling illegal goods, or being a Mob Boss Robin Hood

if you do unacceptable things, such as cruelty towards children and the innocent

And anything violent that including torture and murder,

He will end this all himself

Julian is dramatic but if he had to kill you because there is no other way to stop you he will

Then will follow you not too long after.

Portia

She will hate to hear that.

Portia is strong but fragile at the same time

She has a strong emotional connection to you and you are probably one of those people she trusts more than anyone

So when you say that you are a mob boss she is broken

Hurt and disappointed

But mostly confused

She doesn't know what to do with this

What to do with you, with what you have between the both of you

She loves you a million

But you are wrong with your life decisions

the good and the bad fights inside of her mind when she tries to make a decision

She will either leave everything behind and live a life similar to what her brother had to live

Or let you go to be yourself and get hurt

She will never forget you or never stop loving you

But she will be in a deep depression after you leave her

Most likely never recover

Because you broke the trust she gave you

So if you want her

If you want to be with her

You have to play your cards right

You are on very thin ice here

You can literally break her in a way without a return

So chose your life carefully

What do you want to do as a mob boss?

Will, you hurt people? Cause trouble and chaos? Torture the innocent and break families?

Or will you just do underground illegal trades and sales?

She can keep your secret if you just do your business in the red market

But she will not tolerate you causing harm to others

She will hate it but will stop you no matter the cost before you become the monster you two fought while falling in love with each other

You have her heart

But she has yours too

So she will not allow anyone else to stop you and do it herself

Because she is afraid for others to put you down in a painful way

She'll stop you rather gently

Caress your cheek while crying beside you

She will never forgive you but also will never stop loving you

You are her only big love and will remain like that forever

Or

She will be the person she was while Julian was on the run

Always nervous and always having anxiety and panic attacks

She won't leave you no

No no no no.

She rather dies than spend a day without the thought of you not loving her

Being there for her

She refuses very strongly to let you go and also get caught.

So in this scenario, you two are still together and preferably alive

But she is in agony every second of the day

And you know that this is all your fault

Yet continue anyway.

Muriel

No.

He is not accepting this.

He will be furious and hurt so much that he will tell you to go right away

He trusted you and you betrayed him

There is not much to say for Muriel

He doesn't want to see you again

Even though he wants you

He dreamed about having a peaceful life with you

But he will not go over all the pain he had caused by violence and power

Lucio

You already know he is down

He will do anything for you

Destroy enemy mob boss?

Run the entire underground together?

Invade a city so that you can make the illegal legal?

Do you want someone dead?

Do you want him to arm people for you?

Recruit followers?

Done.

With the potential he has there is no option to stay peaceful in the underground business

Even if you just mention that you want to make a certain business

He'll take it as order the moment it comes out of your mouth

It will be scary

Terrifying even

You will be unstoppable

Valerius

Lmao you probably got him cornered and forced him to work with you

And he got so turned on that said yes on the spot

But made it look as he was the victim here

He seems to be distressed with your connection but secretly he likes the power you have

You do as you please, take whatever you want

And people in the palace have no idea

He knows that you are smart

Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to become a boss and run your business flawlessly

He'll support you financially of course

Under the table

But the real job he does is to give you information

He is also good at creating gossips and rumors as well

He is connected to the high class and works in the palace so it is really hard for people to make any kind of connection between him and you

He pretends to make investigations about your illegal business but what he actually does is mislead the palace

In return, you get him precious stuff

Expensive wine, silk clothes, anything he wants

Oh my god Valerius is your sugar baby and he doesn't even know

Whenever you tell him to see you he is there the moment he can leave his work

He likes to be around you but plays hard to get

He loves to see you struggle and frustrated

He will not give you away but don't expect him to go down with you if you get caught either

He cares about his reputation

The best he can do is to help you escape in a way people can't make connections with him

Then you will most likely become his sugar baby-ish for a while

He will boss you around but the second you remind him who you are he will act bratty

Oh does he likes being bratty

#the arcana headcanons #the arcana #the arcana julian #julian devorak #asra alnazar #asra the magician #the arcana asra #the arcana nadia #the arcana portia #the arcana muriel #the arcana lucio #the arcana valerius #muriel of the kokhuri #the arcana game #nadia satrinava #portia devorak #lucio morgasson #asra headcanons #portia headcanons #nadia headcanons #lucio headcanons #muriel headcanons #julian headcanons #consul valerius #valerius headcanons #angst? #drama #mob boss au #some writing

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hey, how are you doing? How was coming back to work?

If I can be curious, let me ask you this super hard (or maybe simple, it depends), question: who's your favorite character and why? Also, which one do you find the most easy to understand/write?

Have a nice day my friend, cheers 😊

@dolceaspidenera hi! I'm so happy to hear from you! ^.^

And ooh, those are good questions. I won't answer them completely, but I will give you honest answers ^.^ I apologize in advance for what turned into a character analysis mini-essay XD

I do have a favorite character of the M6, but I prefer not to write like it on this blog. I think it's awesome when fan creators focus on their favorite characters - it means that everything they make is done out of love! - and it's almost something you'd expect in a dating sim fandom when you have to choose one specific character to experience most of the story with. I initially chose not to do that just because I genuinely enjoy writing for connections with all of the M6, even if there's very few that I would want a specifically romantic connection with. Every single one of them are characters that I'd be happy to get to know, as a lover, or an honorary sibling, or a close friend.

The longer I write like that, the happier I am that I do. It means I've explored aspects of the world of the Arcana that I wouldn't have initially been invested in, but that have contributed so much to the story! It also means that I get to chat with people who have so many different perspectives on the game because of their own preferences, and I've learned a lot from them!

As to who is more or less easy to write - that changes based on the prompt. For example, prompts that reference pre-prologue Vesuvia are a lot harder to write with Portia, simply because she didn't arrive there until after Lucio's "death" and because the game doesn't really delve into the life she's had there since. And the hardest prompts for me to write in general are for MC with specific familiars, only because those are characters I haven't read about XD

There are also themes I wish I could explore more, sometimes, for all the M6, but doing so would require so much speculation that it would be hard to keep the headcanons feeling "canon." Julian's life before Vesuvia, for example - he's been knocking all around the world since his teens, and of the two or so decades that that comprises, he's only spent a few years of that in Vesuvia. He glamorizes his adventures when he talks about them, but nobody in their late teens acts as a medic on a battlefield for their apprenticeship without taking away some kind of baggage. When does he break down without dramatics or smokescreens? When does he learn to talk about a painful past without trying to redirect his hurt into drama? When does he learn the healthy kind of selfishness that lets him be completely honest?

Asra's so emotionally private it's hard to get a read on them sometimes. We know they're deeply in love with MC and that that's been a shaping influence on them for the last nine years - but what else? There's so much about him that aches to be known, which he frequently tells MC in his route, but he still treats his relationship with them like it's fragile and new. What happens when things are more settled and they know MC isn't at constant risk of falling apart? Did they ever feel betrayed by MC for not leaving Vesuvia with them? Did they ever feel resentful of MC for causing that much relational pain, or at the very least, for holding them in a full-time caregiving role for three years? When does he learn to depend on them to the point of exposing them to his own ugly thoughts and feelings?

Nadia, for all of her capacity, is still very emotionally young. She's just beginning to process her feelings regarding her own family, which stem from her childhood and were never addressed directly until they were invited to the Masquerade. She has a deep-seated lack of faith in her own strengths, which MC has had the chance to help her overcome, but that attitude has been affecting her perception of other people's opinions of her for most of her life. At what point does she learn how to interpret someone's concern for her as something other than belittlement? At what point does she learn how to recognize and apologize for her own mistakes in a relationship without experiencing it as self-rejection? At what point does she learn to recognize someone else's strength without comparing it to her own and feeling challenged if she doesn't measure up?

Muriel's especially hard to predict physically. He has a whole host of reasons to feel the way he does about his body in relation to himself and others. It could be easy to say that, as he heals in his relationship with MC, he learns to enjoy and seek out physical pleasure as he overcomes trauma (in multiple ways, like food, and comfort, and intimacy). But when it does come to physical intimacy, Muriel is so easily read as demi/asexual that his interest in that aspect of a relationship doesn't really act as a good benchmark for healing. Maybe his aversion to touch is only trauma-related, and underneath that gruffness is a pent-up, touch-starved lover. Maybe he stays consistently disinterested in that kind of physical pleasure, simply because that's the way he is - and there is nothing wrong with that. But we don't know how that progresses.

So much of Portia's life is missing. We don't know much of what her life was like before she came to Vesuvia after Lucio's "death", and we honestly don't know much of what it was like after. We know that she's friends with all the palace employees and that she has a close connection with Nadia, and that's it. It's hard to know how she fits into a post-canon community because she remains so detached from the other M5 throughout her story. Most of what we know of her life with MC afterwards is that she spends a lot of it on a ship. She's the kind of person who thrives in building and maintaining community, and yet we have so few clues about what that looks like. Does she become like family with the sailors, assuming that the ship keeps the same crew? Does her new status give her a peer-based relationship with Nadia? Does she try to keep Julian in her life, or do they drift apart again? Does she eventually create a new home base in a different country?

And, well, I've already a written a whole character analysis of Lucio. We know that he's determined to become an honest man, but we don't know how that plays out. Does he get tired? Does he find a stopping point at "morally gray"? Does he stick it out and become one of the most emotionally healthy characters? Does he ever settle down somewhere else and build a life there? Does he stay in touch, or reconnect with anyone from Vesuvia and build a new friendship with them?

Anyways, those are some of the rabbit trails I let my brain loose on sometimes, and those are a lot of the character aspects I have a harder time writing for because it's so open-ended. Maybe another creator will read this and have answers I don't yet XD

Thanks for your questions, friend, I hope you don't mind my mini-essay!

brainrot

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #fandom essay #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[spaghettidrawing]

Alright, I finally took the time to introduce you to my MC named Ania. I would like to tell you few things about her since I am still going to work on her full design and even more on her backstory. Also, this is my first time writing something like this so there is big possibility there are some mistakes and there might be some changes in the future but who knows. Please don’t hate me.

Ania (before and during the Red plague) Before the story took turns in Vesuvia, Ania in her early years spend her life in the hometown with her mother Jane Reityr. Already as a kid she was showing a lot of interest in magic books, wizard stories and cats.

While growing up she would visit her aunt in Vesuvia very often who owned a magic shop. Learning different kind of spells and how to make potions, never learnt how to fly the broom though. After few years she became the owner of the shop instead and moved to Vesuvia, where she met Asra and became friends and roommates with him.

Unluckily when the Red plague started to be a big threat, they ended up in an argument about leaving the Vesuvia. Ania tried to explain they should not leave, because they are magicians, and they could help or at least try to help the people who were suffering. While Asra being determined that it is too dangerous and practically a suicide. This argument ended up with Asra leaving Vesuvia and Ania trying to find a way to deal with the plague.

In this part of timeline Ania was cheery and confident girl. At the same time she was a bit shy and not sure how to talk to people but after spending some time with them she would try to make everyone laugh with silly jokes or random stories which happened in her hometown. 

She would still prefer just to stay friends with everyone. She didn’t want to let anyone closer because she was afraid of the pain her mother had to go through when she lost her husband. But well, that changed when she met someone special during the plague.

Ania (Amnesiac) When Ania was resurrected all she was, all she knew was gone. Everything was unknown for her, making her scared literally of everything. She would always just hide herself in the blankets or different kind of clothes all the time. Most of her first days or maybe weeks, were just her hiding behind or under the bed. Not wanting to eat or drink. It was like she felt not welcomed? Asra would try to bring her anything to make her feel more comfortable. One time he also brought some papers and pencils. To find out few hours later that Ania draw few scribbles of creepy pictures which looked like suffering souls or ghosts, while whispering weakly: „Home“.

After few months Asra was able to get Ania to move around the town, which never ended up well. Ania would constantly hear people whispering about her. „Wait, I thought she ****?” „Me as well, how is she *****? Didn’t she **** of the plague?” Sometimes while listening to whispers some unknown voice inside her would just scream in unknown language. „* ** *** ****!” Ania would just ran off to some empty streets or just anywhere to escape everything. 

One day she ran to a cloth market by mistake, or maybe to hide herself under sheets again. But in the shop, she started to admire one piece of cloth, the cloaks. The perfect piece of cloth to be able to make her hide from everything all the time. When Asra caught up to her and noticed her admiring he would offer her to buy some for her. But instead Ania would point at the textiles trying to say she would prefer to make her own. After that Asra would try to teach Ania how to sew. First of the cloaks looked terrible of course, but after some tries and practicing, she eventually made her own cloak.

Ania (the main story) When Ania was able to speak properly and take care of herself, Asra would often leave her alone in the shop on her own for his reasons. This would make her character just more closed and not wanting to know anyone much. Still, she had to be somehow friendly for the shop and for the customers so they would be happy to come back. She learned the fake smile technique.

Then one day she met someone who would change everything for her, even though it was in inappropriate way. The time when the fugitive doctor, also known as Julian Devorak broke into her shop, was an important moment. Not just shocking and confusing but also kind of… irritating, and for some reason irritation seemed familiar. This dramatic man who jumps to conclusions and doesn’t even let her finish talking. 

This was the first time something felt familiar to her. Something familiar in a person, something that she might know or understand on her own. True, she was able to understand her magic, but there was still something unknown about it, and this person… 

That was one of the reasons why she wanted to know more about Dr. Devorak. During Julian story Ania would slowly find pieces of her old self and build up her encouragement. Since the care for Julian was more important to her then her insecurity. Plus, that man would constantly get himself in trouble (what a silly).

Alright, I wanna leave it at this. At least for now. How I said I want to work on this more. Plus I wanna put the story into comics sooo… Truth is comics are complicated and takes time so who knows how long that is gonna take… BUT I WONT GIVE UP! Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this, I know its not the best written thing you read. I am sorry for my English and… yeeea. If you have some tips please let me know. Thanks!

#the arcana #the arcana game #fan apprentice #the arcana fan apprentice #the arcana mc #character design #backstory #the arcana fanart #ania the apprentice #the arcana ania

[crowtrinkets]

Loved, Past Tense

WARNING: LUCIO REVERSED ENDING SPOILERS

--

Word Count: 2,123

The apprentice is now the devil, they have the undying love and admiration of Lucio. But they cannot help by miss Asra their friend. With their new-found knowledge and powers, they attempt to talk to Asra, confront him.

I was inspired after reading Lucio’s revered ending, plz don’t judge my attempt at angst too hard.

--

The click of Lucio’s boots exiting through the gate as he heads back to the mortal world echoes in my realm. That's right. My realm. I run my clawed hand along my throne admiring its handiwork. I wonder how many millennia the previous devil spent sitting here, waiting for entertainment. I do not desire to grow bored here all alone while Lucio makes conquests for Vesuvia in the name of the Devil. My name. Nadia fights back with her family in Prakra, I feel a slight tinge of remorse knowing she’s fighting so hard. I wish she would submit it would make things so much easier if my friends were on my side. Then there is the matter of Asra. My dear teacher, my friend, he left without so much as a goodbye. I wish he said goodbye. With a wave of my magic, an image appears before me. My shop, our shop. It looks like no one has been home in months. The dust building on the counter brings a frown to my face.

"I have to find him."

I will the image away placing my hands in my lap. I’ll have to meditate on this. Becoming the Devil gave me a vast knowledge of the unknown. Secrets I never knew as a mortal suddenly became common knowledge to me. I know about my past, all the details of it, Asra's deal with the Arcana. If I were not how I am now I may have lost my mind with the knowledge of my life before my death, but I’m stronger now. Asra and I share a heart, I can use my magic, my power to find him. It’s just a matter of if he will let me. Closing my eyes I reach out, with my magic or my newfound powers I cannot tell the difference. It seems they merged together. I find a thread and grab it, but it severs the minute I grab hold. Asra must have recognized me. I will find him. I lounge into my throne admiring the palace-like structure the devil created for this realm, it's a little vast for my taste but maybe I’m just used to my shop. No matter, I have other things to worry about.

—-

I stand out in the red fields, running my hand over a crater and filling it with water. I have found that Asra is partial to water magic. I have tracked his location without raising suspicions. It was all thanks to my creatures that Lucio is so fond of. I managed to find an item tethered to Julian and tracked him, being as they are traveling together, Asra as well. They’re in some far off desert town. Whatever they’re doing there I do not know, nor do I care, I just want to talk to Asra. I wave my hand over the water and concentrate on Julian's aura. He doesn’t use a lick of magic so he wouldn’t even notice my presence.

“Asra! Tubs free!” I hear the ring of a man's voice, Julian's, judging by the red hair poking underneath a towel as he walks out of view.

“Thank you, Julian, did you refill it?” Asra's voice.

“Ah I did, I hope the water is a good temperature?” I roll my eyes at the attempt of flirting. I hear Julian leave and the door close. Asra lets out a sigh, I hear the movement of fabric, as he removes his shirt. Asra approaches the tub reaching a hand towards the water, but stops when he sees my face staring back at him.

“Hello Asra,” is all I can muster to say. Asra stares stunned for a minute then starts.

“H-hello,” it seems he’s at a loss for words, rare for him.

“Why have you been hiding, why haven’t you visited me,” Asra’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“I don’t understand, why would I visit you? Do you know the carnage Lucio has laid waste to in Vesuvia?” His voice is in a harsh whisper, he doesn’t want the others to hear that he’s talking to me. No matter I do not care about them.

“Lucio is doing what I asked of him, those people don’t understand I’m doing them a service,” I continue to stare Asra down, my eyes refusing to leave his. He looks at me, his expression neutral but I can see behind his eyes. Fear, anger, sadness, I can feel it in our shared hearts.

“Allowing people to die? Raiding nearby territories? That's what you call service? What happened to you?” Asra grips the edges of the tub, disgust forming on his face. “Why did you leave us, back there, with the world turtle, you didn't even say anything, no goodbye….. No nothing,” I feel the taste of anger settle in my mouth.

“Why did you leave me!” I hiss, leaning close to the water. Asra takes a step back. “All those days you left on your journeys, leaving me to run the shop on my own, disappearing in the morning without so much as a goodbye?”

“You wouldn’t understand, MC-“

“Oh? Wouldn’t I?” I tap the water with a claw, allowing it to distort and ripple the image of Asra. I reach into the water and allow myself to be engulfed. For a second I don't see anything, then my eyes settle. I'm in the bathroom Asra is in. It’s small, wooden, there is a multitude of towels folded on shelves, countless bottles of soaps and scents on a table. A window behind me reveals a vast desert. I turn back and face Asra who looks up at me in horror.

“Do not be afraid Asra, I mean you no harm, I just want to know why,” he takes a step back, craning his neck up as I stand in the bathtub. I crouch down into the tub, sitting so my height is less intimidating. If I wanted to scare him I would’ve done it ages ago.

“I-I can’t tell you,” Asra avoids my eyes, looking to the floor instead, as he backs up and falls into a stool. He puts his head into his hands and lets out a sigh.

“I know, Asra,” he looks up at me. Before he starts I interrupt. “I know everything, I know about my death, how I died of the plague. How we were friends before… more than friends,” I pause allowing my words to take root. “Your deal, the reason my memories were wiped. I. Know. Everything.” I growl, gripping the edges of the tub, leaning forward to emphasize my words, my anger at his secrets. Asra gawks for a second, leaning his elbows on his knees before he starts.

“Then why bother asking if you know everything, I ran away for a reason, MC… To get away from you,” There's a hint of anger in his wavering voice.

“Then why leave, if you were so fond of me Asra, why did you not act on it, I have seen realities where you and I could have been together,” I can feel tears welling in my eyes, but I barely feel the sadness, it remains in the back of my mind, sitting behind a glass wall, visible but unreachable. “I loved you Asra... Loved,” Asra winces at confession.

“I should have been there for you,” his voice wavers, tears threatening to leave his eyes.

“Yes! You should have... You left the second before Countess Nadia came into our shop that night. Maybe you knew it was her, and you wanted to get rid of me... you were tired of taking care of me and you didn't have the courage to say anything,” Asra stands.

“No, no no that’s not what happened! I-I I couldn’t bear the thought of not being with you, holding you, calling you mine. W-when I would tell you of your past you would go into this catatonic state,” Asra’s voice begins to break. “I couldn’t bear to hurt you anymore so I had to let you go... B-but for you to end up with Lucio? Why would you do this to me… I loved you,”

“Lucio has shown me more love and dedication than you ever have!” I lurch forward sending the baths water over the edge.

“You call that love? Him blindly following you like a lost pup?” Asra tenses. I can see the mental battle going on in his mind. I can feel the way his heart pounds in his chest, as mine mimics his.

“Lucio stole my parents from me… I was so alone for years, having to fend for myself,” he places a hand on his chest, attempting bravado.

“Your parents brought that among themselves, they knew the terms of their deal with the devil and the took it,” I bark out, window-rattling behind me. “Lucio was doing what was asked of him by the devil, the fact that your parents even took the deal says a lot about them, about you,” Asra of all people should know that deals are not a one-sided project.

He reaches down and picks up the shirt he previously removed and grabs hold of the doorknob. At that moment I summon chains to grab hold of the knob and slam it close before Asra can make his way out. Asra flinches and stares at them, backing up and leaning against the wall, his stare shifts to me, cold and deadpanned.

“I may have forgiven Lucio for what he did to me, but that does not change his past! The things he did,”

“People can change Asra,” I say almost sing-song.

“You’ve changed… For the worst,” his voice shakes, his fists clench and I can feel his magic reach out, trying to find anything to fight me with.

“Oh yes Asra, I have changed,” I step out of the bath, one hoof at a time, sauntering towards to him, as though we were having a friendly conversation. Towering over him I can feel the fear creeping up inside him.

“But not for the worst. You and I, master, we’re similar.” Asra’s eyebrows furrow in confusion and anger. “You recreated me, for your own selfish means, why couldn’t you just let me stay dead? You wanted a weak, helpless follower. To worship you, love you and you got what you wanted,” I reach up towards Asra’s head.

“N-no that’s not what I wante-“ I grab him by his hair, angling him so he can look at me properly. He hisses in pain grabbing my wrist attempting to pull free. But my grip is too strong.

“And now that I’ve surpassed you, you can’t bear the thought. Your poor little Apprentice doesn’t need you anymore. So you run away, hide from your regrets, I will always know where you are, Asra,” I lift my hand, poking a claw into Asra’s chest right over his heart, not enough to break the skin, but enough to sting. His breath hitches when I make contact. “We share a heart remember? I know everything you’re feeling, I know you feel disgusted and fearful. But you even yearn for me. You can’t forget me,” I see a spark of magic forming in Asra’s hand, I summon chains to bind his hands above his head before he does.

“You’re no better than the last devil,” he chokes out through pained gasps. Tears fall from his face, but his expression remains full of anger. Hatred.

“Maybe, maybe not, but you can’t do anything to stop me. Killing the devil almost destroyed me. That’s why I had to become him, you could never do something like that… Lucio saved my life he aided in my ascension, you revived me to keep me to yourself,” I let go of Asra and back up towards to tub, keeping eye contact. Once again I feel tears threatening to fall from my eyes, but I do not feel sorrow. Asra on the other hand is crying. I feel his heartbreak, and mine as well but I am numb to the feeling.

“I-I hate you…” He means it.

“That may be so, but you still love me as well,” I step back into the tub.

“I HATE YOU!” Asra flings a bottle at my head but I am already sinking in the water, too fast for it to make contact. I hear a crash and then nothing.

I pull my head from the water, sitting up. I am back in my realm, sitting on the edge of the water. I look back down but there is no image, just the reflected red sky above me and my face, distorted by shadows. Something drops into the water causing it to ripple. I bring a hand to my face.

Tears.

#the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fic #the arcana asra #the arcana julian #the arcana lucio #asra alnazar #julian devorak #lucio montag #lucio morgasson #lucio route #lucio reversed ending #crow writes

[wonderlandgoblin]

Hello! I hope your doing alright, if it’s ok could you do one where Mc wakes up in the middle of the night to get a snack and runs into an intruder who attacks them and they call out for the main six? If it’s easier for you you could just do Lucio and Julian unless you’d prefer all of them, which ever you’d like ^^

Hello! I have no excuse for why i took this long, i just wanted to say im sorry and i reaally hope you enjoy it 🥰❣ 

Intruder at night Main 6 

Asra

You and Asra had a tendency to forget to sleep.

It was late at night and the both of you had the idea to make a baking contest which turned into a make out session in the middle of it.

By the time you remembered that you were cooking, a lot of the ingredients that were on the counter had fallen to the ground, making a huge mess.

As Asra tried to clean up, you went downstairs to pick up more ingredients.

Once you got down to the shop, you were surprised to find another person with you.

You scream startled, making the person jump and run for the exit.

You cast an offensive spell, but considering how dark it is, you end up missing the target.

Asra comes running down the stairs just as the intruder reaches the door.

Together, you menage to stop them.

After being roughened up by the two most powerful magicians in Vesuvia, they are unlikely to invade any other establishment any time soon.

Once they’re out of sight, Asra turns to you, pulling you into his arms.

He holds you tight, telling you how scared he was when he heard you scream and how proud he was of your courage and bravery.

It was a while before he let you go.

When the two of you went back inside, the baking contest had been forgotten and all Asra wanted to do was take care of you.

He stirred you to the bathroom where you helped each other clean up from all the mess your baking caused.

You were trembling from head to toe, too shook up about what happened.

The warm water and Asra’s soft hands on your skin were a blessing, urging you to relax.

You didn’t say a thing. There was a silent understanding between you. You didn’t need to talk… you just needed each other.

Once you were both clean, you went straight to bed.

Asra held you tight as you fell asleep, feeling thankful to have him in moments like this.

Nadia

If anyone ever had the courage to invade the palace or the shop of the countess’ partner, they sure would regret it.

If that event ever happened, the culprit would suffer dire consequences and, gods forbid you were hurt or even scared from the invasion.

Although Nadia wasn’t a violent person, she wouldn’t hesitate to sentence anyone to a hanging if they dared hurt the one she loved.

When it came to making sure you were okay, Nadia would have the entire palace staff do anything she could think of to comfort you.

She would have them prepare your favorite meal, hire a band to play your favorite songs, buy you all the most beautiful and expensive flowers, all to make you feel better.

She would even have Valerius take over her duties as countess for the day, so she could spend it with you.

You would be covered in kisses and caresses until you told her to stop, although she would constantly disobey your orders (it’s not like you were complaining).

The entire day would be like a date, she’d take care of you and make sure you felt like the most loved person in the world.

Because you most certainly were.

Julian

He’d desperately ask if you were okay and check you for any injuries or wounds.

If he found any indication you had been harmed, he would rush to get his medical kit and would start treating you on the spot.

Once you were treated, he wouldn’t really know what to do to comfort you and make you feel better, so he’d take you to someone he was sure would know what to do.

You would be ushered to Mazelinka’s so you could have some of her famous soup.

If you tried to resist, Julian would carry you himself.

Mazelinka was happy to make you anything you wanted and, as she cooked, she would ramble about how reckless the invader was and how she would’ve given them an ass beating if she was around when it happened.

You wait patiently for the food, with Julian’s arm wrapped around your shoulder.

You didn’t talk much, which was a first when it came to Julian.

He kept glancing at you every five seconds, as if making sure you were still there.

Once you ate, Mazelinka retired to the hole, offering you both the bed.

As you got ready to sleep, Julian barely said a word.

You decided not to pry. It’s not like he could keep to himself for very much longer.

Eventually, his façade broke.

As you set down on the bed, he pulled you into his lap, holding you so tight it got a little hard to breathe.

With his head buried in your hair, he admitted how scared he’d been when he saw the intruder fighting you.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you”.

It didn’t take much to assure Julian you were alright.

A few kisses and a few sweet words were enough to have him melting under you and kissing you back fervently.

That night, you desperately hoped Mazelinka was a heavy sleeper.

Muriel

You were alone at the hut and Muriel had gone out to collect more firewood or something like that.

That’s when a stranger knocked on the door.

They said they were traveling and needed a place to spend the night. They were hoping you’d let them come in for a hot meal and a place to sleep.

You let them in. You couldn’t just leave them out in the woods at night!

You offered them dinner and you both started a conversation.

The stranger seemed very… well… strange.

The longer you spent with them, the more unease you felt.

Eventually they started flirting and coming on to you.

You pushed them away and asked they leave, but they wouldn’t listen.

They tried to pull you in for a kiss and despite your effort to throw them out the door, they weren’t making it easy.

Finally, the door was thrown open from the outside and Muriel walked in.

The stranger was paralyzed with fright, which gave you the opportunity to push them away.

Muriel didn’t take long to read the room, and with one murderous look he sent the stranger running.

As they ran out the door, Innana decided to chase them just for good measure.

Muriel didn’t waste any time in crossing the room and pulling you into his arms.

You were shaking with both anger and fear while hot tears streamed down your cheeks, but having Muriel holding you was working in calming you down ever so slightly.

He didn’t question you about what happened, he simply hugged you until your trembling and crying subsided.

He gently pulled away, with a kiss at the top of your head.

He led you to the bed, got you blankets and furs and grew the fire.

As he turned to make you tea, Innana climbed on the bed with you, giving your face a few licks before laying her head on your lap.

Muriel came back with your tea and sat beside you.

You leaned against him, straying for all the comfort and heat you could get.

You hadn’t quite comprehended what happened, but you couldn’t shake away the fear of what might have happened if Muriel hadn’t arrived when he did.

You both stayed silent.

There was nothing to say, and Muriel seemed to understand that.

He stayed by your side, hugging you close, and that was enough for now.

The next day, after a very much needed night of sleep, you woke up to find Muriel outside, putting up more protective spells.

You smile as you sneak behind him and hug him from the back.

He startles but pulls you in for a kiss as you say “thank you”.

Portia

She would most likely beat the crap out of anyone who ever tried to hurt you so… yeah.

She would scare them so much that when the guards came to arrest the intruder, they’d be happy to go as long as they got away from Portia.

After the culprit was dealt with, Portia would cover you in blankets and make you tea.

The two of you would cuddle with Pepi as you told Portia how you were feeling, and she covered you with kisses and caresses.

She would listen to every word you said and do her best to be there for you.

She would tell you stories and jokes to make you laugh and you would stay up late into the night just talking (and kissing too).

The next day she would ask Nadia to relieve her from work so she could spend the day with you.

Nadia obviously agreed and you spent the entire day with Portia all to yourself.

You had a picnic at the gardens, walked throughout the town, and made your last stop at the Rowdy Raven.

When you came back home, there was no memory of the night before or of the intruder.

There was only Portia, laughing and stumbling inside her house.

Her hair and clothes were a mess, and she was sweating from all the dancing you did back in the Raven.

But her eyes were shining, and her smile was so beautiful it took your breath away as she pulled you closer, whispering “I love you”, and kissing you deeply.

Lucio

Lucio woke up in the middle of the night feeling terribly cold.

When he realized you weren’t in bed with him, he assumed that was the reason why (not the fact that he was sleeping practically naked on a winter night).

Instead of putting on more clothes or getting more blankets (like a normal person would), he decided to go look for you around the palace.

He mopped around for 5 minutes before going to the dogs for help.

Mercedes and Melchior weren’t very happy about being woken up in the middle of the night, but after some pets and a promise of snacks, they were ready to search for you.

They found you being comforted by one of the palace guards, while another disappeared in the distance.

You had been attacked by an intruder, but, luckily, the guards heard the commotion and came to help.

As soon as he heard you were attacked, Lucio’s expression contorted in anger and he didn’t lose a second before telling Mercedes and Melchior to find the intruder and chased after them.

The guard escorted you back to Lucio’s room and assured you that they would keep watch all night.

It worked on making you feel safer, but you were mostly worried about Lucio.

As if on cue, Lucio burst into the room. He desperately looked around searching for you and when he finally set his eyes on you, Lucio crossed the space between you in a second, pulling you into a tight hug.

He kept asking how you were, if you were hurt, what he could do… he promised the person would pay, and said he’d already made sure that they regretted ever coming near you.

He pulled away, cupping your face in his hands to look into your eyes.

That’s when you noticed the blood. Both on his face and on his hands.

You pulled away, taking his hands into yours.

The look you gave him must’ve been harsh, since he let out an “oopsie”.

Before going back to bed, you cleaned the blood off him and through the entire time, he wouldn’t take his eyes off of you.

Once the blood was gone and you helped Lucio put away his golden arm, you both settled to sleep.

But before you could lie down, he took your hand in his and, as he stared into your eyes, he took a deep breath and said “I know I’m not the kind of person you expected to end up with. I know you think I shouldn’t have hurt that guy but… I protect the things I love.” There was a strong resolution in his tone. “And I love you so much, y/n. I’d do anything for you. I will never let anyone hurt you again”.

You’d never seen Lucio look this serious before.

Looking deep into your eyes, with his makeup all smudged, his hair a complete mess and without his treasure arm, he looked so vulnerable…

Maybe he wasn’t the kind of person you’d expected to end up with, but you were sure as hell that he was the one you wanted.

You smile and tenderly comb your hand through his hair, pulling him closer.

His breathe catches as your mouths are barely touching.

“And I…”, you whispered “…would do anything for you, my love”.

At last, you pull him in for a passionate yet delicate kiss.

#the arcana #asra alnazar #asra the arcana #the arcana headcanons #asra headcanons #count lucio #headcanon #nadia satrinava #portia the arcana #portia headcanons #julian devorak #muriel headcanons #the arcana julian #lucio headcanons #the arcana nadia #request #myarcanawritings

[xaharadesert]

Return to the Lazaret Alone Pt. 2 - Headcanon

Portia Devorak x MC

A/N: Part 2/6 for @snarkfinnsoup! Part 1 was posted a little while ago for anyone who wants to read Julian’s part! Lucio’s up next :) Requests are open!

TW: Lazaret, mentions of death, relationship insecurities, anxiety, crying, isolation, food mention

🧡Portia🧡

When she first woke up and noticed you weren’t by her side, she didn’t think much of it

Frankly, you were both very busy people, and as much as she would love to spend her mornings with you, sometimes it just wasn’t possible

A small part of her was worried, though

She didn’t like fighting with you in the first place, but the longer you two went without resolving things, the worse she felt

She made herself a mental note to work things out peacefully with you that evening after work, but aside from that, she didn’t put much thought into the matter

Unfortunately she didn’t see you around the palace that day, which was a bit odd

She would usually bump into you at least once, on purpose or not

But today she had no such luck, which only made her heart ache more

By the time the sun began to set she was downright anxious

Her throat felt tight and the tears seemed to be building up behind her eyes as she rushed home, ready to just throw herself into your arms and apologize, regardless of who was right or wrong during the argument

When you weren’t there when she first got home, she tried to rationalize and assumed you were being held up at work

So she took the time to start making dinner, as well as a fresh batch of cookies to go with her apology

However, you didn’t come home at all that night

Portia was heartbroken, but she understood that maybe you just needed some space to sort out your own feelings before talking to her

She knew you were more than welcome to stay in the palace or with Asra, so she wasn’t super worried about where exactly you were, only that you felt you needed to isolate yourself

She decided she would find you and give you the best apology ever tomorrow, no matter how much you tried to avoid her

But she didn’t see you again the next day, and by then she knew that something would have to be horribly wrong for you to stay away that long

Your relationship was built on mutual trust and communication, and for you to avoid her like this was practically unheard of

She asked Nadia for a bit of time off, which she was fortunately given, and searched all of your regular spots around Vesuvia

But it seemed that you weren’t in any of them, and your friends didn’t seem to know where you were either

Clearly this called for more drastic measures

As much as she hated to trouble her, Portia knew that Nadia was a good friend of yours as well, and would be more than willing to spend resources on finding you

Nadia spread the message to her guards and soldiers that you were missing, and that they should keep an eye out for you and return you to the palace as soon as possible

However, this only worked after a few days, when you were already coming back to the palace, and more specifically, to Portia, on your own

By that time Portia was fully panicking, constantly crying and struggling to get any work done

Nadia had obviously given her more time off, and Julian had come to stay with her out of concern, but none of that changed the fact that you were missing and she felt like she had caused it

If you had been hurt or taken because you had run off because of your fight together, she would never forgive herself

So when she finally saw you walk back in the door, she immediately threw herself into your arms with enough force to topple you both to the floor

Tears were streaming down her face and she was wailing apology after apology, overwhelmed by a mix of both guilt and happiness

Honestly, as upset as you probably were about your argument, this might just have upset you more

You would have to be soulless to not feel terrible about how much she was crying

It would take an hour at least for her to calm down enough to talk to you properly about what had happened, and then at least three more for you to get your story out between her tears and questions

When you confirmed that you had left for the Lazaret because you felt bad about your argument, she was crying out apologies all over again, but if you mentioned any of the underlying insecurities you felt about your relationship, she would freeze up, not quite knowing what to do

She always did her best to communicate with you, but she had missed any signs of anxiety toward your relationship that you had had

This only made her feel worse, but she vowed that she would smother you in so much love that you would never ever be able to doubt your relationship again

Of course, there were other parts of your explanation that left her worried, but she wasn’t quite sure how to address them yet

She didn’t understand why you would want to spend your time isolated at the Lazaret, a place where you had literally died

But she didn’t know enough about magic and coming back from the dead to question it, so she left the topic alone for now

At the moment, she needed to focus on making you feel as loved as possible, and working with you to strengthen your communication about your relationship

But for someone as stubborn and as in love as her, it would be a piece of cake

#the arcana #the arcana headcanon #the arcana hc #arcana #arcana headcanon #arcana hc #Portia #Portia headcanon #Portia x mc #Portia devorak #Portia devorak headcanon #Portia hc #Portia devorak hc #Portia arcana #Portia arcana headcanon #Portia devorak x mc #Portia arcana hc #Lazaret #tw Lazaret #angst #tw angst #tw isolation #tw food mention #tw crying #tw relationship insecurities #tw anxiety #tw mention of death #pt 2/6 #pt 2 #I hope you all like it!

[evarcana]

Get Your Act Together

Ev changes her plans for the evening and goes to the theatre.

words: ~3,2k

warnings: mentions strangling but it is not what you think it is.

notes: I don’t want to commit to calling it Chapter II but this fic takes place not long after these events, and really is just silly.

“No, seriously, at first I thought it was just people talking but the idiot really never parts with his wine glass,” says Ev and reclines in the chair, exhausted by her own dramatic tone. She throws her head backwards, the dark hair, colour of burned bronze, falling down in soft glistering waves followed by the drapes of her silk jacket, and drags both hands across the face with a sigh, trying to wipe away the apparent annoyance, but the creases between her brows are too stubborn and she decides to hide it instead, burying her face under the shadows of her palms. “Ignorant alcoholic,” she hisses through her fingers.

Ev is sitting in the sun outside of the wine merchant at the narrow cobbled street conveniently tucked away between the hustle and bustle of the Main Square and the glamour of the Heart District. Back in the Prakran capital the street so central would be full of people running errands and the neighbours talking in front of the doors despite the afternoon heat and humidity but here the only signs of life at four o'clock are languid piano exercises played somewhere behind the closed shatters and the faint but energetic drumbeat of the carriage passing in the distance.

“So what happened?” A young woman with eyes which are lighter than the sky sets a jug of rosemary lemonade and a glass on Ev’s table and looks down at her, pressing the tray against the black apron decorated with the embroidered grapevines.

Ev lifts her hands an inch and peeks at the woman from the shadows, her eyes narrowed and gleaming with anger. “He kicked me out,” she states flatly.

“Why?”, the woman in black apron asks somewhat wearly and turns to the shop’s entrance where a small jar of paint and a brush are waiting on the tea towel covering the stone step below the door. The paint on the brush is the same deep burgundy as the woman’s shirt.

Ev considers meeting Anais to be her only luck in Vesuvia. Not only does she run the excellent wine shop which also functions as a small bar but she is living in the flat above it and seems to be permanently bored and ready to entertain Ev with some gossip and tips about the city, which makes her a perfect neighbour for somebody who has just moved to the new place completely alone.

Ev’s nose wrinkles at the sharp smell of paint as she watches Anais dipping her brush in the jar. “I made one of those little dolls which they use for cursing people up North and brought it to the palace,” she says. It had a little braid made from silk and wool threads and Ev painted its face with the thinnest makeup brush she could find in her vanity table. Ev smiles to herself thinking that it was the most crafty thing she has done since she was thirteen but notices Anais staring at her with the expression of the person questioning somebody’s sanity, and quickly raises her hands defensively, palms up. “Listen, I am not proud of that.”

Anais rolls her eyes good-humouredly and for a few minutes they both watch the brush moving rhythmically tracing precise lines on the wooden door frame in silence, before Anais turns to Ev again. “Didn’t it happen on Tuesday too?”

“Kicking out?”, Ev responds without lifting her eyes from the jug of lemonade, “it did”. She is busy poking slices of orange with a rosemary stem.

Anais watches Ev’s face, clearly expecting her to continue. But she does not. The silence between them is interrupted only by clicking of the ice cubes against the glass. Anais tilts her head to the side and says in a careful tone, “But you seem to be more angry today.”

Ev stabs the slice of blood orange she fished out to the liquid’s surface and it splatters the sour juice and bitter oils which make her eyes stink. She blinks a few times and gives the orrange a disapproving frown. “He called the guards,” she says. Her juvenile prank got out of hand. She definitely is not proud.

“What?” Anais’s voice raises in surprise and her paintbrush makes an uneven stroke which she rushes to cover.

“Yeah, I know.”

“But I don’t understand. Aren’t you a diplomat? They can’t really - “, she pauses thinking of the right word, “- stop you, can they?”

“No, but I can’t necessarily stop him neither”

Anais goes quiet, weighing Ev’s words in her head, while she paints. “So why do you keep on... talking to him?”, she asks finally and waves her brush in the air, “you don’t have to.”

Ev gives her a pointed look and then drops her eyes down, frowning once again. That is a very good question. Why does she keep on talking to him?

For the last few weeks Ev has stuck to the same routine: she comes to the palace daily, enquires a servant politely about the consul’s schedule for the day, finds Valerius, tosses a pile of paper in front of him, takes a seat opposite him and proceeds to picturing herself strangling him. Bare hands. The skin on his neck gets hot and damp with sweat underneath her fingers, his body is struggling against hers while she presses her knee against his chest holding him in place. She squeezes, and squeezes. Sometimes however she would get lost in her own imagination and her hands would slide up, fingers getting buried in the hair, her thumbs tracing delicate lines behind his earlobes. She doesn't know what happens after that, because she guillotines the thought. Those are moments of weakness and are luckily rare. It would be easier if he was ugly, and stupid. But he is pretty much the opposite. Yet another proof that she had no good luck in Vesuvia. After the weakness comes the inevitable irritation, which Valerius seems to sense like a sniffer dog, and before she knows they are engaged in one of their already signature yelling competitions which the servants undoubtedly gossip about in the corridors and kitchens. Ev would be surprised if the whole Vesuvia is not calling her a madwoman by now. Her only hope being that they think even worse things of their consul.

Hating someone is exhausting. Every interaction makes Ev’s blood boil, and her heart beat heavy and bright. Her mind does strange things and she honestly does not remember the last time she thought about something other than making Valerius do what she wants for longer than an hour. She wastes precious minutes of her life on someone who genuinely despises her.

She wishes he did not despise her though. She wishes that there was more to him than being prickish, judgemental asshole, then perhaps this whole thing could be just about bearable. That is why she keeps on talking to him. But Ev cannot tell Anais that because it is the same as admitting that she has lost and that he has won, so she huffs irritably and says “Because it is my job, why else” instead.

“Good to know that you are both as stubborn as mules.” Anais grew up at her parents’ vineyard in the rural part of Venterre and except the times when she talks about wine all her comparisons are based on farm animals and other attributes of country life.

Ev folds her arms. “I don’t think you know me well enough to say that.” Despite whatever is happening in her imagination in the moments of weakness, the idea of having something in common with Valerius, not only an asshole but the surliest man alive, makes her feel irrationally violent.

Anais only hums something to herself. “Anyway, no more of this talk, what are your plans for tonight?” she asks Ev with the trained cheerfulness of a person chatting to customers daily, “You know we are not opening tonight”, she adds, now sounding more concerned than cheerful.

“Because you are going on your adventure date with Theresa and your brother has not come back yet.” Ev waves her hand, “I remember.” She thinks of all the unopened letters on her desk at home and some notes she managed to scoop in her bag from Valerius’s desk in the palace, the risky act which would probably earn her another look from Anais, and adds, “just working”

“Why don’t you go to the theatre? The Goldgrave is doing their first performance since the plague. I think you should still be able to get the ticket at the door.” Anais wipes her forehead with the back of her hand, still holding the brush. “Actually, the guy who runs the show is Theresa’s neighbour, I will have a word with him. I am sure he will let you in for free if you promise to write a review.”

“Why would he want my review?”

“Oh come on! One of the Prakran dignitaries attends their humble performance, that’s like the most international exposure they have ever had!”

“Fine,” Ev says sceptically.

***

The man at the entrance didn’t lie about all the tickets being sold out, the small theatre is full and buzzes with anticipation. Ev had to endure a small torture of exchanging pleasantries with the overexcited theatre director and at least a dozen of guests, who all seems to know Anais and each other, after she introduced herself. But it all paid off and she is now sitting in the three-seat box closest to the stage, probably the most expensive seats in the whole of the theatre.

Ev eyes an empty seat to the far left. The seat next to her is taken by the old lady wearing simple but tasteful clothes and wrapped in the wooly shawl. She smells of the lily-of-the-valley perfume and apple pie. “Excuse me, are you expecting someone? I think the lights are about to go down”, Ev asks, giving the old lady a soft smile.

“Oh no, darling, I am here to watch my husband perform on stage.” She sounds proud. Ev tries to recall the last time somebody called her darling.

“That is really sweet, he must be thrilled to have you here,” she says, and the kindness in her voice is genuine. Ev finds her new neighbour positively charming, in a way only the older generation can be.

“And what is such a lovely young lady doing in the theatre alone?”

Ev shrugs her shoulders playfully. “I am here to keep you company. You have to tell me when your husband comes on stage,” Ev says, returning the smile.

The old lady covers her mouth and her laugh sounds youthful and bright. She is delighted at their little exchange.

That’s it, most people do like me.

The lights dim and just before the performance is about to begin, the curtain behind Ev’s seat moves letting the beam of light in the box and a dark figure walks in. A man, Ev thinks, who appears to be nicely proportioned. She watches temper and agitation in his movement, as he takes his seat silently. Ev thinks about her peculiar company for tonight, as the boxes are usually reserved by the group of guests. Is he here to watch his loved one too? Could he be from the newspaper?

The old lady nudges Ev’s elbow excitedly.

***

Ev has seen this play before. It is a story of the marriage proposal, full of humorous fights between the groom-to-be and his bride. The sweet old lady’s husband plays the father. He is a tall man with fluffy moustache (although those might be fake, you never know in the theatre) and genuine comedic talent. She wonders whether there is an apple pie waiting for him at home. Even through the dark Ev can see the lady looking lovingly at her husband.

Something makes Ev feel strangely out of place here. She bites the tip of her thumb lightly and replays the events of the day, remembering the old lady’s question from before and Anais asking about her plans. Her mind continues wondering and Ev catches herself thinking about what Valerius is doing tonight. The thought makes her stomach twist. Crying himself to sleep, hopefully.

She leans forwards to take a discreet look to her left, hoping to get a better view of the stranger’s face. He is hidden by shadows but the outline of his profile certainly makes her want to see more - high cheekbones, slightly convex nose and angular jaw, query full lips. He looks familiar.

Ev is now leaning so far forward her elbows are pressed on her knees, squinting and trying to recall where she might have seen this profile. She hears the old lady clearing her throat politely, and retreats, reminded of the theatre etiquette. Maybe it is nothing and he is just her type. She has been so busy recently, making plans only to watch them being discarded, thorn to shreds and thrown away, and so consumed by her anger, she did not really pay attention to the other people around. This feels nice and refreshing.

The curtain closes and the audience stands up to applaud. Ev shoots another look at the stranger. Beautiful posture, gloved hands, oh, mysterious. Maybe it would be nice to have plans with somebody like him. Before she can build up excitement about the lights coming up, the mysterious stranger turns around abruptly and disappears behind the curtain. All Ev sees is the flash of white light before her eyes, as empty and boring as her cold sheets back at home. She gets off her seat and runs after him. Maybe she is a madwoman after all. She does not have any plan, frankly, she doesn't even know why she is doing this, so she decides to go for the most obvious thing - she reaches the man’s shoulder from behind and places her hand as softly as she can considering her rush. “Ah excuse me -”, she says slightly breathy, “have we met before?”

The man turns and the disappointment that Ev experiences the very second she sees his face can only be compared to one of a child who unwraps the present only to find out that it is the older sibling’s jumper, in the child’s least favourite colour, the very same jumper the sibling was wearing the day they broke the child’s toy, most definitely on purpose. Ev is sure that she has seen other men in this city but apparently she is that unlucky.

“You,” says Valerius, baring his teeth. His eyes are slits of hatred, like he is contemplating ripping the skin off her. Ev can relate. She wants to punch him in the face. Ev clenches her jaw thinking about all the insults that he is about to throw her way.

“Consul,” she says in her best theatrical tone.

Valerius glances over his shoulder immediately, eyes wide. He does not respond, frantically scoping the corridor, which is starting to fill in with guests. Ev watches his expression and to her surprise there is no usual arrogance in it. This is unlike him. The moment draws her attention to what the consul is wearing - dark navy fitted coat, with discreet design, his long hair tucked in its high collar, cravat, high boots, gloved hands. Very unlike him. Ev studies him more carefully. There is no wine glass. This is getting disturbing.

“Are you incognito or something?”, she asks, snorting with amusement.

“None of your business”, Valerius spits. He reddens a little straight away and throws more nervous glances to his surroundings.

Oh. Tension. This is awkward, and juicy. Ev’s curiosity is officially piqued. The sight of Valerius’s discomfort is revitalising. She can feel blood pumping through her body and there is sparkle in her eyes. She smirks at him, even though he studiously avoids her gaze. Sensing the tiny hint of vulnerability just at the edges of his expression, she locks her arms around his and with the push of her hip turns them both away from the building crowd of chatting guests. “So you are incognito.” Ev really can't hide her excitement.

Both his eyebrows ratchet up, and Valerius opens his mouth as his eyes go wild, but he does not seem to be able to say a word. This is wonderful. A sensation of pure elation floods Ev. She has been dreaming about this day. She presses her body closer to Valerius and sinks her nails into his arm, like a cat toying with prey. She is thinking about this new power she has got.

Valerius looks down at Ev. “Your face looks… filthy”, he says and tries to shake her off. “Let me go. Now”

“No way. You can try screaming for help if you want.” This is the first time Ev has got the upper hand, and however little, she is not letting this opportunity slip.

“You are insane.” Valerius pulls his arm closer to his body, protectively.

Ev ignores him, right now she is busy thinking. “I know!”

“That you are insane?”

“You are stingy,” Ev says with the look of triumph in her eyes.

“What?!”

“Look, there is only one explanation. You came to the theatre once, they asked you for donations because everybody knows you are filthy rich but you refused, again and again, and now you are hiding. ”

“It is not the case.” Valerius makes another attempt to shake her off, but the sight of the theatre director walking their way through the crowd makes him stop. He turns away.

“So explain yourself then, dear consul”, Ev whispers in his ear, her voice full of venom. The group of guests walks right past them without giving them any attention. They must look like a couple, Ev realises, and eases her grip on his arm.

“No,” Valerius says sternly.

Ev stares at him for a moment, considering her options. “Fine, but you owe me”, she says simply.

“I owe you nothing”, he barks back.

“You know I am going to make a scene, maybe even mention you in the review which I kindly agreed to write for the local newspaper”

Valerius’s mouth twitches once and Ev can almost hear him gritting his teeth. At least, the man knows how the gossip works. “What do you want? How much?” The look he gives Ev is both smug and irritated.

“You are not the only one with the money here”, she makes her voice sound bored. It’s not the first Ev’s negotiation.

“I won’t ask you again, witch.” His voice is rough with anger but he bites it quicker than she expected.

“We can discuss tomorrow. I promise, it is just a small favour.”

Valerius does not say anything. He rubs the bridge of his nose and turns towards the exit, forgetting that Ev is still hanging on his arm.

“So, you like theatre?” she asks curiously as they leave together.

#the arcana #the arcana fic #evpanopolis #consul valerius #Ev x Valerius #the arcana fanfic #the arcana oc #Valerius x mc