#.but that’s the thing: for me mirror verse stuff with julian is a catalyst to kira and julian friendship explorations.

[dreamerdrop]

have you ever considered writing prime bashir/mirror garak?

I have, but I’ve never been able to come up with anything that feels like it would have any real meat to it. All I can really come up with are fairly straightforward and somewhat banal noncon/dubcon scenarios and I just can’t think of a way to make them feel… compelling? Like, I don’t know where I would go with it or what I would be saying about it, really. What does it reveal about Prime Bashir or Mirror Garak in that scenario?

That said, I have read some WONDERFUL fics about Prime Bashir/Mirror Garak! Hopefully you’ll enjoy some of these recs instead, dear anon! Most of these feature noncon/dubcon to varying degrees, because, well… Mirror Verse, duh. So check tags and all that! <3

^ This one is a masterpiece actually and goddamned breathtaking in the writing of both Garak POVs, absolute 10/10 rec.

[cubedlikescookies]

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!

This ask got me really excited!

What really got me about the Arcana is how domestic it can be. Imagining living in the same shop, going to the same marketplace, for three years? It sounds like normal life for me, just shifted to a different aesthetic. And no matter which LI it is, them being the catalyst to you stepping out of your own little corner of the world is what really makes me swoon.

So, the lore that I've ended up with has less to do with the big picture and more with my apprentice's favorite haunts.

To help me stay in character I've kind of avoided creating a story for them before Asra brings them back. For those three years pre-game, though, there are some spots:

There's a little corner in the marketplace, near enough to the docks for the salt to be in the air. The shops in that stretch closed down during the plague and never reopened. There's nothing there, just bare walls and mice, but it's the only spot in the Marketplace where you can find some privacy.

Another location is a series of clearings in the nearest parts of the forest where Asra would trust them to go by themselves to gather ingredients. Full of flowers and sweet smelling grasses. Small wonders are one of my favorite parts of living, and I project that onto my apprentice.

As far as cultures go, I like to think about Lucky visiting Prakra and Nevivon and being enthralled with them, but I haven't come up with much of a culture for my apprentice to be defined by. As far back as they know they've been Vesuvian, so they've just kind of picked up the little bits of everywhere found in the port city.

Post-canon, though! I headcanon the Lazeret as having a bunch of natural caves (Easter Island style), some filled with bones and ash but others untouched by the remnants of the plague.

The Nevivon lighthouse stands at the highest point of a rocky beach, nothing else within miles. Some of the grandmas are on a rotation to man it, and occasionally the older kids will get to go for a couple of months too. The air is crisp, the birds are loud, and the independence from the rest of the cousins is a heady feeling. Lucky's main LI is Julian, who definitely shares it with them during their visit when they start to get overwhelmed by just how big his family is.

Prakran holy places make Vesuvia's look dull in comparison. White marble polished till is shines in the moonlight, with vibrant drapes and jewelry hanging off every arch and statue. Some of them are carved into the sides of mountaintops, and others are artfully tucked underground.

The South End is just a walk away from where they've been all their life, but the way the sun catches on the ruddy water is entirely unknown. Their LI is perpetually trying to warn them that not every alley and storefront is safe to explore alone, but Lucky has finally started to be curious and nothing will stop them now. Notably, the shop with the round wooden sign is not a clothing merchant.

I just have a lot of feels about my apprentice finally stepping outside of the three places they know and discovering all sorts of wonders, both in Vesuvia and the world.

I practice a bit of magic irl, with a limited understanding of herbs and some divination. Again, the domesticity of the game gets me here. I haven't added much magic-related lore because I like the idea of how much the Arcana's displays of magic mirror our own world's. The practical spells like we see in game, rituals as a very serious thing that my apprentice doesn't really touch, casual divination, talismans, herbs used in food and potions, and various magical instruments like Asra collects.

Stuff I do add in is amulets and the use of herbs and crystals in casting spells. I love the idea of my apprentice making Julian (as an LI or a friend) knot spells, too (sailors would get them from witches; when you untie the knot it shifts the winds in your favor). And Lucky would definitely be the kind of person to keep a couple crystals in their pockets and always have bags of protective herbs at hand.

That got really long! I had more to say than I thought I would. ^^ Thank you for the ask!! 💙💜