#the arcana Chandra

[nudgeling]

Screw the love confessions, this is the best dialouge in the game

[arcanarubinaito]

How It All Went Wrong

Inspired by the “Who Broke It” meme from Parks and Recreation.

This week I’ve decided to do a reader insert fic! I was originally planning to do a special Incorrect Quotes post, but I ran out of time to even start editing it together. I’ll probably do what I planned eventually, but to meet the deadline I switched over to a mini-fic.

(I’m still figuring out how to format my mini-fic/creative writing posts so please forgive the inconsistencies.)

Summary:

It’s the start of a new day and the familiars have all gathered in the Palace to play and run around the mostly empty halls while you and the M6 share drinks and relax on the Veranda. Unfortunately, while they were romping about and having fun, you discovered one of the familiars broke a very expensive vase Nadia was planning to auction off for charity…

Tags:

SFW (<18), 1k Words, GN Reader, Reader Insert, No Established Relationship, Asra Alnazar, Nadia Satrinava (Mentioned), Faust, Chandra, Malak, Inanna, Pepi, Mercedes & Melchior, Camio, Reader's Familiar, Whodunnit, Parks and Recreation, Who Broke It?

“So. Who broke it?”

The pack of animals in front of you all exchanged guilty glances. You’d caught them running through the halls in a panic, a mess of feathers and fur as they frantically tried to get your attention; and they had led you back to the scattered shards of what once was a very expensive, very delicate vase. Nadia had planned to auction it off, raising money to instate a proper orphanage; she wasn’t going to be happy about this. You sighed and crouched down, so you weren’t towering over the frenzied herd. “I’m not mad.” You said soothingly, reaching your hand out. Pepi was the first to rush forward, pressing into your hand with an apologetic purr. “I just want to know.”

They were all quiet for a long, long moment before your own familiar tentatively broke the silence. “I did it,” They said, but you knew it wasn’t them. They didn’t know who it was, either; the creature was attempting to take the fall for their friends. You huffed out a slight, gentle laugh.

“No, no you didn’t.” Your other hand found the top of your familiar’s head, and you gently scratched at it soothingly. Glancing up at the rest, you swept your gaze over the sea of guilty faces and focused on Malak. The raven looked a little more disheveled than usual, his beady black eyes darting around and his head cocking back and forth anxiously. “Malak?” You prompted. You regretted it almost instantly when you saw the look in his eyes.

“Don’t look at me!” Malak shot back, and his wings flared out. His talons clicked against the marble floor as he began to pace, eyeing the other familiars with a paranoid and scrutinizing glare. “Look at Chandra.” He swept one wing towards her, and the other animals turned to focus on the owl. Her eyes widened further, both surprised and indignant at the accusation.

“I beg your pardon?” Chandra brought herself up to her full height, glaring down at Malak with cold, dark eyes. “I certainly didn’t break it. Unlike yourself I watch where I’m flying.”

“That’s weird, how’d you even know it was broken?” Malak said, almost smugly. As though he thought he’d caught Chandra in the act somehow. You glance at the scattered pieces of sharp ceramic in front of you all, and then back up at the two bickering birds.

The owl extended her wing, feathers flaring as she gestured towards the broken vase. “You imbecile, it is right there in front of us and it is clearly broken.”

“Suspicious.”

“No, it is not–”

“If it matters.” Another voice interjected quickly, and you all turned to look at the two Borzoi standing just off to the side. Melchior had spoken up, Mercedes pressed up against his side and eyeing Pepi. “Probably not… but Pepi was closest to it when we ran past.” Mercedes nodded in agreement.

You saw Pepi’s tail slowly puff up, her pale blue eyes widening in disbelief. “Liar!” She yowled at them, and her ears flattened against her skull. The fur on her back spiked up. “I don’t—push things off of tables, that is a stereotype!”

Mercedes looked amused now, baring her teeth in a grin. “Oh really? Then what were you doing up on the table earlier then?”

“Cats like to be high up to watch things, everybody knows that Mercedes—”

You sighed and held up your hands. “Alright, let’s not fight…”

“Well…” Camio bobbed his head thoughtfully. “Inanna’s been awfully quiet–”

“Really?” Inanna snarled, whipping her head in the cockatiel’s direction. The bird only cackled as the rest of the familiars broke into frenzied arguments, pointing claws and feathers. You could hardly hear yourself think over the uproar, the squabbling animals making so much racket it was a wonder the others couldn’t hear them from the veranda. With a long, suffering sigh you rubbed your hands over your face.

“Okay, that’s enough!” You called out, loudly and clearly enough that your voice rang through the entire hall and shut the bickering animals up. The guilty expressions returned tenfold this time as everyone quieted down, paws and talons shuffling. Your thumb and finger ran up the bridge of your nose, pinching together while you took advantage of the quiet to think. There were a lot of fingers being pointed—so to speak—but none of them were admitting it; and you were inclined to believe they were all speaking the truth as well. You opened one eye to survey the small crowd again, doing a brief headcount. Your own familiar, Malak, Chandra, Camio, Melchior, Mercedes, Inanna, Pepi… no sign of Faust.

“Found help!” Ah, there she was. You turned your head to see Faust slung over Asra’s shoulders as he walked down the hall, the periwinkle serpent waving her tail cheerfully at everyone.

“Faust told me what happened.” Asra crouched beside you and skimmed their fingers over the shattered pottery. “Why don’t we get this fixed up before Nadia sees, hm?” They threw a wink at the other familiars, all of them relaxing just a little bit now. Asra held their hands over the shards, and you watched alongside the familiars as the pieces began to glow softly and draw back together. Glowing golden lines formed where the cracks were as the pieces fit together, melting away to reveal a perfectly uncracked and unbroken surface. They picked up the object carefully and set it back where it belonged. “There we go, good as new. Nobody has to know.” They flashed a toothy smile towards you.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter who broke it then.” The familiars relaxed completely. The only reason you wanted to know was so that whoever broke the vase could properly apologize to Nadia; now there wasn’t any reason for that. You took a moment to give everyone some pets and ear scritches before standing up. “But let’s try to not break any more valuable objects, okay?” You chided them all gently and they murmured their agreements. As you turned back to Asra, you gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“If they’re all together like this, it’s hardly surprising that something broke.” Asra chuckled, guiding Faust off their shoulders so she could rejoin the other familiars. “I was waiting for it to happen. Murphy’s law,” They held their finger up as you both began to walk. “Anything that can go wrong, will. It’s just a matter of how, isn’t it?”

[shionzeroart]

Apprentice Gina with Chandra

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Chandra who misses being able to speak with Nadia

She used to be able to have whole conversations with her - and when it was just the two of them in Vesuvia, in a foreign city slowly crumbling into ash, they kept each other fairly sane

And then Nadia's husband fell sick, and then Nadia made friends who kept walking into danger, and then when Nadia walked with them she fell asleep for three whole years, leaving Chandra all on her own

And when her mistress woke up again ... she didn't remember how to speak to her

Chandra who keeps hoping that, if she keeps waiting in the wings, Nadia will remember how to speak to her the same way Nadia was eventually able to wake up

[theapprenticeapprentice]

Who’s familiar would you MOST want to cuddle with?

There IS a wrong answer

[devoraqs]

Was thinking about Nadia and Chandra hanging out together ☺️

[sadgayenbyfrog]

I have a head cannon that one time Nadia tripped over Chandra and now Chandra uses it to guilttrip her.

Nadia: No more treats.

Chandra: Remember that time you kicked me? I can't believe you would deny me happiness after causing me such anguish, you are not worthy of my presence-

Nadia: fine, one more treat.

[fox-daddy]

Basically, Kyle 4'4 interacting with Chandra in a nutshell

[athirstygoblin]

Happy birthday to Tari! Can we get 3 and 11 for the Apprentice Asks, please? I wanna know more about the familiars lol

3. Do they have a familiar? Why did you choose that animal? How did they meet?

Tari's familiar is a fallow deer fawn called Sachi.

I chose this animal specifically because the Fallow Deer still retains its spots when they grow up, and I thought it's a cute nod to Tari's freckles.

As for how they met, it was shortly before the game's events, a month or two at most, when she found him caught in a poacher's trap. She rescued him and brought him home to nurse back to health. Since Sachi sadly didn't have a herd to look after him, he immediately took a liking to Tari and views him as his new mama.

11. How do they get along with all the animals in the game? (Faust, Malak, Chandra, Pepi, Inanna, Camio, Melchior and Mercedes)

Faust

While Tari is usually uneasy around snakes, Faust is a big exception. She loves the little cutie and much like Asra can undestand her.

Malak

Tari is fine with the raven and vise versa. If only he'd stop showing up out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of her.

Chandra

A very elegant and beautiful bird, much like her human master. Chandra had shown fondness for Tari and for little Sachi as well.

Pepi

The cutest kitty in the world, according to Tari. She loves to play with Pepi and bring treats for her, and enjoys bringing Sachi along whenever she visits Portia so that the two could play together.

Inanna

Tari absolutely adores Inanna, even though the latter initially scared her at first. In turn, Inanna has protective tendancies towards both Tari and Sachi, which is very useful towards the more hostile familiars and animals they may come across.

Camio

He's just... a very loud bird... he needs to like... tone it down a little.

Melchior and Mercedes

Tari is content to live and let live with Mercedes and Melchior, but is very skeptical about having Sachi near them, considering the borzoi were intially bred to be hunting dogs. (Not very didntidoitforyou of them.)

Thank you so much for the ask ^^

[thegeekcollective]

THE RESULTS OF THE VANILLA EXTRACT POLL IS OUT, AND OUR (un)LUCKY BASTARD IS........

XANDER WELLS!!!!!

also, bonus comic:

[mashup-writing]

Gifts & Thoughts (M6); The Arcana

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Summary: The Main 6 and the gifts they send the Main Character. [Upright Endings]

Requested? ❌

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

"Is it obvious that all of this is right?"

-Elijah Woods, 24/7 365.

----------------------٩(◕‿◕｡)۶-----------------------

Nadia Satrinava:

Elegance, is the word for the gifts she spoils you with.

Everything she gifts you always has a connection to a certain time you have spent together.

A memorable date? A memorable day? A memorable moment? It doesn't matter;

Even the jewels that always color coordinate with your outfit palette has some sort of underlying memory connected to them.

Prepare to get showered with the finest, most intricately detailed accessories that Nadia associates with your shared memories.

Small mechanical inventions for your familiar. Like the little toys she made for Chandra.

Just as much as she pampers you, Nadia spares no expense in both monetary value and thought value to the things she creates for your familiar.

Your familiar is never going to feel bored within the Palace grounds, what with both Chandra and Nadia's little inventions to keep them company when you aren't there.

Light silk clothes in your preferred color palette, while the Vesuvian weather makes velvet and other similar fabrics impractical-

Nadia is well versed with the versatility of silk with the heat.

The silks she gifts you are to be imported from Praka, she will settle for gifting you no other silks but the finest kind in all the world.

The embroidery on these clothing items are always customized:

A pattern of a colorful forest: When you hunted down Lucio's ghost together.

A pattern of a wheat field: For that time you screamed your grievances to the heavens.

A pattern of waves, a small island with a singular angled tree: For the time you swam with her in the High Priestess' domain.

Asra Alnazar:

Scrapbooks is the vibe that comes to mind whenever the gift is from Asra.

For his presents are a mix of both learning, and simple sentimentalities.

There are still times where he goes on his own adventures and whenever he does, he never fails to bring back a tricket (Or five) which had reminded him of you in some way.

A leatherbound journal, with a burnt in pattern. For note taking when you're working on spell adjustments.

A small gemstone imbued with a protection spell, or a spell for luck, or healing- That has been fashioned into a necklace.

Herbs that he dries himself.

Self-made tea blends that he has subjected himself to tasting before handing you the perfected blends.

Matching knitted sweaters for you and your familiar, imbued with temperature regulation spells.

Spell tomes he bought, read, and then annotated with possible helpful tips, or everyday commentary to make your learning easier and more fun.

Julian Devorak:

Tomfoolery. That's it. That's his type of gifts.

A pun book, that he had somehow managed to talk Malak into gently dropping on you.

A sealed bottle with a preserved leach inside, reminiscent of the time you both thought to bathe in a suspiciously muddled pond.

He buys small journals, and writes down his adventure stories within them before handing them over to you.

Sometimes he'd send you a "Doctor's Prescription" that contain sweet gestures such as ten hugs a day, four kisses per hour, a "Nap" with him that lasts at least 12 hours-

Julian is an actor, a performer, an artist, a man of the arts. He always comes up with a new way to make a gift unique from the rest despite them being almost the same in form.

You now have a slowly growing folder of all the Doctor's Prescriptions you have been prescribed.

Thankfully, you only have a single bottle of leech and there is no indication that there will ever be another one.

Muriel the Outsider:

Handmade. Everything he gifts you is made with love, adoration, and quiet devotion driving his hands.

Sculptures both realistic and abstract, with the wood carefully polished to bring out the unique patterns.

Spice blends foraged and dried by himself from when he goes foraging in the forest every month.

Very seldomly, he gifts you flowers that he dried himself. Whenever he finds some that he likes the colors of.

He doesn't gift you dried flowers often, he appreciates nature and it's bounty but finds it hard to see any flowers as beautiful enough to be given to you.

Home cooked meals that Muriel tries his best to perfectly season and cook to your preferences.

Whenever trading caravans pass by Vesuvia, Muriel heads into the city and does his best to peruse each and every cart. Looking for something that might "Speak" to him as something that suffices as a gift for you in his eyes.

If there is no specific thing that meets his standard, then he'll look for materials in the carts instead so that he can make you something.

Portia Devorak:

Literature; Portia learned to read and write quite late in life, those two skills have become an integral part of who she is and what she sees as art and worthy of praise.

She writes you verses, poems, short stories- and she scatters them in the nooks and crannies of your shared home for you to find unexpectedly.

The paper is always subconsciously imbued with her magic. Whenever you touch the paper, you end up getting a glimpse into what she was feeling for you when she wrote the piece.

She gifts you books of stories she always comes back to, and books about the history, customs, and culture of the places you and her are sent as Emissaries to.

She makes sure to read through these books herself first, inserting slips of paper with her own viewpoints on a particular scene, or poems inspired by the scene (and the fact that she imagined both of you in it).

She also makes sure to always get you a box of the most delicious looking and smelling treat in the bakeries you visit on your Emmisary trips.

Lucio / Montag Morgasson:

The World. (No, Lucio does not get you the world turtle- As cute as they may be.)

He is no longer the Count, he has renounced that stature in favor of being a mercenary once more.

On your excursions, Lucio takes the time to sit down and take in the sights with you. Talking about everything and little nothings all at once.

Sometimes he sneaks in a purchase when you're both in the marketplace stocking up on supplies, stuffing it into his pack when your back is turned.

He never knows where or when he's going to give it to you on your adventures, but he knows that he'll know when the time is right.

Lucio picks flowers from the paths you're walking to place it either in your hair, or he pins it to your shirt.

If you get sad when it inevitably wilts away, Lucio reassures you that it's nothing to be sad about because the memory of your happiness from receiving the flower will metaphorically be keeping it alive.

If you find a way to preserve it with magic, he'll buy a sturdy box (He also asks you to enchant it with a few spells for extra safety) in which to keep all the flowers taken from your journey.

Once the box is full, it finds a place on the mantle of your shared home.

----------------------٩(◕‿◕｡)۶-----------------------

[rubinaitoart]

Chandra is so done with Malak and they only just met 💀

Screw the love confessions, this is the best dialouge in the game

[vesuvianhermitcrabs]

The Arcana M6 Learning How to Crochet

Asra:

This man does not have the attention span to crochet.

Sure, they love to lay in bed and watch you do it, sure, he'll try, but after about thirteen and a half stitches he gets distracted and decides it's naptime, or he needs to reorganize the spice drawer, or that you don't have enough pumpkin bread, or–

Once you sit his ass down and make him actually retain knowledge they actually do pretty good

Has tons of ideas for what he'll make next, will probably never get to any of them, he is the ultimate procrastinator

Loves to buy you the most random yarn, if it catches his eye it's going with him. Even though they aren't necessarily aesthetically pleasing, you love your drawer of tie dyed, bejewelled, and glittery yarns

He makes Faust a snake sweater (sock?) and declares she will never be cold again

Nadia:

Listens to you intently, super eager to learn and immediately become the best

Completely silent. Doesn't say a word to you until she's figured it out, determined to please. She keeps trying, an ambitious fire in her eyes. You ask her if she needs help a couple of times but she's insistent that she'll be okay

That is, until the middle of the night when she crawls into bed with you, seething

Why did the hook keep slipping out? Why did her knots keep coming undone? This was clearly a defective ball of yarn, what even is a "factory knot"?

The next time she's free you sit on her lap and talk her through the process

Unfortunately as much as she adores the countess, Chandra wouldn't be caught dead in anything either of you make

Julian:

Please, MC, I have the steady hands and patience of a doctor. I appreciate what you do but really, how hard could it be?

Oh, how wrong he was

Skip to him sobbing into your lap and profusely apologizing for underestimating you and your talents, you are so, so, talented and he wants you to know that, can you ever forgive him? Do you st-

Oh and Portia, he realizes he's been doing that to her oh God what has he done to you both he's so horrible and oh no oh no oh no

You and Portia sit through several one man plays, ballads, and interpretive dances featuring the both of you (or rather, julian in wigs pretending to be you)

Malak doesn't care for crocheted bird clothes but he certainly likes to steal your buttons and shiny metal hooks, forcing you to opt for the wooden ones

Portia:

Oh, she already knew how to crochet

Believe me, if you were crocheting she would be doing it right next to you if she had the time to

The thing is, Portia isn't just okay at crocheting. She's good. Amazing, even. The first time you crochet together, one glance at her soon turns to you dropping your hook (and your jaw)

Even though she is the supreme crochet champion, she still showers you with compliments and adoration

The type to crochet and read at the same time, gets super into the book and stops focusing on her project completely yet somehow manages to crochet flawlessly

Pepi loves to roll around in your buckets of yarn, whenever you want to make something all your yarn is frizzy and full of cat fur (you will have to physically wrestle Pepi to get a garment on her)

Muriel:

Convinced he'll be bad at it before he even tries

Begrudgingly accepts your offer to teach him anyways, he mumbles something about having clumsy hands and looks away

He takes a while to learn, but after he gets the hang of it he does really well. At heart, he's an artist, no matter how much he tries to deny it

He had watched you crochet before, but now he watches you extra, extra carefully to learn more without intruding

There is now a shelf designed for all your amigurumi plushies placed just next to the one for his wood carvings

When winter hits, you notice all the chickens have been tucked into sweaters, as well as an extra toasty looking Inanna, which is enough to make your heart melt and send you into cardiac arrest (rip MC)

Lucio:

OOOOOOH MC WHAT ARE YOU UP TO??

After a brief explanation and a quick tutorial he picks up the hook and gives it a go

Holy mother of what is this trickery

He's shocked about how difficult it is, and yes he is being resilient for you but god he wants to scream and chuck the hook into the woods and never see it again

He can snip yarn with his metal arm for you though so that's pretty sick

You're pretty sure you catch him glaring at the hook when he thinks you aren't looking

He's super proud of you for being able to crochet though, he thinks you're the coolest ever and brags about it to everyone who will listen

Mercedes and Melchior love the sweaters you inevitably make for them and Lucio pulls all sorts of shit so you'll make him one too

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Chandra wants to bond with you, but she's such a graceful and intelligent owl that she feels bad asking for your time if it doesn't benefit and improve you as well in some way. Therefore, she concludes, it is only appropriate to bond with her mistress's lover over educational, intelligence-building activities.

Puzzles. She wants to solve her puzzles with you.

It starts simply enough. Once a day, after you've finished your afternoon tea break with the Countess, Chandra will flap silently over and drop a puzzle in your lap with a gentle hoot. Then, while you hold it in your hand for her, she'll solve it very slowly, one piece at a time, glancing over to make sure you're watching her tutorial.

After a few weeks of this daily moment, she starts showing up with two puzzles. The easier ones, you quickly realize, are for you to solve, while she entertains herself with the harder ones. You're actually a little grateful because human fingers don't fit into small spaces the way owl beaks do and the simpler puzzles work better for you.

Unbeknownst to you, Nadia has caught wind of your daily sessions and is gearing up to invent the Vesuvian version of the Rubix cube to further facilitate your bonding time -

[stariisoda]

Arcana Themed Kandi Bracelets (PART 1)

The Main Six! (Left: Asra, Julian and Nadia/Right: Muriel, Portia and Lucio

Guess who got into Kandi making? Me. Wanted to make some Arcana inspired singles (cause that's all I can make lol)

So I went with the most obvious characters:the ones you can date in game.... Duhhh....

(I'm gonna make more, maybe the courtiers next???)

(Read for more photos and explanation)

Asra: I chose a heart charm that has a smaller heart inside of it for... Obvious plot reasons. Then the teal and purple because I think teal is their favorite color? I think? And purple because that's what I see when I think about him. Star beads because magic. Also, the little white tri-beads kinda look like bones from the side, so take that as you will.

Nadia: I picked an owl charm for her because it could either represent Chandra or The High Priestess. Her colors are mainly her color palette, and most of the beads are pearlesent.

Julian: There wasn't a raven, but this bird that kinda looks like a hummingbird? Whoops, I just couldn't find anything else that reminded me of him. So the bird is supposed to represent either Malak, The Hanged Man or a plague doctor mask (the beak is long lol) This one is pretty plain, having black beads in the back and two ab finish black beads in the front. And the red.

Muriel: You can't really see it in this angle, but I picked a house charm, because it reminds me of his little hut in the woods. Also Muriel's a home body. Used the tri-beads again for the same purpose as Asra. Chose big blocky letters because it better suits his vibe. And then more earthy tones, with the black ab beads for his cloak.

Portia: A cat charm to represent either Pepi or The Star. Star beads because The Star. Then the rest of it is just her color palette. (Don't know a whole lot about her, sorry)

Lucio: I picked a crown charm because... Because he's the count. Also it's so ugly, I honestly dislike his bracelet, despite him being my favorite character. I chose those awful gold beads because, let's be honest, Lucio would love that. Picked them because they were kinda over the top. (Originally was going to use the same letter beads as Asra and Nadia.) Uses small red beads and two faceted yellow beads at the front (looks like gems). The rest is his color palette, although it's mainly ab, pearl and glitter colors other than the red, which is solid. I made his bracelet ugly on purpose because he would probably have something like that. (Oh, he has his necklace haha)

Them all laid out together

Then all of them on my arm

Anyways, that's it for now! If you stayed to read all of that, thank you! I liked trying to come up with meanings behind them and designing each one.

I'm aiming to do the courtiers next 👀