#arcana apprentice x li

[mermaidchan05]

The First Petty Disagreements

Apparently I am forever cursed to turn fluffy prompts into angst and angsty prompts into silly fluff lol.

Here we have the first silly, completely pointless, perfectly healthy little arguments between my MC's and all their LI's.

Asra and Meleia

Asra always leaves his sandwiches and snacks on the shop counter

Meleia always insists the shop counter needs to stay clean to ensure a good experience for the customers.

In Asra’s opinion, no one is going to care if there is food around.

Meleia very much cares that there is food around.

Asra can and will mercilessly tease her for being so insistent that the storefront stays clean when their shared bedroom is organized chaos at best.

It’s all done out of love, though.

And Meleia will forgive Asra for his counter-sandwich crimes.

Most of the time.

Julian and Damian

Their first petty argument happened right after seeing a play together.

Someone had brought in a magician to do some of the special effects

Oddly enough, the argument went in the opposite direction of what one might expect

Julian loved the magic effects. He thought they made the whole thing more immersive.

Plus, dangerous-looking stunts done with complete safety? Genius!

Damian was unimpressed.

It was all just party magic. And it didn’t take as much effort or creativity as practical effects.

That, and he’s an alchemist, so he appreciates the work it takes to actually physically create something.

Julian argued that sometimes the puppets and prop swords and such look silly.

Damian argued that the silliness is part of the charm.

This exact argument happens over and over again, after nearly every show they see.

By now they’ve both agreed that each method has its own pros and cons, and both can be great if used well. They just enjoy bantering about it, honestly.

Nadia and Chimalus

Chimalus knows basically nothing about tea. Or wine. Or fine drinks in general.

Nadia always responds as though this is a vast oversight that must be corrected immediately.

Chimalus was not prepared for the lecture they got upon the discovery of that lack of knowledge. .

To this day, they still don’t know the difference between darjeeling and hōjicha

Nor, as they often point out, do they see why that difference matters in the first place.

But that will not stop Nadia from doing her best to educate her partner.

Chimalus just sort of lets it happen at this point. Even if they simply don’t get it.

The two of them can bond over wine sampling, though. Eventually.

Portia and Chimalus

(because yay for polycules!)

Portia, Nadia, and Chimalus all have a book club together.

And with that book club comes drama.

Portia and Chimalus will spend over an hour at a time playfully arguing about the book they just finished.

And they will argue about anything.

The best scene. The most interesting character. Which book is the best in any ongoing series. Which books were well written, and which books were absolute trash.

It’s all fair game in the art of love, war, and book club.

Nadia just lets them go at it… and grabs some snacks while she enjoys the entertainment.

[arcanarubinaito]

MC & M6 Dynamics

Each section contains a mini-playlist with six songs. It’s followed by a general analysis of what I aimed for each playlist to convey when listened to.

A song they’ll sing to/with each other. (In Lucio’s case, specifically him to Auric.)

A song that summarizes the start of their relationship, post-death.

The dynamic from Auric’s POV.

The dynamic from the character’s POV.

An instrumental song that fits their current dynamic.

Bonus song.

Muriel’s playlist will have nine songs, in an attempt to encompass both where their dynamic is currently and where I aim to take it. I’ll show the pattern below using the numbers from above to show what each song is meant to represent.

(Present, first four songs)—2,3,4,5

(Future, last five songs)—1,3,4,5,6

Brothers.

It’s a term that both use without even needing to think about it. Family, siblings, so incredibly close that sometimes it takes Asra a moment to remember they weren’t always in each other’s lives.

Long before they lost half their heart, it already felt like it was missing. The experience forced a lot of their trauma and unresolved issues back into the forefront. They began retreating frequently once Auric was able to take care of himself, taking lengthy trips to get away from it all before it consumed them entirely.

Even without his memories, Auric still loved him. He looked up to him, depended on him. Frequently, Auric wondered if that was why Asra kept leaving—if Auric loved him too much and scared him away.

He stayed. Even when it was painful, sleeping all alone in the loft they shared. Auric stayed right where Asra left him, waiting for them to come back.

Can one still love when they feel so angry? Auric couldn’t figure it out. As time went on, the resentment would build up and all Auric would feel was guilt for it.

Love and care, soured by resentment and loneliness. Auric is finally pulling away, keeping things from Asra that he never did before. Asra wants to fix it, and they’re hoping to god it isn’t too late to do something.

Best friends; confidantes, even.

They knew each other before Auric died. They met at the wedding, and quickly figured out they had a bit in common. While they weren’t particularly close—they led very different lives and rarely had the chance to interact—they were still fond of one another.

When they met again, Nadia had been expected someone brighter and happier. That was who she met in her dreams after all. Instead, she was faced with an anxious, slightly irritable apprentice. And it felt horribly, horribly wrong.

She took extreme amounts of care to make sure Auric was comfortable at the palace. One of the smaller guest rooms, (mostly) practical outfits made from comfortable fabrics, she even incorporated foods into the menu that Portia recommended the average citizen of Vesuvia would enjoy.

Nadia found a unique confidante in Auric. It wasn't long before she confessed her memory loss, and now the two know they have something they share.

In many ways, they leaned on one another. For two people that felt lonely throughout the lives they remembered, there was nothing better than to encounter someone who knew how they felt.

Nadia wants to foster more trust between them. If ever Auric should need anything, Nadia will be right there for him to assist in whatever ways she can.

What else can they call themselves but family? Their relationship fluctuates, depending on their situation.

Meeting Julian for the first time was an… experience. But glimpses past Julian’s façade quickly revealed that he was desperate, not dangerous. Didn’t save him from getting smacked with a broom though.

Honestly the song dedicated to the start of their relationship is more or less just the vibes Julian gave off to Auric at first. Yes, it’s a Will Wood song. You can’t make a playlist without one, I don’t make the rules I just follow ‘em.

It would be a lie to say Julian didn’t have a healthy fear of Auric at first. That wasn’t what Auric intended, but he got a little intense and Julian didn’t know Auric well enough to realize that’s not how he is normally.

There’s a lot of running into each other because there’s a lot of following each other around. Auric tracked Julian down for the purposes of his investigation; Julian started following Auric around to make sure he didn’t run into trouble.

One thing they both could relate to is a longing for adventure and exploring. On top of that, the feeling that they had to stay behind for one reason or another, and in Julian’s case, the guilt that came from finally leaving and pursuing his interests.

These two keep each other in check. Both are impulsive and self-sacrificing; which means they’re perfect to keep each other from diving headfirst into something without thinking, or otherwise doing things they might regret. (Cough, cough, Julian nearly giving himself up to the guards so Auric could escape despite them both being in a very secure hiding place.)

Auric is yet another person Julian hopes can forgive him, for his past and for what he’s planning to do.

Best friends in that do everything together, giggling school girls talking about their crushes, going to the ends of the earth for each other kind of way.

They clicked faster than Auric did with Asra. Like the platonic version of falling in love at first sight. Auric found it incredibly easy to talk to Portia, and vice-versa.

See the thing is, they both love with their entire beings, absorb the stress of everyone and everything around them, and deal with it through borderline overworking themselves. It cancels out with each other. There’s no feeling like they have to prove themselves, and they can feel relaxed.

Auric hadn’t smiled like that in months. His cheeks hurt, his feet ached, but it was worth it to dance and let go of his stress for a couple hours with Portia.

It really just felt natural to talk to her. She was warm, sweet, and caring. Auric felt the most like himself, the most relaxed he had been in ages. That’s not to say he isn’t comfortable around the other M6, but they all carry stress or stressful situations with them that make it hard for him to really let go and unwind.

Boundless energy and curiosity. When Portia and Auric had the time, it was pursuing books in the library or exploring the secret passages. If their schedules didn’t line up, sometimes they’d use their time off to help each other out with whatever they were working on.

There is trust, but also secrets. And that is perfectly fine; they’ll tell each other in good time.

Once upon a time you could describe their relationship as friendly rivals. As a child, Auric often engaged in prank wars with the new Count.

Now they’ve become mortal enemies, their laughter and antics lost in the past. A small part of Lucio missed it, which spurred his actions a little; but whatever kindness and affection he might’ve had was swallowed up in anger and resentment during those three years.

Death was not kind. Or in Lucio’s case, the lack thereof. Three years allowed his anger and desperation to fester and rot, lashing out at anything that wandered into his abandoned wing.

Originally there was a sort of cat and mouse dynamic. It started when Auric first stepped foot into Lucio’s wing; taunting, chasing, even outright hurting Auric in his limited capacity. Auric didn’t remember him, which made it all the more frustrating for Lucio. Although slowly it became a point of interest.

Once he had his own body, his attention shifted away from Auric for a while. It returned swiftly once he completed his deals and he began to realize the little apprentice actually posed a threat. It’s at this point as well that Auric’s fear of Lucio transformed to full-fledged hatred. (Morga’s death was the catalyst.)

It didn’t help that The Devil and The Fool had their own issues going on, and that was beginning to influence things.

Blood will be shed because of their mutual hatred. But while Auric tries to keep it contained between them, Lucio frankly doesn’t give a fuck who gets caught in the crossfire.

They may have begun as strangers but they end up as partners.

Of course, the road to that point is long and slow when one can’t remember the other, and the other doesn’t like the first one.

Muriel barely knew Auric before he died. His opinion only really started forming after Auric’s resurrection; ‘The dead should stay dead.’ is what he told Asra. And he stood by it; he saw firsthand what trying to resurrect Auric did to them. And he saw the aftermath of it too, and how it changed his best friend.

The first time he properly met Auric post-resurrection, it was only because Asra needed someone to keep an eye on him the first time Asra took one of his trips. There wasn’t anything Auric did wrong in particular, but Muriel left with a sour taste in his mouth anyways.

Auric was afraid of him at first. The first several visits were like that; reactions of fear that never quite ebbed away. Muriel could deal with that, he was used to it. What really started to disturb him was when Auric began to slowly become more comfortable around him, despite the curse.

It’s not fear but it slowly developed into wariness. Muriel long discovered that his fear was not absent entirely; it remained attributed to whoever remembered him. And while Auric didn’t remember him entirely, something still did—something small, just under the surface. So whatever fear and anxiety Muriel was developing about the situation mimicked that.

Though to someone who lived a few years now with very limited fears, that was more than enough to trigger some avoidance and general distrust. Especially because he couldn’t control this; he had no say in whether or not Auric remembered him. And in that tiny, under-the-surface way, that was terrifying.

After this, he watched Auric only from a distance and very, very rarely would he interact with him. Warning him about the palace the morning Auric set out to see Nadia was the first time he had spoken to Auric in a good year.

… which was then subsequently followed by multiple interactions over the span of a week, and Auric’s slight recognition began to turn into vague familiarity.

To be honest, Auric was starting to freak out. He was insanely attuned to his own memory out of paranoia that he would lose it all over again; so it was very easy for him to notice all the missing ones. And it really didn’t help that they were cropping up more frequently.

Thankfully Asra returned and Muriel wasn’t needed anymore. And by the looks of things, Asra wasn’t going to leave for a while yet; good. Muriel wanted to put as much distance between himself, and Auric, and these weird feelings of slight fondness and concern as possible.

Asra asked him to stick around longer anyways. Auric was accepting only so much help from them, and they didn’t trust Julian to keep Auric safe and out of trouble either. Great, now he was stuck watching TWO people he didn’t like.

Muriel had to wonder just how much fortune hated him, for Auric to stumble across him that fateful evening in the forest. Sure, he was bleeding out from a gaping wound in his side and sure Auric unthinkingly healed him up and spent his magic reserves…

… and then they were traveling together…

… and getting to know each other…

… fuck.

Now he understood exactly what ‘butterflies’ meant. Now he knew a different kind of fear. Now he knew a different intensity to the fears he used to have.

His knee jerk instinct is to run away from it all when it gets too intense. But Auric didn’t really let him… which was surprising. And nice. Everything Auric did was surprising, mostly in good ways.

Whatever happens, they’re prepared to weather the storm together.

[xiaobunnn]

I designed a pin of my apprentice and lucio

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH😭😭

[vesuviaweekly]

Vesuvia Weekly: Prompt for Jan 10th - 24th

You voted, so here it is!

Your MC/their LI's dynamic

The masterlist for all posts tagged with this prompt will be under the poll for next week's prompt! Tags will be the usual #vesuvia weekly, and for this prompt specifically, #MC/LI dynamics ^.^

MASTERLIST

Brainrot and the M6 (headcanons by @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia)

Wilmina/The Cast's Dynamics by @hewwo-its-floof

Marissa x Portia by @zidisclowning

Raina/The Cast's dynamics (OC) by @vegaspng

Taduki & Muriel by @taduki

Merf's Character Dynamics With the M6 by @themushroomgoesyeet

My MC and their LI dynamics by @fox-daddy

juligale in 5 minutes by @star-strand

Maya (MC) and Julian by @vodyaniks

Julem in a Nutshell by @samtheplatypus

The Arcana Main 6 x Dara by @theintrovertbean

The Arcana Main 6 x Fallon by @jacely

LI and Apprentic Dynamics by @mermaidchan05 (feat art by @missrabbitart and @ace--of--swords)

Yusra and M6 by @bahrtofane

MC x non main LI by @fox-daddy

OCs x Arcana Characters by @jeridoesntdourls

Apprentice and LI Dynamics by @dolceaspidenera

MC & M6 dynamics by @arcanarubinaito

[sil-writes-fiction-too]

A Monument To Your Atrocities

Lucio Morgasson x Apprentice!OC

Genre: angst

June of Doom, Day 16: "At least it can't get any worse", "Stranded" (late entry) @juneofdoom

CW: mentions of death, mentions of illness

A/N: finally a The Arcana one-shot! This is my own rendition of the Lazaret scene from Lucio's route, featuring my apprentice OC, Vesper. I wanted a reason for her to stick by Lucio's side other than "she's just that nice", and I wanted it to tie into her past. I tried to convey it a little through this piece, so I hope it comes across. Enjoy!

Red light pours into the room from the massive holes in the collapsed ceiling. Twisting vines poke through, flowing down like tendrils that look ready to grab at him and drag him into the ashy darkness of the island. No, he needs to stop thinking like this! This is already terrifying enough without his mind playing tricks on him. He looks around with wide eyes, wondering why in the hell he ended up here of all places. Is this a sick joke?? With every second that he passes sitting on the dirty stone floor and with the rattling of the chains weighing him down, he can feel his breath shortening more and more, making the feeling of dread slowly and increasingly settle in at the center of his chest.

It's quiet in here... too quiet. Having spent the last few days at Vesper's side, he isn't used to how deafening the silence can be anymore. He feels the need to fill the quietness now that the magician's lovely voice isn't here to comfort him anymore. “Okay... calm down Lucio, you'll get outta this, you always do. God, now I regret having this place built...” He mutters to himself as he keeps looking around, trying to think of what to do. He is all alone, he is lost... and he has no way of escaping. But surely, somewhere out there Vesper must be looking for him, right? Right...? Of course she is! He just needs to wait, yes... wait.

He takes a deep breath to try and calm down, bouncing his leg nervously. “Okay... no big deal. Soon Vesper will come get me and then we can leave this hell hole together... I can do this. I just gotta wait...” He looks around some more. He has been here for, what, five... ten minutes already? And it's still quiet. The Devil doesn't seem to have followed him here, for whatever reason. A nervous chuckle falls from his lips in an attempt at soothing his fear. “At least it can't get any worse.”

He really should learn how to shut his mouth.

A high, unearthly shriek echoes from somewhere within the Lazaret, making him yelp in fear, the chains rattling loudly with the sharp jolt of his body. He gulps thickly and then clears his throat, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible “Uhhh... what's that? Who's there?” He calls out, hoping to scare off whatever made that horrible sound. Seriously, he could benefit from shutting the hell up sometimes.

As if awakened and spurred on by the fake and unconvincing bravado in his voice, the shadows around him in the room begin to shift and stretch towards him with shrieks and spectral cries. Unable to run away, Lucio quickly huddles behind a nearby, rusted bed frame as he looks on in horror. Dark, wispy figures crawl from the broken bed frames and empty doorways, slowly closing in and swarming all around him as they reach their shadowy hands towards him. He frantically swats at the air, desperately trying to keep them away from him.

“You. You did this to us...” Come their raspy voices all at once.

“I don't even know what you're talking about!” He is quick to snap back, already feeling the now too familiar sensation of guilt slowly crawl up his body as he lies boldly to these desperate, crying figures. Vesper would be so disappointed in him.

“You know.” Rattles an old man's voice as one of the larger shadows crawls towards him, backing him against the wall. Lucio swears he can almost feel the specter's chilly breath fan against his face. “H-hey there. Good ghost. Nice ghost?” He stammers nervously, pressing himself up against the stone wall to try and put as much distance as possible between himself and the dark spirit, but the ghost reaches for him with bony fingers tinged red and bloody, making Lucio's heart almost stop right then and there as panic explodes in his aching chest.

“N-no, no, go away. Go away! You're dead! You're not real!” He screams in terror, curling up like a child and putting his head in his hands in an irrational attempt at getting the shadows to disappear and leave him alone.

His mind swarms with thoughts and questions and memories of his past actions, while a string of incoherent words and pleas falls from his trembling lips as he desperately tries to make sense of this situation, or to convince himself that this is all a bad dream and that soon he'll wake up. All those people... all those victims..

He is so absorbed in his terror-fueled chaos that he doesn't even register the source of the bright flash of light that inundates the whole room briefly, and the ghosts' cries are so loud and so close to him that they render him deaf to a familiar voice calling out to him and warning his assailants to back off from him. “Gah! What the hell was that?” He exclaims as a bunch of colored spots cloud his vision from the sheer intensity of the light burst.

He looks around wildly to try and locate the culprit, and when his vision finally clears he almost collapses with relief. She's here.

“Vesper! You're finally here! What took you so damn long?!” He almost laughs hysterically, still huddled up in his corner and trying with all his might to not let the ghosts touch him.

“You're welcome.” She replies sarcastically with open arms, blowing a strand of pearly-white hair away from her face. “I mean, you're a sight for sore eyes.” He quickly adds. “Now get me out of here!” He pleads in a high-pitched voice as he shakes the heavy chains hanging off of him. When she hesitates, he falters.

“Uh, can you hurry up? In case you hadn't noticed, there are an awful lot of...” Something standing behind Vesper catches his attention, making him pale until there's no color left in his face. “..ghosts...” He trails off as he stares at the horrifying apparition that almost seems like it emerged directly from Vesper's own shadow. It fades, reappears, and opens its mouth with a rattling moan. When the magician turns around, she lets out a sharp gasp as she sees it too.

“Lucio. Why did you do it?” Comes Vesper's soft, broken voice as the twisted creature approaches. His mouth opens in horror and his entire being suddenly grows cold. No... this can't be. She is alive! He knows she is! So why now...??

“You killed me, Lucio. Without thought or hesitation.” Continues the relentless apparition, and he shivers in his chains, knees hugged to his chest as he feels his throat close shut at its words.

“...I know. I'm-I'm sorry.” He stammers as his voice starts to break. “I didn't mean to kill you, I swear.” His fingernails dig into his knees and his lips start trembling again.

For a moment, the room falls silent as Vesper's eyes widen and she grows pale at their words. Her hands, which were getting ready to try and create another burst of light, lower in shock.

“What?! I died?” She stares at Lucio in pure disbelief, feeling a mixture of emotions hit her all at once as she tries to make sense of what she just heard. She thought this... apparition was merely trying to scare Lucio, to make him believe that he killed her, but his answer to those accusations is like a nail in the coffin or a flash of lightning in the darkness of the night. She died. But how? She is here right now, in the flesh! And yet...

But it all makes sense, doesn't it? No matter how hard she always tried, she never found an explanation for her amnesia, and even though she's always had a suspicion that Asra knew more than he let on, he always refused to discuss the matter further with her. The memory loss, the headaches, the disorientating feeling of being incomplete... it all seems to become a little clearer if her death is the explanation, but how does that even make a lick of sense? If she is dead then she shouldn't be here. How is she here? How can she be both dead and alive? A ghost and a living woman?

As a sudden shock of pain skewers her brain, her thoughts and feelings turn sour. The news of her death wasn't enough, of course. No, she also has to find out that the reason for all of this is none other than Lucio himself! All this time she's been trying to help him, to guide him, to save him... and he's been her killer all along?! A red hot anger rises in her body, but, right when she feels ready to explode, that anger suddenly turns into pain and her heart squeezes in her chest. Had he known all this time? Who she was? That she died because of him? While she was helping him, slowly falling for him... did he know he had doomed her?

Her eyes well up with tears and she doesn't even flinch when her ghost kneels next to Lucio's prone form. He tries to shrink away, but his chains hold him fast.

“If you didn't mean to kill me, why did you do it?” All the other ghosts suddenly surge forward, swarming around the three of them like a colony of ants with outraged cries of “Why? Why did we have to die here?”

“No, no, this isn't happening! You're not real! Leave me alone!” Lucio shrieks again, his desperation becoming more and more evident as the moments pass. Why did they have to die? Why did she have to die? He feels like the answers to those questions used to come naturally to him, not too long ago. A fair sacrifice for his success, for his survival, for his power. And he never batted an eye, did he? But those same answers now taste like bile in his mouth.

Still standing over him, Vesper looks around at the lamenting ghosts, alarmed. So many souls, so much pain... and it seems she was one of them at some point. The anguish hangs heavy in the room, almost suffocating her, becoming her own. Her gaze lowers towards Lucio again and her grief-stricken expression turns serious as understanding slowly dawns on her. “They won't just disappear.”

The ghosts' collective, plaintive cries are so loud that Vesper can barely hear herself, so she doesn't count on Lucio hearing her. Does she even care if he hears her? If he truly is the reason for her suffering... she could just turn around and leave. Something dark inside of her makes her think it could be easy for her to do it, to abandon him to this gruesome fate. But even so, despite these dark thoughts swirling in her mind, despite the anger, and against her better judgment, she takes a deep breath and steps forward, walking right through her own shade to sit next to him. “They won't just disappear.” She repeats, closer to his ear this time. “They must be here for a reason.”

Serious and strained as it is, her voice still sounds soft and kind as it always does when he most needs it. She just learned about her own death, that he made it happen... and yet she sits by his side and gently tries to pull him through. It only makes him want to cry more.

Lucio heaves a great sniff, still trembling from head to toe as he tries to gather his thoughts and to speak. “What reason?” His question comes out almost like a peep. He can't even look at her when he asks, because he knows that she is in pain, and that he is the cause of all this, no matter how much he likes to push the blame as far away from himself as possible.

“They're drawn to you. I don't know what they want, but it couldn't hurt to answer them, could it?” In truth she feels like she knows very well what they might want from him, and for a moment she wonders if perhaps part of her doesn't want the same thing, no matter how hard or painful it could be for him.

“I...” Begins Lucio, and suddenly the swarm of ghosts falls silent and still, hanging in the air like a cloud as they all wait expectantly for him to keep going. He sways back and forth on the spot, teetering on the edge of speech. Why is it always so difficult? Why does he always feel so awful? Why can't he just face reality? Why does he always mess things up so badly? He can feel Vesper's eyes on him, he knows the ghosts aren't the only ones waiting for answers... and knowing she is just sitting there, lost and confused and hurt, finally gives him that one last push.

“...I was afraid, okay? And I wasn't the only one.” He admits, bringing his hands up to his face with a rattle of chains as he feels a nauseating feeling of shame slowly well up inside him. “The plague was killing everyone! No one knew what to do. I didn't know what to do.” Images of the plague-ridden streets of Vesuvia flood his mind, startling him and setting off his usual ramblings. “You don't understand. I was Count, and I did what I had to. If I died of the plague-”. Suddenly, Vesper's ghost drifts closer to him, its outline shimmering in the dim gloom.

“What you had to do? Or what you wanted to do?” Its words come down on him like the blade of a guillotine, effectively knocking the air out of his lungs. “I-I-I don't-” he stutters as the panic, the guilt and the shame keep building up inside of him, making his eyes sting. “I was just so scared. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to disappear and be forgotten.”

His eyes widen in horror as realization dawns on him. “I... never thought about the same thing happening to anybody else.” His voice lowers as the weight of what he's done truly settles in. Vesper remains quiet by his side, but the flicker of a smile seems to appear on her ghost's face.

“Are you still afraid?” It asks almost tauntingly, but it is immediately met with Lucio's sincere response. “...yes. I've always been afraid.” He finally looks up to the figure's face, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

The hazy form of Vesper's ghost remains silent, but it extends one smoky hand towards Lucio and the other to her living, breathing counterpart.

“...Vesper?” He calls her name with uncertainty, once again searching for her guidance even though, right now, he feels like that's the last thing he deserves. She has every right to ignore him, to leave him there, to scorn him... and yet she gives him an encouraging nod, and she gently grasps her ghost's hand.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to. It won't happen again, I promise!” He exclaims, the first few tears finally falling down his face and staining his cheeks with his ruined makeup as he reaches for the hazy form drifting between him and Vesper. She doesn't even know if he's talking to it or to her. Perhaps it is both.

“Never again?” it inquires, and his quiet tears turn into loud and desperate sobs as his whole body shakes with his cries “Never! I swear!” He yells with so much sincerity that it shakes him down to his core, and with a wistful sigh, Vesper's ghost starts to disperse, shadow and vapor swirling around them.

“Do not forget...”

One by one, the other ghosts fade back into the crumbling mortar of the Lazaret. And as they disappear, so do the chains holding Lucio, who immediately reaches out to Vesper with a loud gasp, gripping hard onto her and sobbing into her shoulder. She is here, she is breathing. He knows there is a clear chance she might not want to have anything to do with him ever again after this, but for now he needs to hold her close, to make sure that she is truly alive. He couldn't live with the thought of her being gone for good... especially because of him.

Vesper stays still as Lucio clings to her, her eyebrows knitting together as she battles with herself. All her life, all the memories she's lost, all the pain and anguish that came with having to relearn how to even be a person.... It all was because of him. All this time she's been traveling with and helping the man that brought her to her death. That caused all of this. She has all the right to be angry at him, to yell at him and to never forgive him for what he's done... but once again that feeling in the back of her mind tells her that she should stay. This sensation that keeps pulling her towards him despite all the awful things he did... it has something to do with who she was before, she is certain of it. Whoever she was before she died is the reason why she hasn't left Lucio behind yet, why she can't help but understand him on a deep, personal level, no matter what he does. She should be screaming at him right now and yet she can't help but think that she's never heard Lucio sound so genuinely broken before, and once again, despite everything, her heart reaches out to him in sympathy. Maybe one day she'll regret standing by his side, trying to guide him towards a better path... But that day isn't today.

And as her arms finally come up to wrap around Lucio and hold him closer to her, the last chain binding him shudders, convulses... and crumbles away.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

hi!! could you write about the m6 with an asexual mc? thanks

I wish I could write this!

Perhaps in the future when I have more faith in my writing abilities, but I couldn't right now because 1) I have enough people close to me who are asexual to know how widely that experience ranges and 2) asexuality is completely valid and deserves more recognition in LGBTQ+ spaces, but there is so little I share in common I wouldn't know how to write for it unless I did hours of research and asked my poor friends some really weird questions.

Here's a few I found by some other creators though!

[magicianapprenticelyra]

WIP(s) Update #I

A/N: Hello everybody! As promised, this post is a little peek into what I’ve been working on as of late.

It’ll be divided into two parts: drafts I’ve been intermittently working on from 2022 and earlier (some may be all the way back from 2020 as well, YIKES), and then more recent works that have popped up within the last five to six months.

More under the cut because this got . . . very long.

Old(er) Works/WIP(s) [from 2022 and before]:

Fics I owe/want to give people [three to five in total]

Expansion of AUs Written / Noted

Modern

possible modern AU of Bảo being a gamer as a teenager like some Youtubers, but he’s small-time indie kinda guy

Reversal [within my cast of OCs] (i.e. Apprentice!Bảo and Auntie!Liên)

Celestial Sanctum

Actor AU(?) [at least Lucio’s part]

Apprenticember—DAY(s) II & III (Part II)

Main 6 LI route stories with Apprentice and/or Librarian Lyra

Maybe??? Even??? Librarian Lyra Route???

Expansion on time spent with the various in-laws for both Apprentice / Librarian Lyra and her LI(s)

All Apprentice!Lyras interacting with one another [The Observation Room]

May be a series, or it may be a set of one-shots that interconnect somehow

Finish Devil!Lyra’s Ascension [lucio x apprentice]

OC Backstories

Lyra [slight reboot/rewriting of her past, present and future within the world of The Arcana

Lyra’s extended family

Rồngkarst (village)/Leysương (country) aesthetics [parts of Fantasyland Vietnam]

specific details and whatnot

Sekani/Walt/James/Bảo/Neha

Walterine’s Parents

How Walt is related to Sekani

James’s Parents [two] and Siblings [five of them]

The Banbha [James’s tribe in The South]

The Olde Deer God

Connections / Interactions with the Heart of the Forest

Tarot [Major and/or Minor] Card Associations

Annnnnnnnd just THIS chunk is written out in about 60 or so one sentence ideas in a notebook of mine that I’ll need to break down or combine in order to make any coherence.

[Oof]

WIP(s) [from Jan 2023 to now]:

Ceci and Thomas

Details how they’re connected to Lyra and her family

May or may not tie in with The Observation Room shenanigans

Also Ceci and Thomas’s siren / mermaid / undine(?) background / lineage

More stories about the fan kids

Tarot [Major and/or Minor] Card Associations

Familiars

Whether or not they’re aware of the canon / in-game events that their family and loved ones have gone through.

Whether or not they’re aware of THOMAS’s background as not being entirely human

Pictures of Crochet!Nook [thanks go to @fire-fira for this bit. I’m still overjoyed this could happen]

In Conclusion:

This writer’s brain is very full of ideas and I wish I had more time in the day to work on all of these.

If you made it this far, thank you so, so much for your time and patience to read all of this.

Have a good rest of your day / night!

[renadactyl]

Febuwhump Plan List

These are all my carefully laid-out plans to torment some of my favorite characters. I’ll be dipping my toes into the angst pools in the fandoms of The Arcana, Bungou Stray Dogs, Moriarty the Patriot, Jujutsu Kaisen, BBC’s Sherlock, Spy x Family, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Death Note, and The X Files.

Please note though that I haven’t finished playing Portia’s route or started Lucio’s route and I haven’t unlocked all the paid scenes yet in The Arcana. I also haven’t unlocked Julian’s reverse ending, Nadia’s reverse ending, and Muriel’s reverse ending. And I’m not up-to-date with the manga for Spy x Family. I also never have read the manga for Death Note. And I haven’t read the manga for Neon Genesis Evangelion and I haven’t seen the show in a while. And it has been a while since I last touched things Bungou Stray Dogs-related too but I’m still up-to-date.

My list includes:

Day one: one-sided!Muriel x Apprentice and Muriel x Asra: “Helpless” - where you try to free Muriel from his chains, but he can’t let you because of Asra’s safety being compromised (set pre-plague) {FINISHED WRITING}

Day two: Julian-centric (with a bit of mentioned Asra x Julian and Julian x Apprentice): “Solitary Confinement” - where Julian loses his mind trying to find a cure (set during the time he was locked in his room by Lucio to find a cure for the plague) {FINISHED WRITING}

Day three: Satoru Gojo x Suguru Geto: “Bite Down On This” - where Suguru’s arm isn’t quite all the way dismembered and desperate times call for desperate measures (set at ending of Jujutsu Kaisen: 0) {CURRENTLY WRITING}

Day four: Kaworu x Shinji: “Obedience” - where Kaworu and Shinji are forced into the cycle of Shinji being guilty for Kaworu’s death every time all because of Kaworu being obedient to his life’s mission (set in another of cycle of similar events)

Day five: Julian x Apprentice: “Rope Burns” - where you catch Julian being careless with his health again (follows his upright ending)

Day six: Mycroft x Lestrade: “You Lied To Me” - where Mycroft doesn’t want to tell Lestrade about his work, but Lestrade finds out soon enough (set before John comes to 221B)

Day seven: Poe x Ranpo: “Suffering In Silence” - where Poe retreats from the outside world and feels inferior, forcing Ranpo into the position of learning how to listen to someone’s problem and comforting them instead of offering brilliant advice (set post-Guild Arc)

Day eight: Sigma x Atsushi: “Why Won’t It Stop?” - where Sigma wants peace and Atsushi will do his damnedest best to deliver (set post-Vampire Infection Outbreak arc)

Day nine: Fred x Louis: “Bees” - where Fred accidentally leaves the doors to the greenhouse open and has a run-in with a bee. Louis, ever the care-taker, takes care of the sting

Day ten: Atsushi x Akutagawa: “Killing In Self Defense” - where Atsushi has no choice but to kill the vampire version of his boyfriend at the airport in order to save his life and has to face crippling guilt (set during the Vampire Infection Outbreak arc)

Day eleven: Mulder x Scully: “Time Loop” - where Scully is forced to confront truthful evidence of the paranormal in a most heart-breaking way

Day twelve: Asra x Julian: “Semi-Conscious” - where Julian finds it funny that Asra fell asleep on the water fountain until he heard the half-asleep words Asra muttered out (during the Red Plague disaster)

Day thirteen: Yuta x Inumaki: “You Weren’t Supposed To Get Hurt” - where Yuta bandages Inumaki’s injuries after the Shibuya arc and has to deal with conflicting emotions

Day fourteen: Yor x Loid: “Blood-Stained Tiles” - where Loid walks in to blood all over his apartment floor and has to face the truth that he realized his human emotions for Anya and Yor too late… until Yor proves to him that no one underestimates her

Day fifteen: Tecchou x Jouno: “Who Did This To You?” - where Tecchou fails and Jouno takes out his sadistic self on the opponents that dared to ruin Tecchou’s mood and that pretty face of his

Day sixteen: Asra x Apprentice: “Came Back Wrong” - where Asra ponders whether or not it was a mistake to bring you back after you’ve become so different after your reincarnation

Day seventeen: Albert x reader: “Hostage Situation” - where you are taken hostage by a noble and Albert finds sweet revenge

Day eighteen: Sherlock x Watson: “Too Weak To Move” - where Sherlock takes too much, and John no longer knows how to stop it all

Day nineteen: L x Light: “Please Don’t” (this might end up being more crack than whump though) - where L should’ve followed his instinct, and Light refused to follow a human’s heart

Day twenty: Yor and Yuri (platonic, sibling bond): “Truth Serum” - where Yor is accidentally injected with a truth serum on the job, and Yuri learns his sister’s secrets

Day twenty-one: William x Sherlock: “Unresponsive” - where Sherlock has to face the idea of William never waking up and having failed to save the man he loved before he could even tell him the things he wanted to tell him (set post-The Final Problem arc)

Day twenty-two: Satoru Gojo x Suguru Geto: “You Weren’t Meant To Be There” - where Satoru uses Suguru as a moral compass at the worst time possible (set post-KFC breakup but pre-Jujutsu Kaisen: 0)

Day twenty-three: James x Sherlock: “Presumed Dead” - written in two letters, Sherlock to James and James to Sherlock (set post-The Final Problem)

Day twenty-four: Julian x Apprentice: “I’m Doing This Because I Care About You” - where Julian can’t help but sacrifice himself for the sake of his beloved (my take on what the Reversed Ending for Julian might be like since I haven’t played it yet)

Day twenty-five: Kenji x Kyouka: “Waterboarding” - where Kenji takes a case that goes wrong, and when Kyouka finds the damage done she doesn’t know how to help the sun she has grown to love shine light down on her again (this one is just downright cruel, I’m sorry)

Day twenty-six: one sided!Asra x Muriel: “Help Them” - where Muriel lives to protect Asra’s wishes, even if Asra wouldn’t choose to protect him first

Day twenty-seven: Megumi x Yuji: “Left For Dead” - a sort of alternate take on the current chapters of the manga, where Sukuna knew he needed to ruin Megumi’s mental state, so before killing Tsumiki he tries to kill Yuji first and Yuji stands no chance against the King of Curses

Day twenty-eight: Kaworu x Shinji: “No… Not Like This” - where Kaworu is fed up with not being able to make Shinji happy, and decides he’ll take matters into his own hands. He realizes before it’s too late… it’s still hopeless

Day twenty-nine: Sherlock x Watson: “Not Allowed To Die” - where John understood the hidden messages underneath Sherlock’s behavior, and so he’s there to stand with him against Moriarty or to die with him

[thecrazyalaskan]

mood board | Iris x Noah (The Arcana) 

A moodboard for @magicianapprenticelyra featuring our respective Apprentice x LI children—Muriel and Lyra’s daughter Iris and Julian and Ąžuolas’ son Noah

[korsithkoris]

Daily Drawing Sequel day 221, a preview of the last art of 2021, done for @lies-and-scandal ! Full art to be revealed tomorrow...uh...later today!! 8) after it premiers on YouTube ;)

[bastart13]

Day 6: Nothing Can Hurt You @lovelikeyoursfest

Sleepless nights are best shared...

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: "Not How That's Supposed to Work"

It's fluff time let's goooo!

In which Julian tries to be helpful and ends up causing a bit of a mess, but it all works out okay in the end. Featuring Julian, Malak, my apprentice Damian, and a cameo by his familiar Oswald the bat. And once again partially inspired by another amazing headcanon from @iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia

About 2650 words. No warnings, just a whole lot of fluff and Julian being the amazing drama king he is.

___________

If that night proved one thing, it was that Julian should never be trusted with cleaning up the magic shop. 

Particularly not with sweeping.  Sweeping things only ever led to disaster.

True, Malak was partially responsible for the latest disaster.  But Julian would never blame him.  Not when it was his own move that caused the current catastrophe.

All Julian had wanted to do was attempt to be helpful.  His work had—blessedly – ended earlier than expected.  But, as was the way of the universe, he had wound up stopping by Damian’s shop at almost the exact moment that Damian was on his way out.  So while Damian was off getting more stock for the shop, his trusty bat Oswald along for the ride, Julian took it upon himself to do the one thing he truly could do to make Damian’s job a little bit easier.  Cleaning up a bit, he thought, would be a simple but important gesture.  

And something that he couldn’t possibly mess up. 

He was right.  For a little while.  Julian was able to sweep up the actual shop floor without too much trouble.  It helped that Damian always kept the storefront clean.  But their shared living quarters upstairs were an entirely different matter.    

In their shared quarters, Damian had a shelf full of little treasures that he had collected over the years.  Some were Damian’s own finds or creations.  Others were gifts: Asra’s finds from his travels, gifts from Nadia, little abandoned things that Portia had found around the palace… things of that nature.  Julian always had to be careful when dusting these shelves.  One false move would lead to something crashing to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. 

Which was exactly what happened. 

One of the trinkets was from a young woman who Damian had once sold a good-luck charm to.  Julian had been rather perplexed and incredulous at the idea.  Luck couldn’t possibly be altered by magic.  It was too great and powerful of a force. 

Julian had expected Damian to argue with him.  But he’d actually agreed.  Good-luck charms, Damian had explained, were far more often protection charms.  They simply worked better if the person wearing the charm believed they would be lucky. 

That hadn’t exactly clarified anything for Julian, but he was starting to learn to roll with it.  Mostly. 

Either way, the charm had apparently done what the young woman had wanted it to do, since she had thanked Damian with a handmade little porcelain animal: a striped orange cat playing a guitar.  How she had found out that Damian liked cats in the first place was simply one of the universe’s great mysteries.  Knowing that Damian played guitar was far less confusing, since he and Julian had done a few impromptu performances together, particularly in places like the Rowdy Raven.  Whatever the case, Damian was certainly enamored with the trinket.  Julian couldn’t help but agree.  He loved the silly little cat guy. 

Of course, that was exactly what the broom handle knocked into.  

Malak had chosen the exact wrong moment to try to steal something shiny.  Admittedly, that was a near-constant hazard when doing much of anything upstairs.  Though by now Malak had learned which things his chosen human would be actively angry or upset about him stealing, he still tried to scoop up a few other things.  And Julian’s retaliation was instinctive by now.  He whirled around and started shooing Malak away.  And that was when the broom handle officially got out of Julian’s control. 

Julian dropped the broom the moment he heard the crash.  And he swore when he saw the mess that he had made.  The poor little orange cat was headless now.  And the arm or paw or whatever-it-was was nearly halfway across the room.  The guitar had snapped so convincingly that Julian was almost surprised he hadn’t heard the twang of broken strings.  The poor cat’s tail was in four different pieces. 

“No, no, no, no, no…” Julian blurted out.  “Oh, Damian’s going to be heartbroken…” 

Glad he was still wearing his leather gloves, he scooped all the pieces up as best as he could.  Then he stood, carrying the shattered remains of Guitar Cat, and looked helplessly around the room.  

“I have to do something about this…” he said to no one in particular.  “He can’t see this mess, he can’t… aha!” 

The first thing his desperate search found him was the wardrobe.  It was a rather small wardrobe, and felt even smaller with all of Julian’s coats taking up more than half of it.  So cluttered that it would be very hard to find some pieces of shattered porcelain.

He quickly stuck the broken pieces into a pocket of one of his coats.  He practically slammed the wardrobe door behind him.  And he leaned against it, letting out a long sigh. 

Now what? 

Guilt was starting to creep in before Malak cawed reproachfully.  Julian was still getting used to listening to the weird magical voice in his head that was apparently Malak just talking to him and not imitating words like corvids could do.  But the message was clear enough this time. 

“Gah, you’re right, that was a stupid, stupid plan…” 

Still in pure panic, Julian tossed the wardrobe door open and fished the remnants of Guitar Cat right back out of his pocket.  Then he returned to frantically pacing around the room in hopes of finding a solution.  Perhaps by some sort of divine intervention.  That seemed the only way to solve this at the moment. 

Especially with Damian bound to be home any minute.  

“Maybe… maybe we can fix it,” he rambled at last.  “Damian has thousands of magical things down there, one of them has to put things back together…” 

Malak cawed again.  Another very clear message. 

“Right… right, glue of course…” Julian mumbled.  “But, gah, there will still be cracks everywhere won’t there?  It won’t look nearly as wonderful, and Damian will find out that I made a mess of things, and—” 

Another caw from Malak.  Julian stopped in his tracks. 

“Uh, yes, right, of course,” he blurted.  “Fix first, worry later.” 

Without further ado, he sped back down the stairs and started looking for some way to piece Guitar Cat back together.  

He didn’t find much.  Not much that he actually knew the function of, anyway.  He’d had one too many instances of accidentally causing large problems by touching Damian’s alchemy stuff to risk doing it again.  Particularly in the midst of an entirely unrelated crisis.  

So Julian resorted to trying to stick everything together like a puzzle.  Maybe that would buy him some time, at least. 

He was so focused on fitting all the tiny pieces together in any way that he could, that he didn’t even register the fact that said pieces were actually staying put.  He didn’t notice the little sparks of magic trailing from his fingers.  He didn’t see the way the cracks and shattered edges all sealed up.  He was that lost to his own guilt-stricken panic.  

Malak, on the other hand, saw it all very clearly.  And if Julian had been paying attention, he might have seen the decidedly smug pose Malak had taken up. 

After a few more minutes of frantically sticking Guitar Cat back together, Julian was abruptly brought back to reality by a now-familiar hum.  Damian was using his magic to open the shop door.  Julian’s usual teasing about simply using a key without all the other fuss was far from his mind.  He whirled around, paler than usual with guilt, instinctively attempting to hide Guitar Cat behind his own form. 

The door clicked open.  Julian’s heart seemed to shoot to his throat.  There was a familiar little squeak as Oswald flew in first, immediately dangling from his favorite rafter.  Malak fluttered up to perch right above him.  Julian was sure they were engaged in some silent conversation between familiars.  Probably laughing about how stupid Julian had just been.  But he couldn’t afford to focus on that. 

Not with Damian walking through the door. 

“I’m home,” Damian called. 

The adorable habit would have made Julian smile on an ordinary, non-disastrous day.  And he would have responded with a “welcome back,” and then an increasingly elaborate story about his day.  But this time, entirely different words flooded out of him.

“Oh, Damian, my love, my light, please forgive me.” 

Damian paused halfway through the door.  He raised an eyebrow at Julian. 

“Okay...” he said slowly.  “Forgive you for what?” 

A dagger in the gut would have been less terrifying.  And more deserved.

And of course, Julian immediately proceeded to do an absolutely terrible job of explaining the situation. 

“I was only trying to sweep the floor,” he rambled, “and Malak swooped after something shiny-- but no, no I can’t blame Malak, and please don’t be mad at him, this is my fault entirely...” 

“What’s your fault?” Damian asked.  He was starting to look a little alarmed.  “Julian, whatever you did, it can’t be worse than the glittering slime incident, can it?” 

Julian flushed.  “Ah... well... the mess caused by the glittering slime was at least fixable...” 

“You broke something?” said Damian, more trying to solve the puzzle than accusing Julian of anything. 

Julian let out a sigh.  He stepped aside, head bowed. 

“I’m sorry, my darling,” he said soberly.  “My foolishness led Guitar Cat to a terrible fate.” 

Damian walked right up to the shop counter.  His shoulder brushed against Julian’s.  Julian had to fight the urge to hurry away.  Or to cry out that he was undeserving of Damian’s touch.  Neither would be helpful, but both felt appropriate in the moment. 

Damian hummed thoughtfully.  “He looks fine to me.” 

Julian’s chin dropped.  “Uh... what?”  

Damian picked up Guitar Cat.  Julian’s heart skipped a beat.  He instinctively reached out to catch the pieces that were absolutely not attached to each other in any way and were sure to plop right back to the counter.  But somehow, like a miracle, Guitar Cat stayed whole.  Damian even twisted Guitar Cat around to give it a full inspection. 

“He looks fine,” Damian repeated.  He looked up at Julian, confused and slightly skeptical.  “Did you drop him on the carpet?  Does he have a chipped ear or something?” 

It took Julian a full three seconds to form words.  And even then they were far from coherent. 

“I... wait, wait, no, this is not... this isn’t possible,” he stumbled.  “It shattered.  I saw it.  I was sweeping upstairs, and I hit it with the broom cabinet, and... I decapitated Guitar Cat!” 

Damian’s eyebrow crept higher.  “Sounds a little extreme, doesn’t it?” 

“Damian, I swear to you, with Malak as my witness, that Guitar Cat was headless before you walked in,” said Julian.  “I almost hid his remains in the wardrobe!  Malak talked me out of it, and then I tried to fix it, but I didn’t know if there was anything like glue around here, so I started piecing it back together in some vain hope of--” 

“Love, you’re rambling,” Damian said gently. 

Julian instantly snapped his mouth shut.  A blush crept all the way to his ears. 

“Uh, sorry...” 

“It’s alright.”  A hint of a smile tugged at Damian’s lips.  “This is a mystery, though... let me test something.” 

He must have been testing something with magic, since Guitar Cat was covered with a faint glow.  When the glow vanished, Damian gave a rather firm nod, as though the entire mystery was solved already. 

“I thought so.”  

“You, er, you thought what?” Julian asked. 

“You fixed it,” said Damian. 

Julian could only blink at him.  “I...?”

“You used your magic,” said Damian.  “I’d know your handiwork anywhere, Julian.  I’d guess your doctor instincts kicked in.  You were so determined to save your porcelain patient that you used magic without thinking about it.” 

“I... that’s... but, uh... that isn’t...”  Once again, Julian’s words utterly failed him.  He shook his head and made another attempt.  “But that’s not how this works.  That’s not how magic is supposed to work!”

“Actually, that’s exactly how this is supposed to work,” said Damian. 

“But... but there wasn’t any spell circle, or incantation, or fancy hand gesture, or magical regents, or... or anything!” 

Damian slowly put Guitar Cat back on the counter.  He turned to face Julian, looking him directly in the eye.  Julian started blushing again.  

“Julian.” 

“Y-yes, love?” Julian stuttered. 

“What am I always telling you about magic?” said Damian. 

Oh no.  He was using his Teacher Voice.  Julian had absolutely zero defenses against his Teacher Voice.  The only thing he could do was attempt an answer, even if he had no real idea what that answer was.

“That... you have to be careful what you wish for, because of what it will cost to get it?” Julian said hesitantly. 

Damian’s smile crept higher.  “No.  Good job remembering the first rule of magic, though.  What’s the other thing I keep telling you?” 

Julian was absolutely certain his face had actually caught fire at that point.  But he tried again.   

“That... magic comes in many different styles and it’s alright that I don’t master every single one of them?”  

Damian laughed fondly.  Julian adored that sound.  He found himself smiling, his expression equally fond. 

“Closer, but no,” said Damian.  “At its core, magic is all about intent, remember?  You must have really wanted to fix Guitar Cat.  I’ll bet that was the only thing you were focusing on.  And your drive led you to using your magic.  Even if you didn’t notice it.”

“I assure you, I did not,” said Julian. 

Malak cawed from the rafter, startling Oswald.  The poor little bat nearly lost his grip.  Damian made sure that Oswald was happily dangling again before speaking up once more. 

“Malak clearly noticed,” said Damian.  “And I noticed.” 

Julian couldn’t help it.  He tried to protest.  “But I can’t...” 

“You can,” said Damian.  “And you did.  Look at it this way.  Fixing things is similar to healing, isn’t it?  And your healing magic has grown in leaps and bounds since our first lesson.  It’s even better than mine by now.”

Julian ran his hand through his hair.  “I’m, uh, not so sure about that...” 

“I am,” said Damian.  He caught Julian’s hand.  “Julian, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted nothing more than to fix things in any way you could.  No matter what that meant you needed to do.  And it looks like that meant doing magic you’ve never really done before.” 

Julian tried to argue with that.  He couldn’t.  So he sighed instead.  “You always did see the best in me, Damian.” 

“That’s because there’s a lot to see,” said Damian.  He kissed Julian’s cheek.  “Come on.  Help me put all this stuff away, and then we can have another magic lesson.  I want to see if you can fix that old pot we keep meaning to replace.” 

Julian grinned like a little kid.  He playfully saluted Damian.  “Yes, sir!” 

Oswald, watching the proceedings, shook his head at this familiar banter.  Malak still managed to look very smug, almost as if he were about to launch into a very long I told you so to Julian. 

But Julian was thoroughly distracted by other things.  He did actually help put Damian’s things away.  And then they both tackled that ‘fixing magic’ again.  Julian struggled at first.  He couldn’t stop getting in his own head, and trying to recreate the panic that led to the resurrection of Guitar Cat didn’t work. 

Then Damian tried motivating him with cheek kisses.  That turned out to be the best teaching method yet. 

By the end of the night, they had a perfectly pristine pot, a very smug looking raven, and a thoroughly embarrassed little bat.  

And Julian was thoroughly looking forward to his next magic lesson.   

[arcanarubinaito]

Blog Masterpost

Hello! My name is Rubin (he/him). This is my side blog dedicated to my personal The Arcana content; my main blog is @rubinaitoart. I’m currently writing a fanfiction series for my main Apprentice OC, Auric Alnazar; a lot of my rambles are going to be related to that instead of canon lol.

My mini-fic posts are going to change in appearance for a little while as I settle into the kind of aesthetic I want to work with. So far I’ve used custom-made tags using images, but they’re tedious to make.

Here’s a quick rundown of my interests in the fandom!

My favorite LI is Muriel, but I enjoy content for all six.

I really enjoy Villain!Lucio, however I also like his route.

Here is a list of the tags I use in my mini-fic/short story/creative writing posts.

Important Tags

(#arcanarubinaito) - All of my posts. (Non-Reblogged, aside from anything I’ve reblogged from my main account.)

(#auric the apprentice) - All content with my MC, Auric Alnazar.

(#auric x muriel) - All content involving Auric and Muriel.

(#my art) - All of my art posts.

(#rubin rambles) - All of my text posts.

(#rubin’s writing) - All of my creative writing posts.

(#incorrect quotes) - My incorrect quotes series.

Series - “Imperfect Relationships”

A series of posts dedicated to the relationship dynamics between the characters in “Fool’s Gold”.

Auric & Asra (Link)

Asra & Julian (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Writing

Ask Box Mini-Fic - Muriel x Extroverted MC (“Home”)

Headcanon #1 - Leech Barometer

Art

Reference - Auric the Apprentice

Muriel + Auric - Traveling Jokes

Reference - Auric Outfit Lineup #1

Julian + Auric - Breaking In

Muriel + Auric - First Date

Nadia + Auric - (WIP) At Her Request

Auric - (WIP) Scorching Echoes

Asra + Julian - Laughing At Mazelinka's

Muriel - Stopping At The Inn (Castlevania Edit)

Muriel - A Brief Respite (Castlevania Edit)

Vesuvia Weekly

Week 1 - MC/LI Dynamics

Week 2 - How It All Went Wrong

Week 3 - Borrowing Clothes

Week 4 - Cooking Class (Headcanon #2)

Week 17 - First Kiss

[kumaronoa]

~ sketch of my cuties i forgot to post yesterday  (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

also … HEY YOU!! Send me ur apprentice!! I want to draw different oc’s but i don’t have many.  It’ll be a simple sketch like this one :D  ♡

[ilyamatic]

i am bored and i stuck in line so:

give me a ship and i will pick a song that fits the vibes

(any oc x oc is reserved to mutual i ship with)

[deadpage-04]

Hi I want prompts to write with my MC, Arythia and Muriel or whatever other LI I feel like writing about. PLEASE give me prompts I wanna write something but i need the inspiration. Thank you.