#the treatment Asra and Julian get

[rasby]

Thank you official Arcana accounts for completely ignoring Nadia's birthday :)

I usually wouldn't be petty but they had something special for both Julian and Asra's birthday but niw they're suddenly radio silent, totally not showing favorites

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly: Moments of Reprieve

~ written for @vesuviaweekly's prompt "I missed this" ~

"I missed this," Julian murmurs as you rub a warm salve on his cold, de-gloved hands. Between the freezing weather, the constant hand-washing at the clinic, and his already poor circulation, his knuckles are dry and chapped and clearly in need of some care. The firelight softens his harsh features and warms the grey in his eyes when he smiles at you. "You make my thoughts quiet - and kind."

"I missed this," Asra mumbles into your neck. They'd refused to let you get out of bed when they arrived home late, instead hurrying through their evening routine to join you and snuggle in. He can already feel your wry comeback and preemptively holds you closer for his reasoning. "I know I've been gone longer before, but when I'm not running away ... I'm finally free to come home."

"I missed this," Nadia sighs. She's sitting at the edge of the hot spring, tilting your head back into her lap so she can massage perfumed oils into your scalp. The past few months have been too busy to relax for more than a few minutes in the evenings. If you're being honest, just the smell and feel of her so close is already making your brain melt. She chuckles. "I've missed spoiling you, too."

"I missed this," Muriel mutters. You'd think he was being sarcastic (you're lying on the cold, hard ground in the middle of nowhere) but his furious blush would suggest otherwise. You haven't made the trek down to the Steppes in a while and it's colder than you remembered. One thick arm draws you closer to a body that's gotten heartier and (somehow) even warmer with good food. "I like keeping you warm."

"I missed this," Portia giggles from the carpet. Several seconds ago she was up on the couch next to you, but then you reached the cringiest part yet of the cheap novel you picked out to read and react to together, and she laughed until she fell off. She clambers back up onto the cushions and sets your drink aside to rest her legs in your lap. "Stories are so much better when you tell them."

"I missed this," Lucio groans. He sinks down into the plush satin next to you, robe shifting open to reveal more of his chest in the process. Nadia had put you in touch with an old noble friend of hers who decided give you the royal treatment when you stopped by. Lucio looked ready to cry of happiness when he saw the private room and big, comfy bed. "It's even better with you here, y'know."

[mjart12699]

The M6’s hair and body care

Asra: has used a million different scents of body wash, and will use a million more. It’s not that they haven’t found the right one, it’s that they just want to try every single scent, but they tend to gravitate towards whatever scent the MC has complimented in the past if they’ve done so. Exfoliates when they remember to once they figure out what that is for, probably uses a basic face soap because they are one of those miraculous people with perfectly clear skin in adulthood (can’t say the same for their teen years though). Due to their hair type, which I headcanon as being high density (more hair strands per follicle) and rather thick, they probably don’t have to wash their hair super often, maybe every week or so for most of the year, every other week when it’s really cold out. They have the same mindset towards shampoos/conditioner when it comes to scent as their body wash with no distinct preference, but their main shampoo is hydrating and when they need to they’ll clarify their scalp with a homemade mask before shampooing. Conditioner is hydrating but mostly used to detangle, and while you wouldn’t know it their hair looks so good because of the oils they put in regularly and the hair masks they do with MC when they are home at the shop. I like to think that there was an oil that Aisha used to use in Asra’s hair before she and Salim were taken away, and that when Asra was able to find the oil again later in life they decided to try and do the same routine their mother had had originally in front of the fire in the hut, finger combing the smoky sweet oil through cotton white curls and massaging their scalp all while their eyes were closed, trying their best to remember the sound of their mother’s voice as she hummed while her fingers had combed through his hair all those years ago.

Nadia: She’s had an extensive routine for as long as she could remember, as you would expect of royalty. When she was young her and her sisters probably did their hair together as a form of bonding, a long train of siblings with the rainbow in their hair as they each oiled the strands of the siblings in front of them. In the current events of the game, Her hair is thick and high density, and she has to thin it out every once and a while because it gives her a headache, and while it’s not obvious because of the length, it is wavy, it’s just so weighed down most of the time. Nadia probably has a shampoo, conditioner, scalp scrub, deep conditioner, protein treatment, and oil for everything. Hydration? You got it. Hair is brittle and needs protein? She’s got it. Trying to grow it out? She has every oil and a ranking list of how well they work with rosemary oil at the top, she’s already putting the bottle into your hands. Even her body care routine is extensive. A body wash for getting rid of the oil and sweat of the day, a body wash for scent, dry brush to exfoliate, she’s probably even one of those people that does a full body mask for whatever she knows her skin currently needs. She doesn’t think her skincare routine is very excessive, but to the average person it’s a lot, she probably hasn’t had a pimple for more than ten minutes a day in her life.

Julian: As an adult he has a body wash and shampoo, and if he can he’ll find a two in one of those for the sake of time convenience. However, when he was a kid his honorary grandma’s in Nevivon probably taught him to wash his hair with nettle shampoo and how to make a mask out of eggs and olive oil, and how to use vinegar for extra shine. He and Portia probably had some of the best hair, or at least the most complimented, as kids. After meeting the MC he tries to remember how to do his hair like that again, and will even try to remember body lotion (I know damn well his elbows are dry as hell). Washes his face with water and sometimes soap if he’s awake enough to remember. His hair is thick and medium density, the curls tighter at the ends and looser at the scalp.

Lucio: As a kid his hair care wasn’t too fancy, but he did have nice hair, and Morga made sure of that. Despite being a violent tribe, I think they would have taken great pride in the care of their hair considering the history of Norse/Germanic tribes haircare. However as Count of Vesuvia he splurges, trying everything he possibly can as long as he thinks it smells nice. Without realizing it he might gravitate towards smells that were common in his childhood, but often times it’s fancy perfumes and colognes on top of his natural musk. Overall, he probably actually smells good, and while many other nobles smell like they bathed in over saturated perfumes for hours, Lucio has mastered the fine art of picking the right scents for himself so that he always smells wonderful. His hair is fine and medium density and it grows incredibly fast, but he cannot grow a descent beard to save his life.

Portia: Probably has a floral soap that she washes twice with since she works so hard, and she probably keeps to the same hair routine she had as a kid, with the addition of massaging her scalp with lavender oil before she washes her hair and finger combing a different hydrating oil through her mid lengths and ends. She likes to style her hair in any way she can on the days she has the time, trying out elaborate braids on herself if she really likes them. Her hair is thick and high density, much like Asra and Nadia’s, and it might be something the three of them could bond over.

Muriel: At the docks you were lucky if you had the time to wash your face with clean water in peace, much less having actual soap if you were able to nab some from a vendor. Muriel doesn’t remember much about the Steppes, or his parents. It’s just images flashing by, but sometimes he’d smell a specific oil or plant and retract from the memories it would bring, quick flashes of gentle hands brushing his hair smooth long after it was already detangled, at that point it was just so he would fall asleep. At the docks Muriel remembers eventually letting Asra do his hair with what the both of them had, including the time they tried to cut each other’s hair. It was a disaster, and both of their haircuts were awful, but his hair didn’t stick to his neck uncomfortably that summer. When they escaped to the woods Muriel learned to make soap at one point, and while it was simple it got the job done. At the coliseum Lucio made sure that while his champion looked ragged and wild for the next fight, he would remain at least relatively clean. He couldn’t lose his prized gladiator to an infected wound of all things, could he? Muriel was expected to be mostly clean shaven, a razor used to shave the hair that always grew back before the sun set off of his face and chest, but he never cut the hair growing from his head. He never had the time or energy, much less cared what length it was. When he escaped the coliseum with Inanna he chopped off as much as he could, using the nearest sharp object at the hut, an ax used to chop wood, to shear off the brittle inky strands, and once again his hair didn’t cling to his neck for that summer. If anyone saw him they would see that the ex gladiator’s hair had gone from an even waist length sheet of black to choppy strands near his head, and if his hood was down you might even see some of the patches where his ax had gotten a little too close to his scalp. He doesn’t allow himself the luxury of anything beyond soap that he uses as both shampoo and body wash, but he will allow for Asra to leave newer shaving tools in the hut when Asra notices the scabs from Muriel trying to shave with a dull razor and nothing to soften the hair on his face. After meeting the MC, he might get better at taking care of his hair and body besides what he had deemed necessary, even researching what the Khokuri used and testing it out if he has the time. I think he would have more interest in protective styles, braiding his hair away from his face or tying it back in the ways he’s seen the other Khokuri do it if he can figure it out, but he won’t do it often, his favorite way to tie his hair back something he’s just used to doing. If the MC wants to he’ll allow them to play with his hair, apply oil through the strands and massage his scalp. He’ll fall asleep in their lap and as they hum and comb their fingers through the coarse strands he allows the familiar safe feeling to wash over him as he falls asleep. His hair is coarse, thick and medium density, and might be a little wavy if he lets the MC test out a routine on him.

[marixrose]

The Arcana when you give them the silent treatment

Asra: Will be confused and start asking you what he did wrong. Will try to make you tak by giving you snacks and by making jokes. When this doesn’t work he gets really worried and starts begging you to talk. “My love, please say something. I need to hear your voice.” When you finally start to talk he will start asking you a ton of questions. “Why were you ignoring me? Was it something I did? Please don’t do that again!”

Julian: He wouldn’t notice at first when you didn’t reply to him. It took a little bit for him to catch on that you were ignoring him. He would pout and beg for you to speak to him. He will start overthinking everything he has said to you in the past 24 hours to make you act this way. When you finally talk to him and tell him why you were giving him the silent treatment he will be upset and tell you that you hurt his feelings.

Muriel: He would just think you wanted space, so he will take a walk and give you space. He will come back in an hour or two, and if he finds you still ignoring him he will ask you why. When you don’t reply he will start to think something is wrong and will start to panic. When you eventually start to talk to him again, he will give you the biggest hug and won't let go.

Lucio: His ego is too big to ask you why you're ignoring him. So he will go throughout his day, but eventually he will miss your voice. He goes the whole day without you speaking to him, but he eventually breaks when you both go to dinner. “What did I do wrong Darling?” You end up ignoring him all throughout dinner despite his pleas. The only words you spoke to him were “goodnight” and he was through the roof when you finally spoke for the first time the whole day.

[arcanavoid]

About Julian

In my post About Dorian I mentioned how people in the fandom typically reduce the M6 into one or two personality traits. I’ll be talking about Julian today and the fandom's treatment of him!

I'm going to try and keep this factual and not opinionated, nothing like “he should only be like this” and more like “this is what he is in game, but people show him like this” 

It's gonna be a long post so if you don't want to get into the topic, or don't feel like reading something long then go ahead and scroll by! I don't mind! 

And if you want to make this a civilized discussion then i don't mind talking and hearing others points out either!

So let's go!

Julian is a Doctor who went to Parka to learn medicine and got most of his experience on battle fields while he apprenticed under Nazali. He started up his own clinic in Vesuvia and ended up being hired by the palace to work on the red plague cure, eventually treating Lucio himself. 

After the apprentice died he was stricken with grief, eventually he had an affair with Asra but it didn’t exactly last. He soon found a cure in the form of killing Lucio through sickly hallucinations of the hanged man. 

Julian is a smart man, who often blames himself for things that were not his fault, even putting himself at risk with no evidence simply to save others or because he feels guilty. He loves people with his whole being and yet doesn't trust himself to be around them as he thinks he’ll hurt them with again no evidence. 

So tell me why most of the Arcana fandom will portray him as, for lack of a better word, idiotic and whoreish. 

I know Nyx Hydra poked fun at Julian a few times, mentioning that he likes to use leeches or make him kinky, but that is simply not his whole personality.

Yes, he can be flustered easily, and easy to arouse, and a masochist. But he is also lovey dovey, and soft and mushy and loves with his whole heart not just his dick.

And he literally went to school, i know its a big joke that he simply doesn't know what a medical school is but he literally went to one… and even if he didnt and there's no evidence of that he was at least mentored by Nazali who definitely did go to school. 

Now again i'm not saying he can't be horny, oh on the contrary he is horny, for someone he loves, not just a stranger. And by all means he's not the smartest man in the world, he actively struggles to comprehend magic and the Arcana realms but that's because he is smart with science and medicine! 

And yes you can write porn without plot with him, he doesn't have to show off his undying love in every single thing he's in. and yes you can make him marvel and question magic and still show his smarts in reality. He literally tries to use logic in the tower's realm and figures out that the realm is looped by testing out his hypothesis. 

All I'm saying is that a lot of people reduce his character when he really is rich in personality, and hopefully this will help bring some light as to what his character might look like more fleshed out. 

Another point I want to touch, is Julian as a background or side character. I’ve written a fanfic that was focused on my Mc, Asra, my friends Mc, and Julian. But my friends Mc and julian were supporting cast, so Julian wasn’t as fleshed out as Asra, but i didn’t reduce him to only horny or kinda dumb whenever he was “on screen” his traits just didn’t show as much as it would if he was a main character.

So what should we take away from this? 

Well, Julian can be horny and isn't the smartest man in the world, but he is much more than that! He's loving and cares so much about the people close to him, he's smart and doesn’t know much about magic but is willing to try and figure it out with the knowledge he has. He gives his whole self to someone, his heart and body. And he does not need to constantly show these traits in depth especially if he's mostly a side character in someone's story. 

Julian is a lovely character, and I would love to do an analysis of him after I re-do his route, but I think this is good enough for now.

Of course you can all do what you'd like with him, but when it becomes prevalent that the fandom is mostly thinking of him in a reduced state it becomes a little saddening, and it's good to remind ourselves that he's not all horny and unknowing! 

Feel free to give your reasoning for making him more horny, since i’ll be honest i don't think as many people think they’re dumbing him down. If anything I think Lucio might be dumbed down more, but I definitely notice the dumbing down of Julian too.

[local-critter]

I have a couple ideas for you! Obviously you don't have to do them but here are the ideas

- how m6 react to MC giving them a very expensive gift

- m6 when MC accidentally gets hurt (minor injuries)

- m6 when MC is cute and tired/sleepy or if MC gets very hyper before bed

- insomniac mc

- m6 reaction to MC ranting abt their hyperfixations

-m6 after MC worked themselves to exhaustion/overworked,

Just a couple ideas off the top of my head, would love to give more though :]

MC who rants about their hyperfixations

(I will get to the rest eventually I swear)

Asra

He encourages it 100%

They love hearing you talk, it’s one of their favorite sounds

He may fall asleep tho

If you’re already cuddling, they’re gonna clonk out in minutes

They never mean too but your voice is so soothing to them (after going so long without it)

They look at you with the most adoring gaze the whole time, hanging off your every word (they’re daydreaming your wedding)

They find passion super attractive, they love that you have things that excite you so much

They try to prompt you into a rant often, either when you're both doing things together in the same room or at night as basically a lullaby for them 

Faust lays on your shoulders and lays on you as you rant, she squeezes you a little tighter if you're very animated and talk with your hands too

She doesn't mind, she just doesn't want to fall

Julian

You are his type of person 

He is the exact same way

You two basically share hyperfixations, like if one rants about one thing for too long then the other gets into it too and you just bounce ideas off each other 

Whenever you're both free, at almost all hours can your neighbors hear you ranting 

He's a pacer, he's loud, he's dramatic; hell be throwing his arms around everywhere and running his hands through his hair until he's just a ginger blur of motion 

You take turns typically, but sometimes you two rant together and feed off each other

Malak gets startled if voices get raised 

Sometimes he gets home too tired and he just wants to hear your voice, so you'll take a seat on the couch and he'll rest his head on your lap so you can rant all you want

If you play with his hair absentmindedly, he melts into a puddle

He loves letting your voice wash over him and wash away the day’s exhaustion 

Nadia

Loves it

She finds intelligence attractive, and especially if it's something she doesn't know much about

She gets a little flustered 

Sometimes if she's in a rush she shuts you up with a kiss and tells you that you'll continue later before going off to her next meeting or event 

She doesn't really care what you're ranting about typically, just that you're talking 

As in, she'll listen regardless and she'll ask questions to prompt you to keep going 

But sometimes she'll just be looking at you with hearts in her eyes after a long day

She rants to you too, occasionally

If you listen to her with the same attentiveness, she practically swoons 

Be still her beating heart 

If you give her the same treatment, like hanging off her every word and asking questions to prove you were paying attention, she falls in love all over again

Originally, she saw rants as…not very polite I guess

Unstructured, and she wasn’t the biggest fan of them

She felt like they were really emotional, and if she was too emotional she feared she wouldn't be taken seriously

But you take her so seriously no matter what she's doing and she loves you all the more for it

Muriel

Loves them so long as you're not yelling 

It takes pressure off of him to talk, so he's content to let your voice fill in the silence as you both go about your days 

It takes him a while to feel comfortable enough to ask questions but he gets there eventually

He's very attentive

He doesn't rant very often, but rarely, you can get him talking about something like a rare flower or his favorite type of tree 

And if you tell him you just like his voice, his face is on fire 

He may have to take a few minutes to reboot 

Inanna finds it funny 

He loves learning new things, while he preferred his life of isolation compared to living in the city, he didn't always like it

And you ranting to him is an easy way for him to learn too

Portia

She's a lot like Julian 

You both take turns 

Typically you share a hyperfixation and the Palace library barely survives as you two tear it apart in search for more content

Nadia finds it greatly amusing, not that she’d ever say so

More than once has she gotten up in the middle of the night because she had a new point to rant about 

She gets cranky in the morning when that happens tho, she needs her full eight hours so you’ll have to gently judge her back into bed and hope she actually falls asleep

She, like her brother, is also a big blur of movement, pacing and throwing her arms around and hair flying everywhere as if it'll get her point across better 

She's just as passionate as you are if not more so; as a servant she feels her words are worth less than others, so it means the world to her that you’re willing to listen to her and she’ll give you the same treatment

She probably hangs off your every word

Lucio

He found it a little weird at first but he got used to it eventually 

He tries to listen but finds it hard sometimes

He does prompt you to keep talking though, it’s good practice for him to get used to hearing what others have to say

He mostly just rants when he’s annoyed, but he likes that you do it when you’re excited

After a while together he finds himself actually listening to you and remembering what you say

Like he’d be out and see something that reminds him of our current hyperfixation and he’d buy it for you without a thought

Just because he listens to you doenst mean he always knows what your’re talking about but he does try

[morningstar-chronicles]

rules - arcana DR

time ratio: 0min CR : 1min DR

safeword: failsafe

shift word: tarot

safety:

i’m immune to the plague

my friends, family, and partners or potential love interests are all immune to the plague

i don't die

my friends, family, and partners or potential love interests don't die

no hate crimes, sexism, femicide, homophobia, transphobia, racism, etc.

medicine is more advanced than CR present day and there are cures or treatments for basically every known illness

social convention:

people are chill with autism/adhd

bisexual is the "default" assumption of sexuality (as opposed to heterosexuality here) and people are totally chill about sexuality/gender

polyamorous relationships are equally as commonplace as monogamous relationships

magic:

everyone is fundamentally capable of magic

can be used to mimic technology in basically every way that matters

whether or not a person uses magic is purely based on how they feel about it (e.g. julian isn’t super fond of it and prefers science whereas asra was raised to appreciate and revere magic)

basic differences:

no one can grow any body hair (yk apart from like, head hair, eyebrows, eyelashes).

no bad breath.

no bad body odor.

familiars live as long as their human does. for example, lynx, goblin, felix, adrien, and teddy will live as long as i do.

even if they aren’t familiars, most animals with shorter lifespans in my OR live much longer lifespans in my DR (30-60 years depending on animal and species).

peanuts don’t exist. any products containing peanuts or peanut butter are replaced with sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, or cashew products.

foreign food items are easy to obtain around the world (e.g. english grocery stores will have canadian/american foods or ingredients readily available, chinese foods or ingredients will also be relatively easy to obtain).

allergies don't exist.

obesity doesn't happen. like, medically you can't be obese. bodies just don't retain unhealthy amounts of fat for a given body- any excess is just passed through the digestive tract in a harmless manner.

people CAN still be plus-sized, just not to a degree that causes them any medical harm.

all of my various illnesses are completely manageable, if not completely curable.

my iq is 199 and i have a photographic memory.

vegetables actually taste good on their own.

all deadlines (work-related or school-related) can get pushed back for you if you get sick.

all sports are unisex.

incomes of shopkeepers (i.e. me) are subsidized by the government in order to provide a more stable standard of living.

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

would love to hear how the M6 handle an apprentice with a hypersomnia disorder 💛💛 someone who struggles with a lot of excessive sleepiness but really tries to push through it

Oooh, thanks for the prompt, I love it! As you didn't specify the spicy level, I'll assign ♤♡◇♧ randomly to the characters

Cracking my knuckles because it's something that hits home// The spicyness key is ◇neutral/random/funny,♡romantic/physical affection, ♧fluff/light smut,♤big dongs

So here it comes ~~~

~The hypersomniac apprentice~

~♡~

As soon as you open up to her about it, Nadia has you treated for your sleep disorder right away. Julian is sent for, and he has your treatment started by having you to keep a diary to track your sleeping, eating and exercising habits, dreams, mood, and of course any periodic cycles you may have. When he gave you the little red-line notebook, you saw an idea twinkling in Nadia's eyes, but forgot to investigate further. Shortly after, you started noticing that the palace staff you interact the most all had a tiny jade-green, golden ruled notebook with them. You wanted to ask her about it this afternoon while having tea on the veranda, but you had one of your hypersomnia episodes. When you wake up, Nadia brushes your hair from your sleepy face, greeting you with a smile. "I hope your sleep has been refreshing", she says, "in the meantime, I kept some notes for you". She handles you one of those little green notebooks that is filled, to you surprise, with little useful notes about what were you two talking about it, your immediate future agenda, the time you spent asleep and a little recap of everything that has happened.

You meet her loving gaze, speechless. "I recall how embarrassing was to ask people to fill me in on what happened during my long sleep", she explains. "I felt so cut out on the world, confused and distressed". She brushes your hand. "I made sure you will never feel as lost as I did".

~◇~

You really did try to push through this episode. Lucio looked so caught up in the game you were playing, so genuinely happy. You didn't want to let him down... but you see, trying to push through hypersomnia is awful it truly is folks, worst thing and hardly possible. Your eyelids are heavy and your neck isn't holding your head anymore. You try to rest your head against the sofa to avoid the telltale head-falling...

...but when you wake up you realize it wasn't a good idea. The lights are down, the room empty, and Lucio...? Nowhere to be seen. Your heart shrinks with guilt. You will have to apologize to him.

"Not many people know this, but Lucio has troubles sleeping. Eventually, the weight of his deeds fell upon him, robbing him of his sleep. At the beginning he started using narcotics to fall asleep, but Julian caught him immediately and made sure to put a hasty end on the dangerous habit.

Now Lucio slips into your bedroom with some dumb excuse ("thought you wanted some water" "hey, I had this WILD dream" "I'm horny") just to lay with you as you fall asleep. Watching your serene face as you sleep helps him to soothe his sleepless nights and find some kind of peace."

If you weren't so worried about letting him down, you would have put the pieces together and understood why he let you sleep -why he always lets you sleep.

~◇~

Portia knows about it, and find it so damn cute! Being the little mischievous fairy she is, she always puts you into situations where you will have troubles staying awake. This includes

getting the two of you seat for the opera in Nadia's box -this means you're next to her- and exchange giggling gazes with Asra. The three of you are the perfect partner in crime, but little did you know that you are their favorite victim.

Going stargazing with you and Muriel -he tells the BEST constellation tales and she knows that you love them and would give the world to stay awake - but joke's on her this time, for Muriel adores when his voices coddle you to sleep

Inviting you gardening in warm afternoons after some rich lunch, where she has an hard times refraining from laughing at your attempts to resist the sleep.

Today though, you realize she's doing it on purpose. In your hand there's a bunch of drawings she did of your cutest sleeping poses -they're on napkins, reciepts, grocery lists and god forbid Portia is this book from Nadia's library?!

~~~~~~~♧♤♧~~~~~~

I'll put the spicier ones (Julian, Muriel, Asra) in a reblog [THIS ONE] I'll flag as adult content :) you can alway find them from the Masterlist

Disclaimer: please remember that hypersomnia is a legit disorder that should be addressed by any means you have at hand. Don't get fooled by the "manageable" face it has: it may be caused by many underlying issues, from moderate avoidant anxiety to much more serious things. There's nothing wrong with choosing to live with it or thinking it's cute (i have it and i do), but if you do experience it, love yourself and investigate its causes! Remember, as an human being you're entitled to health.

[theintrovertbean]

I bet you can't tell which one of them is my favorite (sarcastic)

I'll make another post later about Nadia because I love her so much I might need therapy 😭

I'm participating in brainrot's Vesuvia Weekly prompts and I'd like to encourage eveyone to join ^.^

Also, brainrot has a Discord server now, so if you're interested in getting to know others from the fandom and bond over our beloved character, I kindly recommend that you join. It's a safe place for every simp 💜

The Arcana Main 6 x Dara relationship dynamics

Asra: There is some romantic potential between the two, but it's not very much. They were childhood friends and are still very close. Because of that, people often mistake them for lovers. When I say they are close, I really mean it. Asra has no problem hopping into Dara's bed for some cuddles and he's one of the very few people who are allowed to touch them. They pretty much go everywhere together and even though they have separate beds in the shop, they often end up sharing. He's invited to every family gathering and special occasion. Dara can be a little oblivious when it comes to how others feel about them (coughs coughs Nadia coughs choughs), but Asra, being the cheeky person that he is, doesn't shy away from letting them know that a certain Countess might be in love with them. Asra was the first person Dara kissed, btw.

Nadia: Oh I could talk about these two all day. True love. That's it, true love. They met during the plague and quickly fell in love with each other. However, they didn't confess their love until after Nadia woke up from her coma. Dara is introverted but warm and patient, which is something that can be said about Nadia as well. Their relationship is as comfortable as it is passionate, filled with affection and care. They're both givers, which means they spoil each other 24/7 with gifts and all forms of affection. Neither of them trusts easily, but since they're both patient and kind, opening up was not a big issue (except that one incident but that's gonna be explained in Wounds of Magic, Scars of Love.) Nadia is Dara's favorite person in the entire world and they're giving her the special treatment. They seem like an open person, but there's still so much that they hide about themselves. Not from Nadia, tho. Nadia is the only person that Dara tells everything. They have some trauma, and so far, Nadia has been the only one they completely trusted with it. Whenever something happens, Dara's first thought is that they have to go and tell Nadia about it. No one is allowed to touch Dara without asking for first (except Asra and maybe a handful of other people), but Nadia is always an exception. Actually, Dara wishes she would touch them all the time. There is something about the Countess that makes Dara feel things that no one else ever has before. It's a relationship based on lots of love and mutual respect. When it's just them, everything feels so easy. They can be just Nadia and Dara with each other and I think that's beautiful. There's no pressure, no expectations. Just love. If there was a love story about a star and the moon, it would be about them. Hand in marriage when?

Julian: Dara can't really decide how they feel towards Julian. On the one hand, they'd party with him. On the other hand, they're giving him a bombastic side-eye. Julian is not bad and Dara is okay with hanging out with him once in a while, but they can't imagine getting any closer to him. However, sometimes they hang out at the Rowdy Raven and chat over some drinks and they worked together during the plague. When they share a common goal, they're willing to work together towards it.

Muriel: Sweet Muriel is a childhood friend of Dara. They drifted apart but later rekindled their friendship. Or more like, Muriel tolerates Dara more than he would with other people. Dara isn't someone who would force anyone, which is something that Muriel appreciates. However, Dara makes sure that Muriel never feels forgotten. Whenever Dara goes somewhere, they bring him back a little gift or occasionally show up at his hut to say hi, bring some goodies, and pet Inanna. Whenever there's an occasion, Dara invites Muriel and sadly, he often says no, but Dara lets him know that they could hang out later. Just the two of them. They both like chickens. Dara sometimes asks if they could hug Muriel.

Portia: Besties. They bake together and gossip together. When Dara and Portia sit down, they simply can't resist spilling all the latest tea. You know what TikTok trend about whoever brings up xy has to pay first? Yeah, it's them. I swear to gayness, they're like two grandmas. They pet and feed stray cats. Maybe occasionally bring them back to the Palace until Nadia says it's enough. Portia is someone that Dara trusts and considers a true friend. Lots of inside jokes and uncontrollable laughter. They also think that she's cute.

Lucio: Another character with romantic potential. At first, Dara just wanted to punch him. Now they want to punch him and then make out with him and it really confuses them. They're still salty about the way Lucio treated Nadia, but they also understand that Lucio is in some serious need of a therapist. With that being said, Dara is someone that Lucio can talk to about his past. As soon as they begin to understand why Lucio is the way he is, their judgement and hatred for him starts to disappear. When Lucio had the plague, Dara did their best to ease his suffering. If he ever needs a shoulder to cry on or just someone who listens, Dara is always available. They want to get drunk with him.

[snobgoblin]

thinkin about that art of Lucio holding Faunus in a little princess dress. so okay here's how the M6 would take care of Faunus

🦊 🪄 Asra

I yapped about this already with the familiar rules but they view this as gaining a new little accomplice /affectionate. they get into a lot of trouble pranking people with this goat. also, taking into account something the devs said- a snake suits Asra because it's not a huge commitment as far as taking care of her. a baby goat that needs to be bottle fed would get annoying kind of quickly to him (he's got stuff he wants to do!) I think so Danny doesn't leave them alone for too long. but, he does love Faunus because he loves Danny and this is an extension of him (I might yap about the significance of her being a goat to Asra specifically later)

🦉🌙 Nadia

I do wonder about this one a lot. she shows disgust with Lucios menagerie but that's mostly just "I don't like exotic animals being forced out of their homes and then running wild around the palace" you know? she seems to really value an animal who is well trained and scoffs at Mercedes and Melchior for this reason. she doesn't like them being let on the furniture. this doesn't mean she dislikes animals though, of course not, there's Chandra and Sacha and Nadia's horse (I forget the name) to consider, but the difference is all those animals respect her and behave. she likes respect. and for this reason, I think she would be alright being around her. she's a very polite and shy little baby and only eats furniture sometimes. as for taking care of her, Nadia probably has a servant do it. but she won't let Faunus leave her care without another jewel on her collar

🐦🍻 Julian

he gets along with her for sure and absolutely loves taking care of her. I think Julian's been described as a frantic mother hen before- he has no problem taking her under his wing. treats her like the most fragile baby in the whole world. he would die for her. well he might just die in general for anyone. he insists she needs medical care because she "has a limp" (she doesn't she's a wobbly baby goat) and he definitely goes on this whole poetic spiel when Danny picks her up again. very dramatic goodbyes

🐻🌿 Muriel

he........ hates goats. for obvious reasons. he's definitely wary at first but he's too much of an animal lover to resist saying yes to taking care of her- its not her fault she reminds him of someone else, anyway. though he can't understand her like he understands Inanna, that doesn't stop him from talking to her like he talks to her chickens. he seems to know exactly how to read her at times, he's just really good with animals. he and Faunus are like the dad and dog meme.... like he'll insist he doesn't have time to take care of her and then ask Danny when he'll be busy again

🐈🔎 Portia

she's the one taking care of Lucios menagerie so naturally she's good with animals. she seems exhausted at times with it (calling Mercedes and Melchior "those dopey dogs" and Camio "Mr Shitbird") but I don't think that reflects her view of animals in general, judging from her reaction to Pepi for the first time and also the seals in Julian's route. she's very excitable with animals but she doesn't like taking care of them I think. I think she would like running around in her garden with a baby goat chasing her though

🐕 🗡 Lucio

TWO WORDS: PRINCESS TREATMENT. this man loves goats he's obsessed with them he just thinks Faunus is the greatest thing. he's gonna be messy with bottle feeding her probably and he doesn't even know how to work an oven so it's probably not gonna be warm, so like Nadia he's probably got a servant helping him. when Danny comes to pick her up he will insist he needs more time because her commissioned dresses and portraits are not done yet. also he likes running with her through the halls (baby goats follow you around like crazy it's very fun) at times he does forget she is an animal and not a perfect being so he gets briefly upset when she chews on furniture or something, but he can't stay mad too long and he's just kind of like "eh we'll get a new one"

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Mini hc of MC getting hurt and asking M6 to kiss it better? :3

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Asking M6 to kiss it better

Julian: will happily do so, only after you've let him look it over in case he thinks it needs any other medical attention. loooong smooch

Asra: blushes in surprise, drops a light peck on it, and then loses their composure and covers you in little kisses until you're giggling too

Nadia: asks you if you've received medical attention first, and then kisses the hurt. requests payment in the form of a "proper" kiss

Muriel: freezes. looks from your face to your hurt and back again. pouts. blushes. kisses it carefully and then asks if it feels better yet

Portia: "awww of course!!" holds the injury, kisses it, pets it, coos over it, then repeats with your face: holds it, kisses it, pets it, coos over it

Lucio: sure, but then he's going to spend the rest of the day approaching you with invisible injuries asking for the same treatment

[jazztato]

🌙✨M4 when mc demands cuddles and kisses✨🌙

Main 4 when Mc demands cuddles and kisses

(these are like mini stories lol and i'm still alive! )

Asra

It was a long day and I was very exhausted I spent all day trying to prevent a fight in my shop, when I entered my room I fell face first on the bed, I was aching all over  when I turned my head I nearly jumped off the bed when I saw my beloved (Y/N) sitting here staring at me with a stern look on her face I was confused on why she was looking at me like that it was the dead of night and out of nowhere she started to jump on the bed then onto my back with a big oof, why was she acting like this but as I was in deep thought when I heard her beautiful voice speak out saying that she demanded cuddles and kisses since I spent all day working and not giving her the attention she needed I let out a soft chuckle, sitting up pulling her onto my lap giving her soft kisses on the lips soon pulling her back down onto the bed to give her  lots of cuddles, It was cute on how she was acting just for cuddles and kisses I love my little hyperactive bunny.

Julian

I was off at the palace working late like I always do since I’m not really one to sleep and with all the black coffee I drink I probably won’t be sleeping for a long time, all day the palace have been packed with people who needed treatment the only reason why I agreed to work here at the palace was because my little muffin is helping the countess with a few things I wanted to take a break to see her but more people kept piling in I was a bit annoyed but it’s my job to help these people but once the last person left I was thrilled and decided to rest my head on my desk letting out a soft sigh, however as I was just about to close my eyes, I heard the door open, I was about to jump out of my chair and make a run for it but when I looked over to the door I saw it was the love of my life (Y/N), I gave her a soft smile except she didn’t look so happy look I sat up straight and asked her whats the matter, right as those words escaped my lips, I watched her cross her arms as if she wanted me to guess, which I tried Multiple times…, I  guessed are you sick?  But that wasn’t it….  I even guessed are you hungry?  But that also wasn’t it, I decided to guess one more time and asked if you're tired?  But she had enough of me guessing the wrong thing so she let out huff and told me that she demanded for me to give her cuddles and kisses!  I’ve been working all night and she’s been waiting for two hours for me to get finished with work, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle I stood up off my chair revealing my tall self to her she reached up to him like a baby is to their mother, I gently picked her up and walked off to the room we were both staying in at the palace, I laid her on the bed as I gently laid next to her my tall limbs dangling off the edge of the bed I pulled her close to my chest and started to cuddle her as I smothered her in lots kisses. 

Lucio

It was a tough day out on the road of adventure. It's easier than being a count. That's for sure I missed being a mercenary, being free, no responsibilities well sometimes and most importantly no boring work! There’s only  work I want to do!, but with all the jobs I'm taking on I fear I won’t have time for my little Dove…  She dropped everything just to come out and go on a big adventure with me. Right now I’m working on this tough job as she stayed behind in the Inn we’ve been staying in. I just hope this job won’t take longer than needed..  After a few hours had passed I was heading home, but I came to a bit of a road block, some bandits jumped out in front of me and tried to rob me well jokes on them I’m broke till the person who offered me the job pays me when i get back I didn’t have time for this my Beautiful Dove is waiting for me!  I let out a groan taking my sword out and went in for the attack I thought It would be easy to take those bandits down but I took longer than expected, by the time I arrived back at the inn I was completely out of energy and covered in blood,  I started to head my way up the many stairs when I walked up to the door i decided to kick it open, I was too tired to even move my arms as I staggered inside I fell onto the bed not caring if I get blood on it, I turned my head slightly to the right only to see My little Dove (Y/N) standing there crossing her arms she didn’t seem very happy at first I thought it was because I didn’t take off the bloody clothes to wash up but I was far from wrong, she gave me a lethal glare as if I did something wrong, I gave her a soft smile and started sweating what did I do wrong…  did I forget our anniversary…..  Again….  No no…  it can’t be that…  that was last week…  did I forget her birthday….  No…  it can’t be that….  I was about to speak out except she interrupted me and started giving me an ear full telling me I’m late and that she demands for me to give her cuddles and kisses since she missed me so much and that she was worried about me I started tearing up because it was so sweet of her to worry for me I moved over as she laid next to me she didn’t care that I was all bloodied up she’s just grateful it isn’t my blood I hugged her tightly and started to cuddle her I gave her head and lips and her cheek lots of kisses and i gently cuddled her she was my cute little Dove from now on she’s joining me on every job there is. 

Muriel

I was out in the woods with Inanna. It was getting late and colder so I was out gathering food that’s edible since I don’t like heading out to the market to many people..  (Y/N) always offers to go but I tell her it’s OK..  I have my own way of getting food. She looked a bit sad. I know she wants to help and I’m glad she does but I'm still getting used to her and I dating…  I get flustered every time I think about it…  I was about done and getting ready to head back but I saw a wounded animal, it was a bird who’s wing look injured I set down the bag with the things I gathered and tended to the birds wing, I didn’t want it to be left alone out in the wilderness so I decided to take it along with me till it’s wing heals, I gently placed the bird on top of the bag as I picked it up and headed back home, but since I was in the deeper end of the woods it took me a bit long than usual to get back to my hut, eventually I arrived before I headed inside I gently picked up the bird and set it down next to my chicken friends and told them to behave, I walked into the hut and noticed (Y/N) was there I was confused on what she was doing here I thought she was going to be at the palace all day….  I set the bag down and walked over to her, however when she looked at me she didn’t look happy but instead sad, was she worried?  Did something happen at the palace?  So many thoughts were going through my mind but i was snapped out of my thoughts when she tried to pull me towards the bed I raised my brow but decided to follow she forced me onto the bed, I was still confused, I laid down on the bed but she sat there I was curious of what was going on in her mind…  I was about to ask her but she blurted out that she demanded me to give her cuddles and kisses I turned a bright red at what she had requested I was hesitant for a sec till I gently pulled her down and gave her a soft kiss on the head I was really flustered that I thought I was going to pass out I didn’t want to hurt her..  She’s a lot smaller than I…  she wrapped her arms around me as I cuddled her. I couldn't help but admire her….  I’m still surprised she fell for me…  I’m covered with scars from my past but she always seems to tell me they're beautiful no matter how I got them.

My request are open :3 I just had bad writers block lol

[a-star-aquarium]

The Apolloverse

Welcome to my blog! Here you'll find all my OCs for fandom and not fandom-related content. To start out, I'm going to a couple things clear about myself:

Currently this is the only blog I am using---While you may see my original account that has now been based around Last Legacy, and another side account I have, I am only cohesively using this one.

You can refer to me as Apollo (though this name is just a place holder for this account because I am no longer comfortable with being called Ayla) and I use they/them. Also I know when I first starting posting my account was called "themajorarcanalesbian" but I would no longer refer to myself as a lesbian, just queer for now.

While there may be some mature content on this blog, it won't be a lot because I feel my writing and drawing skills cannot adequately portray that sort of stuff without sounding, well, cringe. That being said, be aware that I will likely reblog mature content from my mutuals as they freely post that content, and I will always want to share it.

Last but not least, the only character I have that is associated with The Arcana universe is Astarium, who only remains in that fandom because the storyline set up for the game adds to their character in a way I feel I might not be able to at the moment (cough cough, writers block) The rest of my characters remain in what you will see tagged as #theapolloverse as their universe doesn't have a set name!

And now, to get to my many characters (fyi, I will edit this post when I do, but some of their intro posts are outdated and need refreshing!)

Also, every character will also be filed under #Apolloverse

Astarium The Magician | They/Them - Queer | Asta, remaining in the arcana verse, takes the storyline of the apprentice, only a few things differentiating. They grow up in Prakra and run away after their father passes because they fear their mother will abandon them. At first, they are put on stage to be ogled at, from age 12 to 15, before they eventually make their way to Vesuvia. They meet Asra, stay with him for a long while, and when the plague hits, they fear death when it becomes clear that their healing magic, just like with their father, cannot heal the people of Vesuvia. Asra assumes their dead for many months, but Asta only dies the day before Asra revives them, so they remain with their memories of the plague, and seeing Asra with Julian. This is important because it has an effect on each storyline no matter what love interest you choose, because Astarium never actually wanted to be brought back to life! Asta's information, and any HCs or drawings, will be under the tag #astariumthemagician or #astathemagician

Their bio: Astarium The Magician

Juno, The Mad King | He/Him - Bisexual | Juno Ara Malik, a bastard child who, yes, is his father's son, but his mother was not of royal decent. Juno's father is not completely to blame for this, as his wife, The Queen, passed away of an illness, and he had to resort to sleeping with a servant to produce an heir, otherwise his line would've been endangered. Juno will not take after his father though, his cousin Amaria will; ergo why Juno's father had him take over a small Provence at the age of 14. He felt bad that his son would not be able to take after his footsteps. Juno was raised by his teachers, servants, and guards when he was sailed across the sea to Roya. His grandmother took no interest in him besides hating him, she would regular burn his hands and back, and he remains to have a scar on his face from her dagger. In fact, her treatment only resulted in Juno growing to be spiteful and cruel in some ways, and at the age of 17, he decapitated her in a purple blaze. Her very own sword being used to do the beheading. Juno's information, and any HCs or drawings, will be under the tag #Juno Ara Malik

His bio: Juno Ara Malik

Jayda, The Golden Handed Servant | He/Him - Omnisexual | Jayda grew up similarly to Asra in a way, living off the streets with nobody to raise him, only learning from the books he stole and the lessons he was taught by strangers. Sure, the people of his city got to know him, and he even got many of them to give him free stuff, but nobody offered him a home. He remained on the streets until the age of 16, when he met Zahra, who had ran away from a forced marriage. At the age of 30, Jayda seeks out the Magician (not specifically the one in the Arcana) , who offers him one wish. Jayda wishes to be more virtuous, to be a man of the people, and the magician grants him that. Of course, working with a major arcana can have its drawbacks, so Jayda is changed into an almost completely different man. The once confident man had gained the gift of awareness, which has made him hypersensitive to every single thing he does, including his actions and physical state. The gift also helps him be more on top of his work at the palace, so it's not the worst. His third eye is for sight, to be seeing clearly and all knowing, so that he can help those around him. And his 6 limbs, which are for strength, with so many arms, surely he could help out all of Roya at once? {he can but it's utterly exhausting}. His hair turning from the beautiful chestnut to the interesting orange was a reminder from the magician to Jayda, a piece of him, so that he will never forget the gifts he was given. Not that Jayda ever could, as he's lived this way for the past 12 years. Jayda's information, and any HCs or drawings, will be under the tag #Jayda Ronan Chidal and #Jayda The Golden Handed Servant

His Bio: Jayda Ronan Chidal

Zahra | She/Her - Lesbian | Zahra, originally coming from a rich background, was arranged to marry at the age of 15 by her mother. Her mother had sold her into a marriage with a much older man after learning Zahra was a trans woman, and she told her if she wanted to be one, that she could face the same struggles a woman would. After about a year of this, she runs away and meets Jayda. It's important to note that Zahra wasn't as open with Jayda as she is now, but her mother had attempted to force her to de-transition, when she could not make her, she was sold off like cattle, and when the man no longer wanted her, her cold dead stare every night haunting him, her mother DID force her to de-transition, and they gaslit her back into the closet, so ergo why she left, and why Jayda met her pre-transition. Now she rules as Juno's head advisor with his council and remains by Jayda's side. Currently, most of the info, including Zahra's intro post, is incorrect, so I will not link it. But her tag remains to be #Zahra Masarn Ártar

Atlas | Any/All Pronouns - Pansexual | A young mercenary working under Ruthie Sloane (oh I promise, we'll get to her) Atlas, the nephew/niece of Zahra, grew up with their mother in a small village. His father had banned any sort of magic when Atlas was young, causing quite the struggle when her mother had to use it to heal Atlas from a cold that had almost killed them. The people of the town decided to hunt her down, and unlike his mother, Atlas had lifted herself up into the air with their own magic when jumping from a cliff. That day, the day he lost his mother to the rocks below that cliff, was his birthday. Atlas ended up running to falling less of a feet into the ocean, trying to find her mother in the depths of the ocean, eventually washing back up onto the beach where they were found by Ruth. Now, they remain her side no matter what. Same as with Zahra, Atlas' intro post and most of the posts ive made surrounding them is not correct, so I will not be linking it here. Though if you'd like to look for it, her tag is #Atlas Bentlee Àrtar

Ruthie, The Midnight Mercenary | She/Her - Pansexual | Born Oxana Valentina Sloane, Ruth took the name of one of her oldest friends when they were slaughtered by the man she once used to work for. While not much is known about her, she is known for being one of the biggest threats to most pirates, and with Atlas along with her, she appears a lot more scary than she actually is. Despite being 6'4 mercenary, Ruth is actually quite kind, she's taken quite a few people in over the years, and she's never one to hesitate when it comes to feeding, or housing those in need. She is the eldest of the Sloane Siblings, and she actually left her family at quite a young age. Now, she just rides around with Atlas, always cleaning up their dirty work. She also needs an updated bio, but the rest of her info remains under the tags #Ruthie Sloane, #Oxana Valentina Sloane, and #The Sloane Siblings

Pier | He/Him - Omnisexual | The younger brother of Oxana, who was abandoned by her from a young age---right when he was learning his abilities--- resulting in him losing control and running away when he was 10. For the most part, he can't see, or, well, its not that he can’t see, he refuses to open his eyes, because when he does, he can't see people, he just sees their aura, and their thoughts, and its like a surround sound to his head. This developed at the age of 9 and he runs away at 10 to get away from his mothers, not to scare them, but because he was afraid of hurting them by letting them know what he was going through. Where he’s constantly on the move, one of his favorite friends is Asta, they met on a pirate ship back in Prakra and they're very nice to one another. On the note of Pirates, he does get kidnapped by a certain crew due to his relation to rue. But that I'll leave off there. Pier's information, and any HCs or drawings, will be under the tag #Pier Sloane and #The Sloane Siblings

Mathéo | He/They - Bisexual | As the youngest of the Sloane siblings, not much is known about Mathéo. While he remains to live with his mothers, he still lives a rather independent life. They take charge in doing all the task their siblings left behind, and they try to make life happier for their mothers. But, he longs so be selfish, and adventurous, and he feels lonely without his siblings, creating an odd family dynamic when he meets up with them in the future. Mathéo's information, and any HCs or drawings, will be under the tag #Mathéo Sloane and #The Sloane Siblings

And always, a reminder that you can always ask about my ocs (or inquire about shipping) in my inbox, and anon will always stay on!

Now make yourself cozy, and feel free to look at the rest of my blog <3

[oswednesday]

like it Sucks cause the arcana could push hard into these themes it def has like sometimes families show love in ways that hurt us and that causes us to hurt others (morga in general, asras parents taking a deal with the devil and getting trapped to protect him, muriels family leaving him someplace less tundray in hopes he’ll find food away from danger, nadias family babying her, julian lying to portia and im sure a bunch of stuff we’ll get into  yet) instead they keep asking us to pass moral judgement on lucio,,,who isnt REAL, this is a story being written!! and it keeps coming at the cost of other character flaws of the rest of the cast, like its all lucio’s fault and you should feel bad for liking him

[cherryonclouds]

I know Nix Hydra doesn't exist anymore (much to my dismay when I learned of the news) but the Arcana was a game that gave me the confidence to leave my emotionally abusive ex and I wanted to share that with them.

It was pretty simple. April 2019, I was staying with my boyfriend at the time. I got the game because of the insane ads (yall know the ones I'm talking about) and began playing. I played out Nadia, Asra and Julian's route.

And all I could think for most of the time while I was playing is, "If someone could love me like this, then I don't have to put up with the below bare minimum treatment I'm getting with my boyfriend."

Granted, even before getting the game I knew I was going to break up with him, but I didn't know how, nor did I feel comfortable doing so. Seeing Julian profess his love for me over and over again gave me the sliver of emotional support I needed to leave.

At the end of April I went back to my family, and I think in June was when I broke up with him.

So yeah. I've heard of people who accepted their unique features (like their nose which was shaped like Julian), but nothing about abusive people.

Also this is a PSA: use whatever means necessary to get out of whatever toxic situation you're in. There's no shame in survival.

People might say I'm weird and that I needed to fix my self esteem, instead of playing an otome game to leave a dude. But it was the gentlest, most non triggering way for me to be able to do that, and that's all that matters.

Goal achieved, game played - me and Nix Hydra were happy at the end.

Also look at this beautiful man

[peachypizzicato]

The Five Of Cups: An Open Letter to Dorian

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my soapbox (or, if you see this and by some divine happenstance don’t know me: Hi! I’m Felix! Or Anemone. I go by many names.)

As you can tell by my Big Boy Letters, I’m comin’ to talk about kind of a serious subject. At least, it’s serious to me anyway. I wanted to talk a bit about the game The Arcana. You know the one. The definitely not at all divisive one. That Arcana. (/s)

(Warning: I will be touching on depictions of racism, misogyny, anti indigenity, antisemitism, and just general mistreatment of marginalized people!)

TLDR; The Arcana is full of harmful portrayals of marginalized people and the fandom at large ignores it at best and encourages it at worst. The best thing we as the community can do is make it abundantly clear to the company that this is not okay and should not continue.

To be completely upfront here, I’m not going to be going in-depth on every single problem with the devs or the distributors or anything. We’re all busy people and there’s not nearly enough time in the day. But what I am going to do is touch on a few things I’ve witnessed firsthand that I think are worth sharing with the wider community.

One of the behaviors I’ve noticed most often is what I can only think to call… Strange treatment of the love interests. Not by everyone, mind you, but on a startlingly normal basis. Now, what do I mean by “strange”? Well, it really depends on the character honestly.

With Asra, much of the portrayals feel significantly more sexualized than that of their peers. Drawn and portrayed as if their body exists to be ogled by someone else rather than lived in by themself, y’know what I mean? That, combined with blatant orientalist imagery baked into much of their designs, makes for a feeling of feast or famine when seeking out content. And this isn’t even to comment on the intense focus on them as defined by their relationships to others– namely Julian– and all of the mischaracterization that comes with that.

It’s not much different in regard to Nadia, if you can believe it. The image of “step-on-me-queen dominatrix” cultivated by the original writers persists in the community, with overwhelming focus put on her body and her sexuality over anything else. Anyone who’s known me since I discovered the game knows I actually really liked her at first, but it’s hard to have a genuine attachment to a character who seldom even gets to have a personality outside of basic traits and Having Tits.

Julian is, admittedly, a difficult one. I am not jewish myself, but I’ve heard testimony from jewish fans that his portrayal is less than ideal (to put it lightly). At the very base, his design itself is riddled with common antisemitic imagery and was based primarily on a real brown-skinned jewish man whose melanated skin they excluded, surely coincidentally (/s). but it goes even further than that (depicting a jewish man as a bloodsucking vampire, anyone?). I don’t claim to speak for any groups I do not belong to, but with the knowledge I do have it simply makes things uncomfortable to witness.

Muriel. Oh, Muriel. Again, if you’ve known me for any significant amount of time, you probably knew I was dreading this. But as much as I’d like to think nothing could ever be wrong when he’s around, there are definitely problems. Now, I could go into all the issues with the way the writers concocted his route, his story, his character as a whole (brown man with a ~foreign~ type of magic lives in solitude in the woods and is “in tune with nature” to the point of communication, very original /s), what I really want to touch on here is how this informed the way the community treats him. Listen, I’m not gonna sugarcoat this, a lot of Muriel fans are not subtle about their (most often white, but not always) savior complexes. More times than I care to remember I’ve seen him babied, treated like he’s incompetent, made at best into an animal to be tamed and at worst into an uncontrollable monster. I’ve seen pieces of fanfiction call him, a very blatantly indigenous-coded character, a real actual slur. Not to mention how watering down the trauma he faced has become something of commonplace. And this isn’t even an exhaustive list of ways he’s mistreated! For as much as it makes me angry, it’s also extremely saddening. The devs and writers made one of their most genuine kindhearted characters into a metaphorical punching bag, and the community has only continued swinging for years afterward.

But, I think I’ve made my point. Moving on.

Portia is a combination of problems I’ve already touched on. Conveniently, all of the stereotypical traits that Julian inherited happened to skip right over his little sister. What didn’t skip over, however, was the gene of being shamelessly and gratuitously oversexualizing of her. Take a look at any of her CGs; most if not all of them are centered on her chest or otherwise use color and design to draw the eye there. Every one of her sprite outfits are low cut to show varying levels of cleavage. And the few vocal fans she does have only serve to perpetuate this over and over again. To be completely clear, there’s nothing wrong with characters who embrace their sexuality. That goes without saying. However, for being the one “plus-size” love interest– which really in this case only means short and curvy– the emphasis on her body over anything else about her is startling and sad.

Finally, we find Lucio. Our one ethnically white male love interest. You may be wondering how a character like that could possibly receive “strange treatment”. Or maybe you’re not. I will elaborate anyway. The biggest problem with Lucio, with the fans and absolutely with the teams behind the game, is and has been for the longest time the complete and utter lack of awareness of his role in the world and the consistent retroactive rewriting of his character. What I mean by that is this: Lucio, originally and in every route but his own, is blatantly written to be an unforgivably cruel and immoral man. He seeks the best treatment he can get while cityfolk all but die in his streets, he takes advantage of the kindness and generosity of others and punishes their trust. There are many assumptions that can be made but we are shown explicitly that he can know Asra, a child (as an adult himself), and make sexual advances on them in adulthood with absolutely no guilt. He blackmailed Muriel into being and staying his slave and in turn forced him to perform brutal public massacres for an indeterminate amount of time: all we know is that it was long enough for a colloquial name to become well known and for his appearance to grow unkempt and haggard. All this plus more things that I don’t even have the time to list. And yet, he is arguably one of the most popular characters. Take two steps into the fandom at large and you’ll see countless postings about how his childhood was so tragic and how he’s so very sorry, he’s just a little oopsie whoopsie uwu soft boy! The few times I personally have seen his horrible actions even addressed by his fans was to underplay them, to insinuate that he has it worse than anyone he hurt. In spite of, or maybe even because of his extensive list of broadly observable crimes, he thrives in the community. The people love him. I don’t think I really have to explain why this in particular is so extremely chilling to me.

So, with all of these things laid out… What now? We’ve acknowledged the problems, there’s pages upon pages of other posts outlining ones I didn’t even cover here, so now what do we do? What’s the solution?

The answer to this isn’t quite cut and dry. There’s no simple solution to murky waters that run as deep as these do. But, for what it’s worth, I have a few suggestions I’d like to propose.

First off, I understand that all of the routes are finished. They had all completed well before the Dorian acquisition, I’m fully aware of that fact. However, in regard to said acquisition, I feel as though Dorian dropped the ball when transferring the property to their own app (and I’m not even talking about the writing of the tales, which is its own can of worms). Rather than simply copy-pasting the routes from the existing app, things could’ve been redone, remade better. Problems could have been solved now that the game had gained new life. This was much of the inspiration behind my own reworking of the concept, to address the problems and fix them. I don’t even believe that it’s too late for them yet; routes have only just begun being uploaded to the Dorian app, in theory there’s still room to reconsider things.

But that’s the problem. I don’t believe that the crew behind Dorian really cares. I don’t believe the original development team or Nix Hydra crew really cared. If the people involved really cared about these problems, there was ample time within the last nearly five years to fix things. They did nothing. They continue to do nothing. People like me shout endlessly into the void, hoping someone will hear and actually listen to the issues happening within their game. But they don’t care. They continue to make money, they continue to draw in players, why should they? If racism and misogyny and every other form of bigotry under the sun doesn’t hurt their bottom line, why change anything? Why care, why change if the community at large not only ignores it but actively encourages and supports it? Why listen to criticism if you can just block it and soak up praise from your unconditional fans? Why?

As I said, I don’t have a simple solution for any of this. But I’ve made personal choices in my own life to give less of my time and money to the company. If I want merchandise, I seek out independent artists. If I want to see or read something again, I can find screencaps. As much as I miss certain things, I don’t play the game anymore. I can’t help being attached to characters who have been important to me for as long as I’ve known them, but what I can do is make purposeful choices in response to the affection I feel. Maybe my singular actions won’t mean anything to them, but specifically and purposefully refusing to support the profits of a fundamentally flawed game that doesn’t even have the self awareness to be ashamed of itself means everything to me.

Thanks for listening. I hope anyone who happened to make it to this point can take something good from my impassioned ramblings.