#vesuviaweekly

[ohkento]

Nightmares and Daydreams

!! SPOILERS FOR ASRA ROUTE !!

A.N. : my first ever writing piece published publically. And ofc it had to be asra <3 the loml. Inspired by @/vesuviaweekly 's weekly prompt 'Nightmares and Daydreams' .Could also be considered a piece inspired from the ongoing prompt 'The things that changed' but I will probably revisit the prompt via another piece. Will be tagging it for both , just to be safe. VERY heavy on headcanons (I can't even distinguish between the canon facts and the facts i headcanon anymore). ← to the point it may be ooc . Anyways , the MC here will share my MC's origin story (this is to make me write faster , motivation go brrr) but will be referred to as MC only and will use they/them pronouns. This post will specifically target dreams of asra . I will (possibly) make another post in future involving dreams of my MC (Riku). Trying different writing styles in the same post. Is that a good idea ? Probably not . Would i still do it? Of course.

C.W. : He/him pronouns for asra (to avoid confusion) ; NOT spoiler free ; death mention ; mc's aunt is mentioned (oc character) ; somewhat angst ; very much self indulgent content ; lovesick asra; english is not my first language so please be kind and make me aware of any mistakes you may spot while reading this.

"By clicking on 'keep reading' , you hereby confirm that you have read A.N. and C.W. as given above and therefore I (the creator of this post) will not be held accountable for your reading experience"

Asra Alnazar

Nightmares :

• (Before meeting MC) His nightmares followed similar themes. Some of these included the glimpses of his childhood , with his parents and suddenly they are leaving. His childhood home crumbling to floor. Him getting in trouble while playing on docks . Sometimes it included Muriel - his new friend. The visions of Muriel , too, disappearing some day or being disappointed in him in some way were a great burden for him. Some others included him not getting any food for a whole day or two ( but were they really nightmares if this was his reality?) and people being mean to him.

• His ways of comforting himself during such times were very limited. He would wake up with a jolt and startle Faust too. They both would later cuddle and squeeze together. To prevent getting bullied , he would act all mean in front of bullies and protect Muriel from them too. To avoid starvation, he would resort to petty stealing via magic. He would visit his 'gate' on especially rough nights seeking comfort from his patron arcana the Magician. He would use magic to create pretty scenarios to calm himself down .Muriel started to comfort him too once he found out about his nightmares.

• (After meeting MC) He started to visit the magic shop the day after his nightmares . MC's aunt was a kind lady . Being in her presence would remind Asra of home and comfort him in an odd way. But he liked it. Once he was good friends with MC , he would randomly crash into their bedroom for comfort and cuddles. He was loved in the magic shop. But to avoid getting attached to them , he would often go on 'trips' , only to return after being haunted by nightmares making him crave for a place to call a 'home'. His nightmares significantly decreased after getting close to MC.

• (Plague Era) In the initial stages of the spread of plague , he would often get nightmares about his friends catching the plague. Mc did a great job in reassuring him initially but as the situation in vesuvia worsened so did his nightmares. He could not be reassured. Which then led to 'the argument' that caused him and MC to separate.

• (After MC's death) After he got to know about MC's demise (and after his short trip (?) to lazaret ), his nightmares would now involve those tall chimneys he saw on the island. In his nightmares, he would wander around the crematory and would hear MC's voice calling him . He would always wake up in cold sweat after such nightmares and cry himself to sleep again .

• (Post U.E. route) After the fight against devil was won , he had MC with him now. Now no matter what nightmares he would experience , he would always wake up to comfort full of love from his love. Now the nightmares were manageable and even if some of them truly terrified him , he knew he could tackle anything and anyone. He could go against the world if required now that he had MC supporting him.

Daydreams :

• (Before meeting MC) Asra is a very creative person. At such a young age his daydreams would involve a safe place , lavish meals , running around with friends. He would also daydream about his parents returning someday and taking him with them. He would often try to create these 'daydream scenarios' play out in front of him via magic. This also helped him get better at magic.

• Once Muriel and him secured a safe place in the woods , he would ask Muriel to join him while he was playing out such scenarios. Muriel would often decline , but on the rare occasions he would join Asra , he would find himself entranced in asra's daydreams. Afterall he has a very creative imagination.

• (After meeting MC) after meeting MC in his stall at one of the bazaars of lucio's annual masquerade ball, his daydreams started to include more of MC as he got to know them more. Scenarios of them practicing magic together, taking classes from MC's aunt together, going on foraging trips to gather resources for the shop together. During masquerade ball season , when he would be making new masks (to keep up the inventory) for his annual stall , he would daydream about the different styles of masks and colours that would suit them . Asking Muriel for help while carving out masks and showing him his ideas via magic (the same way he used while daydreaming). It would all be so they (MC) could have more options to choose from. He would always daydream about them dancing at ball together. When he saw other couples in the ball doing different types of couple activities, it too would feed his daydream fuel.

• While away on trips , he would daydream of bringing MC with him. To explore new places, meet new people, experience new experiences together. When the longing became too much to bear for him alone , he would return to meet them.

• (After MC's death) Daydreams were his only escape from the reality. He had no one he could rely on anymore. He would daydream about MC coming back , of him bringing MC back. He daydreamed about seeing MC again after all this time , about the time spent and what could have been. He would choose moments from his life and daydream about changing the course of how things happened, how things should have happened. He daydreamed about all that mattered to him and still there was nothing he could do to make that happen. Except being patient. Except searching for ways he could bring them back. Except daydreaming about successfully finding a way to bring them back. All because he had a creative imagination.

• (Post U.E. route) Now that everything was right , he finally dared to daydream about a future . A future where MC was present. A future where his parents were there . A future where he had people he could rely on. A future he could not wait to experience. Now his daydreams were filled with plans. Plans he would make to make his loved ones happy. Now his daydreams were not an escape, but just creative thoughts. Of course it did not happen immediately but eventually he leaned to control them. His creative thoughts help bring happiness in his loved ones lives now. His plans are always very detailed making everyone surprised when he finally decides to execute them. Why wouldn't they be surprised? Afterall he does have a very creative imagination.

That was fun to write ! I am so proud of it! Possibly my next post will be a Asra × Riku fic.

© OHKENTO . do not copy, repost, modify, or translate my works in any platforms.

#nightmares and daydreams #asra alnazar #asra the arcana #asra the magician #asra #asra headcanons #the arcana imagines #the arcana scenarios #asra × apprentice #asra × reader #asra × mc #asra fluff #asra angst #the arcana headcanons #things that changed #nightmares & daydreams #vesuvia weekly #vesuviaweekly #vesuvia weekly prompt

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly: Things the M6 don't do anymore

~ my little creative drabble for the prompt "How Things Changed" (pre- vs post- plague) over on @vesuviaweekly! Hope you guys like this little hurt/comfort/fluffy train of thought :3 ~

Julian doesn't shout in his sleep anymore. He still gets nightmares, still tosses and turns and mumbles and wakes up with a start in a cold sweat - but his troubled murmurs don't turn into the terrified cries that they used to. He's still working on eating better and sleeping longer and it's taking time. But from the moment you first lay down next to him for the night, some part of his brain understood that the warm, safe weight of you meant he didn't need to scream to be heard anymore - or helped.

Asra rarely makes tea anymore. They still love to drink it - multiple times a day, if they can - but now you're the one who makes it. He never got over his childhood wariness of tea kettles in general after the mishap that involved his magic appearing. While you were recovering, it was one of many duties they happily shouldered to take care of you. Now that you're equal partners again, it's one of the many small ways he's begun letting you take care of him in turn. Besides, yours tastes better.

Nadia doesn't run away to her tower anymore. She still visits it frequently, to think, or nap, or clear her head, or give her introverted nature a break from the constant social pressures of being Countess. But she doesn't run away to it, to sit in the circular chamber and pretend (or hope) that the rest of the world had simply ... ceased to exist. She doesn't like the thought of losing a world that has you in it. Now, her visits range from serene to tumultuous, but they all carry hope and purpose within them.

Muriel doesn't forget to tend the fire anymore. It used to be an easy thing to go without. After Asra moved out, after his tormentor went up in flames, it was easy to watch the light in his hearth slowly dwindle and die. It was peaceful to sit in the dark quiet of a stone hut and slip into another long, deep, chilly sleep. But now you're here. And you deserve to be warm. You're worthy of a space filled with golden light and soft furs and beautiful tapestries and good food and warmth. And maybe ... he is too.

Portia has stopped hiding in the library. Don't get her wrong, she still sneaks into it all the time. (Seriously, what else was she going to do when she was handed one of the only two sets of keys???) The library was her space, with stories only she had read, where the skills she grew for herself hid among the bookshelves. Her achievements are much, much bigger now. They look back at her in your eyes, in Pepi's little voice, in a flourishing Vesuvia. She doesn't hide in the library anymore. She emerges from it.

Lucio refuses to eat breakfast by himself, ever again. As a soldier, it was a hurried affair around campfires - nothing like the fun of raucous dinners the night before - and as a Count, it was brought to him in his chambers. He'd sit and eat the pile of sugary goods and eye the mess of last night's debauchery and try not to feel cold and small and alone. After three years of hell, he's not alone anymore. Breakfast is campfire food, or inn amenities, and missing most of the sugar he loves - but it's portioned for two.

#vesuvia weekly #how things changed #the arcana #ask arcana brainrot #the arcana game #the arcana fanfic #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: LI and Apprentice Dynamics

Finally getting to join the party started by @vesuviaweekly!

(fair warning I love writing about this kind of stuff so there are a looot of words here lol)

Meleia & Asra

(sketch by the amazing @missrabbitart it's wonderful I love it so much)

Truly two halves of a greater whole.

Soft soft soft soft soft

They're both each other's first love, which is really cute.

(And both of them were super awkward about it at first because neither of them knew how to actually Talk to people)

Meleia loves Asra's wanderlust. Life is never boring with him.

Asra adores the way Meleia throws her all into whatever she cares about, be it as mundane as a sewing project or as huge as protecting the people she loves from the likes of Lucio or the Devil.

And on the subject of sewing... they're both crafty people!

Meleia makes her own clothes and Asra knits, so the two of them combined are a force to be reckoned with.

Meleia has a lot of self-confidence issues for a lot of reasons. Asra's always been there to help her through her rough spots.

Neither of them have a good sense of direction, so Faust and Forge (Meleia's familiar, a fennec fox) always end up doing most of the navigating when they travel.

They love reading together, making things together, exploring together, dancing together... they'd basically do anything and everything together.

(Except cleaning. Asra leaves stuff everywhere, and Meleia likes to keep the shop neat. It's about the only thing they have teasing arguments about.)

To Meleia, Asra is home. She can truly be her awkward and shy and geeky self around him, and she appreciates that more than she can ever say.

To Asra, Meleia is a beacon of light and joy. She cares so deeply about things and people, including the little kid who grew up alone on the docks.

Songs that remind me of Them: "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, "All I've Ever Known" from Hadestown, "Curses" by the Crane Wives.

My other apprentices are under the cut!

Damian & Julian

In a nutshell, they are that one scene from Coco.

(Drawing by me, it's a redraw of the final panel of this old thing)

In all honesty, though, they tease each other but they are very much in love.

They're both intelligent and leaders in their fields of study.

Damian's an alchemist, Julian's a doctor... their styles have more in common than Julian ever thought at first.

They can and will be found having intense discussions about various practices in both medicine and alchemy using highly technical terms that no one else in the room understands.

They were a dream team when working to find a cure for the plague. Except for the arguments where Damian insisted that the plague itself must have been magical in nature and Julian was firmly convinced it was nothing more than a disease.

Damian's stubborn, and never afraid to show his anger or annoyance, but Julian always has a way of making things up to him. And they never stay upset or mad at each other for long.

Both of them are musically inclined, Julian with his vielle and Damian with his guitar. So whenever emotions are too strong for words, they connect through playing together.

Julian is all for the drama, while Damian's humor is more dry and witty.

Julian is the only person who can get Damian to dance on a table.

Songs that remind me of them: "I See the Light" from Tangled, "Inferno" from Promare.

Chimalus, Nadia, and Portia

Chimalus and Nadia art by the fabulous @ace--of--swords!

I've talked about Chimalus' dynamics with Nadia and Portia before, but I wanted to go into more detail about the polycule here :)

Dream Team 2 Electric Boogaloo

Chimalus and Portia are both always at the ready to help Nadia with whatever plan she has, be it city reservations, the next Masquerade, or just a picnic out in the garden.

Chimalus is the Heart of the trio, with their pure loyalty, good judgement, and a particularly kind heart.

Both Nadia and Portia admire Chimalus' quiet strength and clever mind. No matter how tough the problem, Chimalus finds a way to keep a relatively cool head and work their way through it.

Whenever Chimalus' lingering trauma pops up from their dark past, Nadia and Portia are always right there to help them through it.

Portia loves "dragging" Nadia and Chimalus off on adventures. Not that Chimalus or Nadia complain.

Book buddies!

The three of them basically have their own book club. They always meet up as soon as they're done reading the current book and chat about it over snacks (and usually tea and/or wine).

They all bond over animals, too! Between the palace horses, Chandra, Pepi, and Chimalus' familiar Skye the bluebird, they have quite a few critter friends to fawn over together.

Songs that remind me of them: "More With You" by MALINDA, "Running With the Wolves" from Wolfwalkers, "To the Ends of the Earth" by Natewantstobattle.

#vesuvia weekly #mc/li dynamics #the arcana #the arcana game #arcana fan apprentice #apprentice meleia #apprentice damian #apprentice chimalus #oc info dump

[sweetestlittledarling]

Nightmare Realms

So originally, I was going to write a story about a nightmare held by one of the songbirds, but nothing ever seemed to work out quite right (may rework them and post them one day). But I really just wanted to get something out for @vesuviaweekly's Nightmare/Daydream prompt, so I am shortening this into a head cannon post because I have thought a lot about this since I was trying to write it. So, each of the Songbird’s has their own nightmare space which was partially formed by the Devil and partially by their own insecurities and trauma (and some magic). They each visited these places in the main story line, but I imagine when things get back the nightmares creep back in. Here is what imagine each of the realms to be like and the nightmares that inhabit there. Sorry if this is a little depressing but know that each of the Songbird overcomes it in the end.

Lark:

              Lark’s insecurities often lie in the sadness that he tries to hide as well as being left alone so his nightmare is devoid of color. The room is entirely black and anything or anyone that enters often is stripped of their color and happiness. The one interesting thing about the room is that the floor is reflective, and a person’s reflection will show their true sorrows. For example, there was a moment where Muriel entered and his reflection showed him in his fighting armor. For Lark his reflection shows him with the plague sad and angry. Sometimes the reflections speak to the person, telling them it’s hopeless and to just give up. Spending long periods in the room and one will feel like actually giving up, to remain there sad and alone forever.

Sparrow:

              Sparrow’s nightmare centers around her feeling of not being enough and wanting people in her life to stay with her. The place actually has changed a bit from before the plague where the original room was simply a room filled with fog that one could get seriously lost in. Sparrow would chase the ghost of her father into the mist, begging him to stay, but then end up getting lost. After the plague and meeting Julian, the scene changed to the one where Julian chooses to remain in the Acana realm rather than returning to life and Sparrow. The outcome is the same as Sparrow tries to chase after him but ends up getting lost in the mist. Like lark’s room there is an overwhelming voice trying to convince Sparrow that people don’t stay and that she should just give up.

Robin:

              Robin’s nightmare is hardest to describe as Robin’s insecurities revolve around his missing past and his feelings of failure that he doesn’t understand. His nightmare takes place in the Lazaret as that is the time where everything from his former life collapsed. There no one else there just Robin who is confronted by the past that he doesn’t completely understand and the voice of everyone saying that it is his fault. He couldn’t save his mother nor protect his siblings, he couldn’t save Asra from the pain of breaking the connection between them and when things got so terrible he actually ran away to another world abandoning his home. Robin faces the consequences of his own past actions though it is hard to accept since some he had forgotten.

So that’s what’s been rolling around in my brain as of late. I am a little sad I couldn’t get it my ideas into writing, but it’s been nice to actually think about it a bit. Plus, I managed to get something out for @vesuviaweekly which I have been trying to get something together for.

#vesuvia weekly #nightmare & daydreams #the arcana game #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana apprentice #the arcana mc

[jeridoesntdourls]

Saw @vesuviaweekly 's prompt for MC dynamics wanted to talk more about my guys!! Sadly I have not completely nailed their designs yet so for now I'm just going with text! I personally treat my MCs as less of MCs and more like LIs so I'm gonna also include what I think their dynamic with the MC themselves would be! As you'll notice my MCs are all residents of a country I made for the Arcana universe myself if you want you can see more about that here. Minos' entry is a bit undercooked but I'm rushing to post this before the deadline ends LMAO. All of these gorgeous banners are by @cafekitsune

edit: put in a link I forgot to put the first time lmao-

BOREA NORCHE // she/they

with the MC

Borea knew MC before they died of the plague and worked alongside them and Asra to find a cure. She succumbed to the plague herself only a few weeks after MC and was buried beside them as her last wish. She was brought back by making a deal with the Heirophant and not knowing MC was brought back by Asra, debated staying in Vesuvia to stay near MC or to leave and look for Asra. They ended up unable to do either and were ordered to return to their home country, Tua, by the Heirophant. She returned to keep her end of the deal but both her and Tua had dramatically changed. On her arrival she began to keep her emotions in and dutifully began to work as Tua's magic consultant.

At some point MC, along with the LIs, would take a trip to Tua (for diplomatic reasons as Tua has a considerably new government now running it) and Borea would be one of the more respected officials at the Syndicate meeting. Asra had heard from Nadia about the more prominent figures that would frequent this meeting but, still believing that Borea has died, hadn't thought much of it.

After they first encounter her at the meeting Asra evades her and tries to explain their relationship to the MC as they have not gotten a hold of all of their memories. He is unable to explain in time and is interrupted by Borea herself who began looking for the MC.

Their dynamic in this Era is very different than it was in the Plague times. Borea is, at first, in denial, she embraces the MC and they have a bout of their headaches, this makes Borea only more desperate which makes her hold on even tighter. Only Asra is able to separate them from the MC and pull them aside to explain what happened.

Borea is absolutely crushing under the weight of everything, running a new government, meeting the two closest friends she's ever had after years of assuming she'd never see them again and having to learn about MC's resurrection makes her even more prone to completely isolating herself from the Vesuvian guests. She eventually has to converse with Nadia and, ever observant as she is, makes Borea explain her adversion to them.

From them on Nadia slowly begins to work to re introduce both Asra and the MC to Borea. At first she's a force to be respected, acting professional to an absurd degree but that facade begins to decay into something nervous and unsure. MC has to reassure her that her feelings are important and need to be felt (in her upright end at least) and she begins to explore her pent up anger and longing with them.

I would describe their final dynamic as old married couple(ish) in that they have SO MANY idiosyncrasies and can practically read each other's mind. Borea is very much a closed off and firm individual for anyone other than their family, MC and Asra. With those people, she is able to express that reckless curiosity and boyish side she had hid for so many years.

with Asra

They have a very similar dynamic with Asra than with the MC. The only difference is that Asra ALSO has a tendency to run from his problems so Nadia has to work overtime to make them both talk to each other. It takes a mishap with the Buzia House and Borea stepping in to rescue the group to make them talk to each other.

They work in compleat harmony but after they get to safety they go back to being unable to have a conversation longer than three exchanges. Despite that, Borea refuses to leave Asra's side, keeping watch for any other threats to his safety. In doing this Borea over exerts herself and Asra has to make her take a break before she colapses in a meeting.

They go over their years apart, recounting tails and making each other laugh. Slowly they begin to work together again as Mage Commissioners.

Their dynamic is honestly the one which would take the longest to happen. Very much an AGONIZINGLY slow burn and re kindling. Asra needs to work through so much guilt in regards to leaving Borea behind and Borea, like in MCs route, also needs to work in being honest with her feelings and losening her grip on relationships she think she'll lose.

with Nadia

With Nadia she has the most light hearted dynamic, very much liege and ruler but the roles keep switching between them both. They're both givers and Nadia really is the best person to make Borea learn how to actually accept being the one receiving.

On Nadia's route we also get more of a focus on the politics of Tua and the conflict between the new Syndicate government and the Buzia House's integration into it.

overall

Dates with her definitely include stargazing and going to the beach at any time but especially at night. She'll be at home to just nerd out about the constellations and the planets, even reconstructing their partner's favorite ones with their orbs.

Relationships include lots of late nights and reassurance. She has a tendency to try and do everything for her partner, so she needs someone who can make her slow down and take care of herself. She would love a partner who is also proficient in magic and who can help her create laws and boundaries for the new Tuan government.

ATTIS SALVO // he/him

with the MC

Attis is exceptionally cheerful at first meeting. As he is one of only members of the Buzia House willing to collaborate with the Tuan government he feels the need to keep up the appearance of harmlessness to not potentially cause a rift between the two opposing sides.

He's very much used to working alone. Loves his community and family will all his might but the weight of the future falls into his shoulders most times. This, combined with the fact that he really can't entrust his problems onto that community (his sister specifically) because they continuously judge any action he takes makes him weary about working with anyone else.

Working with the MC to ensure the exchange doesn't cause another civil war really strains him at first. He's lived through a bloody revolution and his family only became the engineers and weapon makers that they are because of Vesuvia's betrayal. That history along with his personal habits of doing things alone cause him to be weary of the MC at first. That weariness only ever comes out in passive aggressiveness, he's very adverse to any conflict after years of playing diplomat.

This relationship really only changes when his parents pass and he, along with his sister, are left to rule over the entire House. Under all the additional stress he begins to impulsively turn to the MC as a distraction. MC needs to make it clear that they actually feel something for him or else he'll continue to use them eternally.

He's the oldest out of these three characters which means he's had lots of experience with partners, none of them ending well. When MC first confesses they do feel something for him, he's in shock and already making some excuse as to why they wouldn't work.

MC would notice his panic and have to calm him down for him to notice that he also feels something for MC, even if that something isn't as clear cut as MC's feelings.

with Julian

Attis only notices Julian after his parents passing when rumors begin spreading that they were assassinated by the Tuan Syndicate who used the Vesuvian's to infiltrate the Buzia House.

Julian, sketchy as ever, is high on Attis' suspect list. This list is kept hidden from the public and he'll talk about how false he believes the rumors are to anyone who will listen.

He tracks Julian down and as a last resort, Julian uses his charms to try and escape. For the first time in his life, it actually works and he is able to momentarily flee.

After that they fall into a pattern of cat and mouse and feelings develop much to Attis' dismay.

Julian's confession and Attis' reaction play out similarly to MC's but Julian stumbles and trips over himself to explain that he didn't kill anyone which makes Attis reach over to comfort him.

overall

He's very sensitive even though he keeps his emotions to himself, he's prone to crying over things that have already been resolved and just ignores any emotions that aren't productive because "he's got a job to do."

Also very prone to falling back into nostalgia, that longing for things that have passed ossifies him and keeps him from doing anything productive so he keeps those memories for when he's alone.

His dynamic with a partner would make him a lot more playful, he feels as if he finally has someone who understands him and is in HIS corner.

Dates include just staying home and letting the sun pass by. He's never intent to sit still for too long so he'll fiddle with the clasps of his revolvers or his partner's hand.

I'm not sure what I'd describe their dynamic as but I think Two Idiots in Love covers it well.

MINOS FERNI // she/he/they

with the MC

Minos is a pretty difficult person to get into a relationship with. Even if they like a person romantically they fervently ignore it both in fear of being rejected and their own self sabotaging ways.

They were born into the Heilist church and even after its reformation by the new Syndicate, they inwardly still believe the old doctrine. That includes the ideia of a cycle in which humanity is doomed to commit the same mistakes and suffer infinitely, the old Heilist god would then forgive humanity for their treasons at the time of death and welcome them into the sky.

Minos believes that any break out of that cycle (the revolutions and the new goverment) would forego the forgiveness given to him by God. So, his dynamic with an MC would have to be SLOW. like VERY slow. and very patient. At first it's almost certain that Minos would dislike them and it's only after comming to terms with their repression that they might be open to the thought that MAYBE they like the MC.

Mino's main emotion is guilt. Guilt for not attending to God as he should and guilt for not attending to his community, its only when he realizes that those two things overlap that he can hope to move on to a less painful existence (in his upright end at least). Their relationship in the later staged reminds me of Martin and Jon's dynamic from TMA. Hes trying his best not to be a tyrannical force of magical horror.

with Lucio

Minos hates hin at first. Its very rare for them but his pompous nature and disregard for consequences makes Minos crack and finally show some of their true own true nature. Ironically enough its this initial crack that opens the floodgates of Minos' person. They begin to hunt Lucio down as a way to try and make things go back to how they were. Very much a Hannnibal and Will adjacent pairing. (Lucio in this AU/expansion of sorts is a lot less silly)

with Muriel

haven't put much thought into this pairing but i think that if they both got past their inicial distaste for each other they woukd work out wonderfully.

overall

Don't think she would go on dates but she'd definitely take MC sightseeing and show them around the more historical spots around the city. They would be a very devoted lover (a little obsessive if im honest) and only ever vulnerable with them. Honesty and grappling with their own identity are still new to them so they would definitely need someone who's ready to spend nights on the church roof talking things over and putting things into perspective.

#Borea Norche #Attis Salvo #Minos Ferni #the arcana oc #the arcana worldbuilding #the arcana #vesuvia weekly #tua

[blu-raes]

there's a 5 page comic in the works for this week's Vesuvia weekly prompt

@vesuviaweekly I hope you're ready DFFHJKJSHLJSK

#shut up rae #you've already seen me post WIPs on the discord but its fun to post about heehee

[ohkento]

Things that changed

!! SPOILERS FOR ASRA ROUTE !!

A.N. : Inspired by @/vesuviaweekly 's weekly prompt 'Things that changed'. As I said in 'Nightmares and Daydreams' , I am revisiting this prompt. Again can be kind of ooc for Asra and heavy on headcanons. (Some stuff is canon for me but then I look it up it is in fact NOT canon😭😭😭) . Oh the sufferings of loving a character so deeply that you divert them a bit from their original source <3. Then again as the saying goes 'to be loved is to be changed' . Anyways , this post too will involve a MC who has a similar origin story to my MC (riku) but still will be referred to as MC . MC will use they/them pronouns. I know this prompt is supposed to be a pre vs post plague scenarios but tweaking it a bit just for plot purposes <3.

C.W. : he/him pronouns for Asra ; very heavy on angst (because I am in an angsty mood 🥰) (I am sorry my love I promise to write something fluffy for you soon 😭) ; death mention ; spoilers for asra route (pretty much entirety of his route) ; characters may be ooc ; MC's aunt is mentioned (oc) ; may feel self indulgent at some points (may not) ; long post below the 'keep reading' button ; i just felt like yapping about my spouse and his history so I made this post 🥰 don't mind me ; FORGIVE ME ASRA 😩; English is not my first language so please be kind and make me aware of any mistakes you may find while reading this piece.

This post got out of control and now can be qualified as a chaptered fic 💀 aka LONG POST AHEAD.

"By clicking on 'keep reading' , you hereby confirm that you have read A.N. and C.W. as given above and therefore I (the creator of this post) will not be held accountable for your reading experience"

Change is the only constant . We all must have heard of this saying one way or another. Change is painful, sometimes manageable, most times not. Nobody wants change . We get used to situations and hope that the situation remains same . Hope that we don't have to change. Because we have gotten used to these circumstances and learned to live with them. But sometimes change is necessary. These changes can be seen in Asra's life as well. Did it change him? Let's see how changes happened in Asra's life and how it affected him.

Having a family vs Becoming an orphan :

• Asra has two very loving parents. He is loved in the Alnazar household. He knows what a family is and what it is like to be safe. He likes to spend his mornings getting magic trained from Salim. In the afternoons , his parents go for work in the palace and return late in the evenings. He doesn't mind that. He knows that by the end of the day he will be cuddled beside Aisha who will hold him oh so lovingly. He knows that whatever they do , they will ensure his safety. Afterall a child doesn't worry about his parents. It is the other way around... right?

• The first change occurred when one evening Asra's parents didn't return. The first few hours he did not notice any change. Maybe it was the calm before the storm . After an hour or so passed and Aisha and Salim didn't return at their usual time , Asra started to worry. "Where were they? Why aren't they home yet?" Said the little voice in Asra's head and made him worried. He didn't know what to do. He decided to go in his parents' room and wait the night out there. He waited and waited but his wait bore no fruit. He couldn't sleep that night. The next morning he decided to take matters in his own hands. He himself decided to go out and search for them. He searched his neighbourhood like crazy , he went to search in all familiar alleyways , he asked all familiar faces he could find , but none of this gave him a clue about the whereabouts of his parents. He only knew that they worked at the palace , so he decided to go there. He asked people around to reach the palace ,and finally that he did , he was told by the count that he executed his parents. The count executed his parents. The count executed his parents. His parents.

• Asra had two very loving parents. He was loved in the Alnazar household. He knew what a family was and what it was like to be safe. Asra hated change. He used to be safe and sound without a worry in the world just a few hours earlier. Now he was dangerously aware of the situation. He is just a kid! How is he supposed to live !? How is he supposed to survive?! What about his family?! Will he ever have one? Asra cried that day , he sobbed like a baby. He was just a baby! His parents' baby ! When he decided to return home , another bad news awaited him. The count confiscated his childhood home. He could not return. He was left in the streets of vesuvia all by himself. He had to live by himself now. He had to survive all alone. He had to , what other choice did he have?

Being alone vs Meeting new people :

• He is used to surviving on his own now. He has to be. It has been so long . The other vesuvian orphans were not always kind. You could even say that finding a friend in those orphans was a rare deal. These orphans used to survive by joining 'gangs'. Mafia of sorts , but not really that dangerous. They were dangerous for other orphans though. They were the bullies who used to boss around and dictate other non-member orphans lives. They used to bully other orphans into giving them their food. Asra was initially scared of them . But eventually when he found out that they can't use magic like he can , it was game on for him. Now the 'gangs' were scared of Asra. They avoided him as much as possible and used to scare away new orphans who could possibly become his friend by telling them stories of the great power he held aka throwing things at them without touching it. Asra was used to being alone now.

• The next change in Asra's life was a well needed change. He met Muriel. Or maybe it went a bit differently. He rescued Muriel , from the same gang of bullies mentioned earlier. How could he not ? They were making fun of Muriel and forcing him to do stuff ! Asra hardly tolerated when he came across such scenes. So of course he did what he knew best , magic! A bit of magic and every bully was left terrified. Even Muriel was a bit surprised but he soon recovered when Asra grabbed his hand and ran away with him. Away from the bullies. Soon as they interacted more Asra finds that Muriel is the reserved kind. But Muriel never left his side. Maybe it was gratitude or something entirely different but he appreciated his presence. He liked this change.

• Next change brought in his platonic soulmate in his life. While doing some magic tricks to earn some quick money to feed himself , he came across a wandering magician. He was so intrigued! And as it looked the magician was too by such talent of Asra at such a young age. He conversed with Asra and gifted him and egg. "An egg ?" Asra thought . The confusion must have shown on his face because the magician soon explained that it was gift and he should wait for it to hatch. So he did. It hatched on his birthday and came out as a beautiful purple ball python. He gained a new companion! Oh how happy he was. He named her Faust! Soon after he realized that his and Faust's connection was deeper than that of owner and pet. She was his familiar. Oh how they spent their time together, playing on the ships waiting on the docks. He would let her run away on the beach sand and chase her to catch. Muriel too got known by Faust and she started to trust him. Maybe not all changes are bad , Asra thinks.

• Asra was a teenager now. Him and Muriel have managed to secure a place in the woods. Asra had heard the townfolk talk about an upcoming masquerade ball being organized by the palace. As much as Asra absolutely despised the count , he did have an empty stomach to feed. So they (Muriel and Asra) decided to set up a stall in the bazaar. They both worked on preparing masks and other little trinkets to attract onlookers and sell those to them. On the day of the ball , when the newly wed countess first arrived in the city of vesuvia , a certain someone entered his stall to be safe from the gathering onlookers (the crowd watching the countess arrive). Little did Asra knew that this person is going to change his life forever and ever.

Friends or Something more... ? :

• Ever since that fateful meeting with MC in his stall , he had started to know them more. To the point that he was well acquainted with MC's aunt , the owner of the magic shop. MC's aunt was a kind lady. She would not hesitate to be welcoming and warm to Asra. Once she found out that Asra too was a magic user , she offered to train him. He liked it. He felt safe when he was around them. He remembered what it was like to be 'home'. They soon got pretty close to Asra. Asra gained another friend , another person to rely on. Maybe changes are good , he thought.

• Maybe it was the puberty kicking in or entirely something else but lately Asra has started to feel attracted towards MC. It started as small voices in the corner of his heart that he would dismiss initially , but soon it evolved and became harder to contain within himself. Asra was pretty close to MC and he surely didn't want to ruin their friendship. So he would run. Run away from them. Run away on 'trips'. The trips that didn't help with anything. It only made the attraction stronger. The want grew stronger and he started to crave to be in the shop. But he stopped himself. He really didn't want to lose a friend. He didn't want things to change. He was hesitant to change their relationship.

The Grief :

• He was not ready for the next change. Well, nobody was . MC's aunt died. It was hard for Asra but it was even harder for MC. He was their comfort in such tough times. He ,too, lost a person he could rely on blindly but right now getting MC adjusted was his top priority.

• Once MC was well adjusted and inherited the magic shop , he felt better too. Whatever decision they would make regarding the shop , he would accept it. They decided to continue running the shop and invited Asra to be their business partner. He accepted and together they started their magic business. It was all going well , everything was as it needed to be. But life doesn't stop at perfect moments , does it?

• The city of vesuvia experienced its deadliest plague. The plague that brought destruction. The plague that changed many lives. The plague that changed Asra's life. He tried to reason with MC , to convince them to go with him and seek refuge in a safer city far away from vesuvia . Far away from the clutches of plague. But MC wasn't the one to listen to reason. So they separated and decided to go their own ways. Asra left vesuvia and MC behind. This decision was a crucial one which changed a lot of things.

• When Asra returned and found out about MC's death , he was heartbroken and guilt stricken. If only he was more stubborn . If only he had managed to convince MC. If only he was true with his feelings . If only... he could have prevented this from happening! He could have saved them! He didn't know what to do or where to go. The shop felt emptier without MC around and lost its cozy feel. He didn't like it. Maybe not all changes are good.

Feelings of loneliness :

• Asra had decided to bring MC back. It was risky but he was ready to take this risk if it meant having MC back in the land of living. He had decided that he needs to control his life and not the other way around. He will change his life himself . He decided to work in the palace for their resources. Many warned him of dangers of working in the palace but he was never the one to listen to warnings about the count. He felt lonely, like there was no one he could trust . When initially he couldn't find a breakthrough to bring MC back, he felt hopeless. Like he was doing all this for nothing. He couldn't even ask anyone for help. All he could do was stay patient and hopeful and just try . Try to do what he was here for. Try to find a solution. He wanted things to change.

Taking care of a once independent individual :

• MC's resurrection caused them to have amnesia. The same way someone with a severe brain trauma would have. They had lost both their functional and emotional memories. When Asra realized this he felt guilty . Just how long do they have to suffer because of me? He thought. He then decided to keep his feelings aside and rehabilitate MC back to recovery. He tried a few times to get them to remember their past but when this caused more harm then good , he stopped. He was hurting inside seeing the love of his life suffer so much. Maybe he should just let them go. Afterall he will be more happy to see them happy then in pain. And so he did. He buried his feelings deep inside his heart (or what was left of it) and just focused on their recovery. Focused on reteaching them magic. Focused on reteaching them to live. But occasionally he could feel the love for them grow. So he resorted to his old habits , going away from them. Change is necessary, he would convince himself.

Returning faith (in people) :

• When MC was asked to investigate the case of the count and find Dr. Devorak for his punishment by the countess , Asra was initially hesitant. But it was not his decision to make. He supported them when MC said yes. What he didn't know was that this change of events was the one which he would thank for all eternity.

• As the investigation progressed , so did MC's recovery and that too in leaps. He was surprised to see this. His faith in people started to return too . Faith in the old baker , in the neighbour next door , in the palace guards , and the countess . He found himself gaining a part of him that he lost along with MC. As the events unfurled and MC gained most of their memories, a part in Asra healed. Maybe he had never forgiven himself for leaving them behind but now hearing it from their mouth he finally believed it.

• When he found his parents imprisoned in the magical realms , he was left speechless. He didn't know what to do or say. He didn't know what to feel. Till this day he had thought that he was an orphan but no! There were his parents standing in front of him! He thanked the Arcana for letting him see this day. He couldn't be more happier. He is getting used to changes in his life.

Maturity :

• As soon as the battle with the devil was won , Asra felt light. He felt as if a great burden has been lifted from his shoulders. The source of his lifelong sufferings , the cause of the pain to his loved ones , the devil , is now standing in front of him frozen in time. Almost like a stone statue. He could not believe that he managed to do this. That they managed to defeat the devil. They were stronger than ever. They had changed. Both of them did , in their own ways. For better and for worse.

• When he was on his way on to a new adventure with MC , his life long partner , he couldn't help but feel as if he was living in a dream. Everything was perfect now. Maybe it will not be the same tomorrow, maybe it will not be the same a few years from now , but one thing Asra had learned from his life is that things change , people change , situations change , and that's OK.

Before meeting MC vs After falling in love :

• Asra grew up loved up until his parents disappeared, after which he was left on the streets to survive. He felt alone for the first time. He was just a child when his world turned upside down. His life changed forever . Of course he was quick to gain new friends, but new people do not fully cover for the ones already lost. Soon he found a place he could call home. A place that felt like his home. A place with people welcoming enough to remind him of his family. He started to grow attached to them. It didn't matter how much he tried to brush these feelings off, the feelings resurfaced again. He was young when once again he lost people valuable to him. He didn't like this. So he refused to get used to this change.

• When he finally decided to act on his feelings and bring MC back , he didn't expect them to come back completely wiped off of their memories. But he was a changed person now. Instead of running away he decided to take care of them. Instead of letting his feelings overpower him and making things awkward, he decided to maintain distance from them. Instead of forcing them to remember their past, he accepted them as they were. Afterall, is that not what true family does? As time progressed and made everything what he could only imagine in his dreams - with MC acting on their love , his parents returning , and the devil defeated - he himself healed. He accepted everything as it was and as it would be. He decided to welcome each and every change from this point onwards without a fear. Afterall, isn't change the only constant ?

Can you guys tell that the last part (before meeting MC vs after falling in love) was what was originally planned. You can tell right? Right? 🥰← op thinks everyone knows how their brain works. Does anyone even read this part? The part where I roast myself? Idk , leave a leaf emoji if you do! Hopefully i haven't crossed the yapping limit 😩😩 If only I showed this much enthusiasm while writing school essays 😍 forgive me for such a long post. And can you guys please bully me into completing my Asra × Riku fic ? Please 🥰 /hj. I hope you enjoyed this!

Rebloggers and commenters are being offered biscuits with a warm cup of milk 🥰

© OHKENTO . do not copy, repost, modify, or translate my works in any platforms.

#vesuviaweekly #vesuvia weekly prompt #the arcana headcanons #the arcana scenarios #asra the arcana #asra the magician #the arcana #asra headcanons #asra angst #asra alnazar #asra #things that changed #the things that changed #asra × mc #asra × reader #asra × apprentice #how things changed #asra loml #vesuvia weekly

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly: Secret Skills

some random headcanons for the @vesuviaweekly prompt "Where did you learn to do that?"

Julian: whistles better than he sings. once, while less-than-sober, he was dared to whistle an aria and did it so well he put a local opera soprano to shame. the only performance he's oddly embarrassed of

Asra: early in your recovery, on bad days, they would read some old, carefully kept storybooks to you and enchant the words to act it out. doesn't say where the books are from or how he learned the spell

Nadia: understands most of Julian's medical references because she was Nazali's favorite practice patient. also the source of numerous medical equipment innovations but hates hearing how they're used

Muriel: can wiggle not only his eyebrows independently, but his nose and ears as well. you found this out when he was describing a rabbit encounter to you and started subconsciously mimicking it

Portia: if she's not overthinking it, can instinctively understand most languages on a basic level even if she's never heard them before. this has given her a terrifying reputation for reading minds as emissary

Lucio: terrible actor, but amazing at impressions. if he meets someone once, he can mimic their accent. meets them twice, mimics their body language too. thrice, and he's got their whole personality

#vesuvia weekly #where did you learn that #ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #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 #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly submission: Brainrot and the M6

I know, I know, the prompt is "your MC/their LI's dynamic", but I just play as myself and I keep my blog character neutral so @vesuviaweekly platonic selfships, here we go -

With Julian: this guy is my adopted older brother. We get to unleash our inner theatre kids and make excessively dark jokes about our trauma together. The drawback is that neither of us has a speck of self preservation -.-

With Asra: when I tell you that the vibes just boil down to "warm, fluffy, and creatively unhinged" XD I would make us homemade hot chocolate so they could add peanut butter to it. He would show up at 2 AM to help me dye my hair

With Nadia: we'd have difficulty connecting at first, not gonna lie. until we find something interesting to analyze, like canal patterns or the courtier's psychological patterns. now we have tea parties and build profiles together

With Muriel: shared physical trauma aside, I have a mighty need to bake and cook large quantities of food and then fill someone's plate multiple times. I'm about to visit this guy weekly, right after bread baking day, with soup

With Portia: she's a bookworm. I'm a bookworm. we're going to swap each other's favorite novels and have heated character and plot discussions while we try to trick each other into sharing baking secrets/tips and tricks

With Lucio: look, I know he's done some awful stuff, but that guy could use a hug. I'm giving him a hug. and then I'm going to task him with finding good places to party because he has a much bigger social battery than I do

#vesuvia weekly #MC/LI dynamics #ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #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 #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly: The Marketplace Incident

~ my little written sketch for @vesuviaweekly's prompt "How Things Went Wrong (feat the Arcana familiars)". Enjoy an afternoon from the perspective of my fandom self-insert :3 ~

Word count: 1.5k

The marketplace really is the best spot to write in. The bustle of afternoon shoppers in the sunny square is a soothing view from my shaded nook, tucked between Selasi's booth and an alleyway of stairs. The steady sea breeze makes the parchment in front of me flutter, carrying the smell of spiced bread as it tousles my hair from my forehead.

"Need a refill?" The baker leans on the stone wall above the low table I'm pretending to draft my next story on. "Maybe it will help the ink flow better."

"Thanks, Selasi, but I'm afraid I've barely had a sip." I gesture to my mostly-full clay cup. "It's a good blend, though - what did you use for it this time?"

"A craftsman never shares his secrets." He hunches closer, not-so-subtly trying to sneak a peek at my handwriting. "What is today's writing about? More of our six friends' adventures, by a friendly young man whose signature is a rotting brain?"

I roll my eyes at his teasing smile. "Okay, using the moniker 'brainrot' doesn't automatically mean gruesome physical decay -"

We both jump at the sudden cat's yowl from the direction of the baker's counter. A fuzzy orange blur streaks to my corner, tiny claws digging into my shirt as it uses me as a ladder to get to Selasi's shoulder.

"Pounce? What is it, little one?"

"Bad dogs!" Faust's face pops into view, her body slowly unwinding from the cloth umbrella over me.

I barely have time to stabilize her plop onto my arm before I catch sight of two more barking fuzzy blurs tearing around the corner, a screeching raven flapping frantically after them. All three start heading in my direction as soon as they see me stand up to intervene. "Mercedes, Melchior! Come here!"

As ill-trained as I know Lucio's dogs are, the half-finished roll I hold out in their direction is more than enough to convince them. They slide to a halt in front of me, paws and tail still skittering from side to side, eyes trained on the treat. The flustered raven descends on my shoulder and Faust scoots onto Selasi's arm to give him more space.

"It's rare to see these fellows here without their owners ..." The baker runs his hand over Pounce's bushed-out tail in a soothing arc. "Did something happen?"

"What didn't happen?" I mumble in response. I don't think I recognize the strange goop Faust has left on my shirt, or the hooped earring in Malak's beak, or the concerningly pleasant smell wafting off of the dog's silky coats. I hold out my palm in front of the bird on my shoulder. "Give me the shiny, please. Which friend did you take this from?"

"Took it when I squeezed!"

"Who did you squeeze, Faust? Was it Julian?"

"Stinky count. Stole my fishies!"

The hissed voice clearly belongs to a cat, but it's not coming from the trembling ginger tabby in Selasi's arms. Pepi lopes into view on the wall above me with a smug look on her little face. Oh, right. I keep forgetting that she learned how to talk ...

"Lucio ... stole your fish?"

"Pepi earned the fishies - Pepi was a good cat and caught all the rats! Went to the docks to get the fishies, but he took them first!"

I try to piece the narrative together, noticing what looks like a pearly white owl listening in from the roof of the booth. "So ... Portia went to buy Pepi some fish, but Lucio bought them first? Where did the earring come from?"

"Master tried to help!"

"Oh, did Asra try to trade their earring for the fish? I thought his piercings closed up years ago."

Malak caws loudly in protest. Faust wiggles and bobs from her perch on Selasi's shoulder as the distant owl takes off for a different corner of the marketplace.

"Not Master's earring."

I study the golden hoop, finally catching the protective gleam in Malak's eye. "Ohh, this is Julian's, isn't it? Okay, from the top." I watch five pairs of animal eyes point back in my direction. "Portia went to get fish for Pepi, but Lucio bought them first. Asra tried to intervene, and then Julian offered an earring that he apparently owns to bargain for the fish with. Is that right?"

I almost miss the variety of nods when a thick coat of fur unexpectedly brushes across the backs of my knees. When I look down, it's right into Inanna's bright green eyes - and the torn bag of rice in her mouth. She drops it at my feet, spilling the grains across the ground and sending Malak into a flurry of indignant squawks. The wolf curls up for a nap at my heels, completely unfazed. Selasi gently sets Faust on my abandoned parchment and returns to his oven with an amused "good luck!"

"O-Okay." I drag my hand down my face and do my best to analyze the mess. "So why do the dogs smell nice, why is Faust slimy enough to smudge my ink, and why am I the one currently holding Julian's mystery hoop?"

"Squeeze the thief! Rescue the shiny! Run away fast!"

Faust bleps her tongue proudly, while Pepi takes a smug seat on the stones and the dogs begin to growl. One warning huff from the large wolf pretending to sleep behind me quietens the impending ruckus.

"And ... do I want to know about the slime and the fruity smells?"

Pepi yawns above me, slowly succumbing to the sun-warmed wall. "Beauty stall."

Faust curls herself elegantly over my story draft in an attempt to flaunt her shiny scales. "Moisturize."

"You're practically glowing, Faust. Such a beautiful girl!" Asra's trotting in my direction, a very sweaty pair of Devorak siblings close behind and a red-faced ex-count bringing up the rear. The magician scoops her up off of the table, my freshly hydrated parchment going with it, as Pepi uses the top of my head as a springboard into Portia's arms. Julian gives his judgemental raven a sheepish look before brightening at the earring in my palm.

"Did you leave us the rice trail, Faust?" Asra scritches the serpent's chin.

"Wait - rice trail? What rice trail? Is that how you knew where you were going? Where did they get - my rice!"

Inanna gives the shocked doctor a guiltily amused look, nudging the torn bag with her nose and watching the last of the grains spill onto my feet. Lucio straightens from where's been fussing over his perfumed dogs, finally catching his breath.

"Hah! Serves you right for trying to take my fish!"

Portia bristles and turns on him as Inanna slinks off to the large figure skulking in the shadows several booths away. "Your fish? That vendor and I have been friends for three years, you heard him say that I'd get first pick!"

I can't tell if Lucio is grinning or gritting his teeth. "Does it matter? I already paid for those things, they were the least smelly ones!"

"Enough!" The Countess's firm voice rings across the corner of the square, effectively halting the brewing squabble that's hijacking my writing corner. Chandra reassumes her perch on the baker's booth roof as Nadia rubs her temples in resigned frustration. "I have already paid for a year's worth of cosmetics. I have no interest in paying for your argument with a headache as well."

She heaves a tired sigh as the familiars settle in with their owners, sparing me a comforting glace. "Considering the paperless state of your table, I trust there were no writing casualties involved?"

Portia scurries over with a worried look. "Oh, I'm so glad you hadn't started yet!"

"Well ..."

"I think we did interrupt him, unfortunately." Asra's already taking a seat at my table, holding a fresh bowl of rolls in one hand and my smudged paper in the other while Faust hides guiltily in their shirt. "What's a 'ringtone'?"

Julian helps himself to the paper. "Allow me - perhaps I can shed some light on - ah!"

I've already given up hope on restoring my draft, so I don't wince nearly as badly as my friends do as a sharp, golden hand snatches my handwriting and rips it in the process. Lucio's pout deepens the further he reads. "I'm not in this."

"He's probably not finished it." Nadia holds her hand out, impervious to Lucio's begrudging surrender, and carefully offers the paper back to me. "We should leave you in peace, or you'll never meet your deadline."

Portia takes the cue and begins herding Lucio back to the docks for a fresh round of fish. Nadia gives Asra a pointed look, resulting in them stuffing the last of their roll into their mouth and rising from the cushions. They leave the last two pieces of bread for me.

"Julian," I call as he turns away, "one more question."

"Ah - yes?"

"What's the story with the earring?"

"Oh!" He flushes unexpectedly, fumbling the hoop away into his pocket. "... it, ah, it doesn't go in my ear. Adieu!"

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fanfic #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson #selasi the baker #faust the arcana #malak the arcana #chandra the arcana #inanna the arcana #pepi the arcana #mercedes and melchior

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: Animal Shenanigans

(for @vesuviaweekly 's "How things went wrong, featuring the familiars" prompt. Also featuring very sketchy doodles I did while playing DnD)

Chandra and Skye

(Nadia and Chimalus' familiars)

There aren't too many shenanigans as far as those two are concerned.

Chandra took sort of a motherly role to Skye.

And Skye is a very sweet little bluebird... most of the time.

Chandra tries. She really does. But she can't completely keep Skye out of trouble.

When not doing her self-proclaimed duties keeping Chimalus company and sometimes acting as a seeing-eye bird (the scar over Chimalus' eye left them half-blind) Skye loves going Places where Small Birds Should Not Be.

She particularly likes to hide inside teapots. 

Especially when said teapot is on the tea tray of anyone unlucky enough to annoy Chimalus. 

Chandra will sit by whatever table or shelf said tea set is on and hoot incessantly until someone finds Skye and coaxes her out. 

Skye is mildly annoyed by this. But she forgives Chandra every time. 

(Now if only Chandra could get it through her head that small birds do not need to eat anything like mice...) 

Malak and Oswald

(Julian and Damian's familiars)

Oswald is a little fruit bat, a rescue from the Red Market.

He's very smart and dedicated, a Firm Supporter of everything Damian does.

Malak is... well, Malak. He's the worrywart. But he's doing his best.

Oswald helps Damian with his potions and alchemy projects whenever he can, and it’s adorable and Oswald is very good at it. 

Malak has occasionally tried to fetch things for Julian in the same way, but this is a bird who refuses to wash his claws, so Julian won’t have it. It’s unsanitary. (And thank you Brainrot for that amazing headcanon!)

Which inevitably leads to Malak trying to help Damian, which in turn leads to disaster.

Malak does not know what he is doing or what he is grabbing. 

And Malak, by nature, is both very suspicious of strange mysterious liquids and distracted by both shiny things and things that smell nice.

Both of which are abundant in Damian’s alchemy work. 

So not only does he always fail to grab the wrong thing, but he also drops stuff so he can go inspect The Latest Shiny. 

Damian is endlessly patient with him. Oswald is not.

(Malak don't do it don't drop the berries into the potion--)

Julian has needed to clean up after Malak's "help" on more than one occasion.

The most infamous one turned what was supposed to be a burn salve into a pile of stinky orange goo.  

It took a while to clean that up. And even longer to cheer up the very remorseful Malak.

Faust and Forge

(Asra and Meleia's familiars)

Forge is an adorable little fennec fox that Meleia rescued during one of her travels with Asra.

He's a shy little guy, and an absolute sweetheart. He doesn't usually get into trouble.

But he does have a "burrow" under Asra and Meleia's bed.

And he loves to hoard blankets to make his burrow more cozy 

Faust wholeheartedly encourages this. ("Crimes!") 

There was one day when Asra and Meleia found a very fancy blanket in Forge’s nest

Far fancier than anything they owned. 

Asra and Meleia had to use magic to find where it actually belonged. 

Thankfully the blanket was just from the palace, so they could easily return it 

Nadia and Portia ended up gifting the blanket to Forge anyway. 

Faust was rather smug about that. The whole mess was her fault and she is very pleased with the outcome. 

(No one knows how she managed to steal an entire blanket from the palace in the first place) 

Faust: "Teehee!" 

#vesuvia weekly #familiars screwed up #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana familiars #forge the fox #oswald the bat #skye the bluebird #arcana fan apprentice #oc info dump #my art #sketches

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: Putting It Together

CHOO CHOO ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN

For @vesuviaweekly 's "cooking class" event. The prompt made me think of Asra teaching the Apprentice to cook after they first woke up, which led to... well, all of this XD

Approx. 2600 words.

Featured characters: Asra and my OC Meleia (she/her), with important appearances by Faust and the stove salamander.

TW for panic attacks and flashbacks. But there IS a happy ending, and the flashback doesn't last too long.

_________________

It was amazing, really, how the smallest things had a way of leaving the biggest impact.  

After Meleia woke up with  no memories and very little control over her new body, Asra was forced to take things one step at a time.  They both were.  It always started so simple, a few shaky steps here and there, a few words that Asra recognized… but every change was important.  And it all added up amazingly quickly. Meleia was doing so well now.   

True, Meleia still had her struggles.  Crowds were debilitatingly overwhelming, she didn’t quite have the strength for going out on her own yet, and there was still a bit of a language barrier.  But so, so much progress had been made.

The next step was working on meals.  Meleia was well enough now to start cooking on her own instead of relying on Asra.  He had to admit, he was proud.

And though he would never admit it, he was decidedly nervous.

For their first official cooking lesson, they were starting with a simple dish.  Meleia loved mushrooms. And they had plenty of rice around.  So fried mushroom rice it was.  Asra hadn’t made anything like this in a while, and as far as he knew, Meleia had never made anything like it, even in her previous life.  But it seemed a safe place to start.  It was hard to mess up just throwing things together and heating them up.

Not impossible, as Asra had proven many times over.  But difficult enough to make him assume they were safe.  

But, naturally, got off to a rocky start.  And not due to any fault of Meleia’s or Asra’s.  The stove salamander was simply refusing to cooperate. 

Asra leaned closer to the grate.  “Come on, little one… we really need your help.”

The stove salamander pouted at Asra, then deliberately turned his back on him.  Asra sighed. 

Meleia put a hand on his shoulder.  Asra carefully stood up, making sure not to shake her away.

“What is it?” he asked gently.

He half expected Meleia to need help with something.  Or for her to need some support in standing up.  It was still hard for her to be on her feet for long periods of time…

But she stood tall, more than tall enough for Faust to balance happily across her shoulders.  And she was smiling.  She quickly let go of Asra’s shoulder and nodded towards the grate.

“I… can help,” she said, only slightly haltingly.  “Let me try.”

Asra couldn’t help but beam in pride.  “Of course.”

He stepped out of the way, allowing Meleia to crouch down so she was right near the stove salamander.  And she started talking to the little magical creature, her tone soft and gentle.  She was speaking a language that Asra still didn’t recognize, even after all this time. 

From the very first time she woke up, Meleia had understood Asra perfectly.  But in yet another unexpected side effect of getting an entirely new body, she had apparently fallen back into whatever her native language was.  She was still learning how to speak the common language of Vesuvia out loud, and Asra had only managed to pick up a couple of her unfamiliar words.  But they understood each other. 

And clearly, the stove salamander understood her as well as he understood anybody.  Meleia kept gently coaxing him.  The salamander was clearly a little grumpy about something.  But he wasn’t immune to Meleia’s charms.  In moments, the salamander was carefully stepping into Meleia’s offered hands.

She lifted the stove salamander up closer to her eye level, laughing fondly.  Asra’s heart thudded.  He loved that sound.  Always had.  And she looked so adorable cooing at the salamander.  Even more so when he pressed his sooty little nose against her own.  Multiple times.  The aftermath almost made her look like she had a few extra freckles.

Then Faust tilted her head.  The stove salamander looked back at her.  And Faust twisted so she was looking at Asra.

Messy stove, Faust reported.

Asra flushed a bit.  “Ah… I must have forgotten to dust out the stove again…”

Silly Asra, said Faust.

“Right.  Silly Asra.”  Asra managed another little smile.

It was far from a simple case of “silly Asra.”  Asra hated cleaning the soot out of the stove.  He didn’t enjoy dusting, either.  The dust and soot all over his hands… it brought back unpleasant memories.

But Meleia didn’t need to know that.  So he forged on.

“You keep holding him, alright?” he said, keeping his smile pasted on.  “I’ll clean up.”

“Thank you,” said Meleia, beaming at Asra.

Asra’s heart thudded.  “Thank you” was one of the first additions to her vocabulary after she started picking up the common language of Vesuvia.  And Asra was always moved when he heard it. 

She was really growing in strides.  And that made everything worth it.

Asra cleaned up as quickly as he could.  Meleia was very happy to hold onto the stove salamander.  She laughed when he scurried across her palms in little circles, and kept chatting to him in her native language.  Asra listened as he worked, focusing on the wonderful sound of her voice instead of the horrible feeling of ash on his fingers.

The moment he was done, Asra immediately washed his hands.  He couldn’t even allow himself a little sigh of relief.  He had to smile for Meleia’s sake. 

“There we are,” he said.  “All set.  Are we ready to get started?”

Meleia eagerly nodded.

At first, everything went smoothly.  The stove salamander settled into his newly-cleaned spot and got a fire started.  Meleia diligently followed Asra’s instructions.  And it was rather nice, working close together in the cozy kitchen.  It almost reminded Asra of the way things had been before.

But no.  He couldn’t allow himself to think about that.  Meleia deserved to have a choice in whom she spent time with.  Just like she deserved to choose her preferred food. 

For as long as he had known her, Meleia had never eaten any meat, though cheese and butter and things like that were fine.  As far as he knew, there was no medical reason for it.  Just a matter of preference.  So he had carefully introduced the idea of making a new choice when she first woke up.

She’d stuck with her traditional preferences.  Asra rather appreciated that.  It was good to know that some things hadn’t changed.

Still… he had to be very careful when it came to food.  Nothing triggered Meleia’s memories quite like a familiar smell.  And that made some foods very dangerous.  Asra was lucky that the pumpkin bread they both loved so much hadn’t had the same effect on her as the first time he had made them both some simple pasta with cream sauce….  

She had grown so much.  But there were some risks he simply couldn’t take.

Asra firmly shook his head, trying to stop the spiral of dark thoughts.  Meleia gave him a questioning look.  As always, Asra answered with an easy smile.

“Sorry,” he said.  “Just lost in thought.  And it looks like you’ve gotten the butter and garlic all taken care of.”

Meleia beamed at him.  “Yes.  Ready.”

Asra’s heart swelled with pride.  “Perfect.  Let’s put the mushrooms in.”

He allowed himself to squeeze even closer to Meleia, their shoulders brushing together, while they moved onto the next step in the recipe.  Which was probably part of the reason things went wrong.

The kitchen was small enough as it was.  And Asra had never been one to put things like dishes and mugs away after washing them.  What was the point, when he was just going to use them again the next day anyway?  Far more convenient to leave them near the sink.

The truly unfortunate thing was that the sink happened to be dangerously close to the stove.  So it was probably only natural that Meleia’s elbow bumped into a mug.  And, of course, said mug immediately hit the floor, shattering on impact. 

Asra winced at the sound.  His pulse spiked.  But that was nothing compared to Meleia’s reaction.  Her breath caught.  And she went utterly rigid at the sudden crash. 

Asra immediately turned his attention to her.  “Meleia, are you hurt?”

Meleia shook her head.  She crouched down, moving to clean up the mess.

Asra quickly caught her hand.  “No, don’t touch those.  Not with your bare hands.  Here… I can help.”

Meleia shook her head again, a bit more stubbornly this time.  “My fault.  I… s-sorry…”

“It’s alright,” Asra said gently.  “It was an accident.  And no one was hurt.  That’s what’s important.”

Meleia still looked utterly guilt-ridden.  “But…”

“It’s fine.”  With a flick of his fingers, Asra used a little magic to safely gather up all the broken pieces.   “See?  No harm done.”

“But… Asra…”  Meleia hesitantly reached out a hand.  “Your… most liked?”

“My favorite?” Asra clarified.

Meleia nodded.

Asra glanced at the shattered fragments.  He recognized the pattern, now.  All the air seemed to rush out of his lungs.

“Asra, I… n-not want…” Meleia choked out.  She was near tears by then.  “My fault.  I’m sorry…”

Asra couldn’t respond.  He hardly heard her.  Not over the sound of his own pulse pounding in his ears.  Of his own breathing coming far too quickly.  Of the shards of ceramic shattering further as they clattered to the floor, his magic immediately petering out in his panic.  

He was back, back in a time when Meleia was still gone.  When the world had seemed so broken, so empty.  When nothing mattered but finding a way to see her again.  And it was his fault, it was all his fault… he had left her, fought with her, abandoned her, just so she could fall to the plague.  And then… he had made so many more mistakes.

“Asra?”  

Asra had forgotten how to breathe.  His hands were shaking.  Traces of soot still lingered on his fingers.  It was just from cleaning the grate.  He knew that.  But to his eyes, the soot looked like the crimson-stained ash of the Lazaret.      

And the shards of his mug had become the even more broken fragments of Meleia’s favorite teacup.   

All he could do was stare, eyes wide, hands shaking.  A hollow pit had opened up in his stomach, nearly consuming his entire being.  He felt just like he had back then.  The cup was hers, one that Asra had never dared to use even when it was clean, since it was so special to her.  A memory of her life before Vesuvia.  It had been hers, and now it was gone, and she was gone…

Everything was gone…

“Asra…”

A gentle touch on his shoulder made Asra flinch.  He whipped around… only to see Meleia, staring up at him with eyes wide in concern.  Asra’s heart tore a little more at the look on her face.

She wasn’t supposed to see him like this.

Asra managed to take a breath.  “I’m sorry, Meleia.  I must have gotten lost in thought again…”

Faust somehow managed to scoot across Meleia’s shoulders and transfer herself over to Asra.  She gave him a gentle, grounding squeeze.

Safe, she promised.  Friend here.

Asra took another breath.  He was still far from himself.  Still felt a bit detached.  But it was better.  And Faust was right.  Meleia was there.  That was what mattered. 

Meleia clearly knew something was still wrong.  She gazed at Asra for a moment more, searching his face.  Probably looking for some way to help.  Asra did his best to smile for her.  To show her that he was alright, no matter how far from the truth that may have been.  It wasn’t very convincing.   

Then, slowly, Meleia looked at the broken mug.  And with a little frown of concentration—a look that Asra had always found heartbreakingly adorable—she copied the spell Asra had used.  She gathered up the shards of ceramic and collected them all in her skirt.  Then she sort of… stared at them.  She looked rather forlorn.

“My fault,” she said again.  “I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright,” Asra insisted.  He carefully put a hand over hers.  “It’s just a mug.  Besides, we can fix it.  Here… let me teach you a spell.”

As he had done a hundred times before, he gently guided her through this impromptu magic lesson.  With every word, every gentle touch to guide her hands, his panicked heartbeat slowed.  His breathing grew calmer.  His trembling hands stilled. 

By the time the magic was done, he was nearly himself again.  And the mug was whole.  Almost.  It was put together again, at least, and it would work perfectly.  But there were still some faint cracks.  A little chip had gone completely missing.  And the pattern was ever so slightly off. 

Meleia looked even more heartbroken than before. 

“What’s wrong?” Asra asked.

“It’s… broken,” she said.  “Still.”

“It’s fine,” said Asra with a little smile.  “We can use it again now.  That’s enough.”

Meleia’s fingers carefully traced the now-imperfect pattern.  “All wrong…”

Asra hummed thoughtfully.  “Is it?  I think it’s still beautiful.  It’s different, but that doesn’t make it bad.  There’s a kind of beauty in fixing something, too.  In seeing all the scars.  Now it’s unique.”

“Unique…” Meleia repeated, slowly sounding out the word.

“Yes,” said Asra.  “One of a kind.  And that’s part of what makes it beautiful.”

Meleia slowly picked up the mended mug.  Her gaze was rather distant, and still decidedly sad, as she turned it this way and that.  Asra saw how lovely the new, no-longer-symmetrical pattern was.  But he was sure that Meleia was just seeing the traces of the cracks.

“Broken,” she said again.  “Like me.”

Asra’s heart lurched.  He carefully wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a gentle hug.  Meleia sank into his embrace. 

“No, Meleia,” he whispered.  “You’re not broken.  I know things have been… challenging.  But you’re doing so well.  And no matter what happens, you are a whole person.  A wonderful person.”

Meleia took a shaky breath.  She blinked back tears.  She leaned against Asra a moment more, nearly snuggling into the hug.  After another few heartbeats, she pulled back. 

And she was smiling again.  It was faint, but it was genuine.

“Asra?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” she said.

Asra smiled in return.  “You’re welcome.  Did I help?”

“Yes.”  Meleia’s smile grew a little wider.  Then she glanced up at the stove… and the probably-a-little-too-crispy mushrooms.  “Try again?”

“Of course,” said Asra.  He got to his feet, taking her hand and pulling her up as well.  “Let’s make this the best mushroom rice dish the world has ever seen.”

Meleia laughed.  And any remaining worry in Asra’s heart faded.  If only for the moment.

Meleia always had a way of making things seem brighter.

The mushroom rice didn’t come out quite the way Asra had expected.  Especially when they wound up spending more time making a game out of tossing the rice into the pan instead of just pouring it in there.  But it was delicious nonetheless.  And Asra was happy that Meleia was feeling better. 

She had never voiced the thought before.  But Asra doubted that this was the first time she had thought of herself as broken.  Asra was grateful that he was able to cheer her up.  And eternally thankful for every moment they shared. 

Maybe, in a way, things really were like the mug.  They were still picking up some pieces.  Still learning how to put everything back together.

Nothing would ever be the same as it was before.  But they could still make something beautiful.     

#vesuvia weekly #cooking class #the arcana #the arcana game #fanfic #oneshot #my stuff #my writing #apprentice meleia #asra x apprentice #tw flashbacks #tw panic attack #angst with a happy ending