#arcana summer headcanons

[the-arcana-members]

Have some doodles made by @blankspaceintime

A nice doodle of Aksh without his glasses and makeup

She made two outfits for Crusoe, Casual and summer attire

Some ship art for a little challenge we did with Marcello and Astro

And two chibi looking pics of Theo and Camilla done in a Kirby art style!

[beanswrites]

Oh my goodness!! I thought of a fun request for the arcana, since summer is coming up may I request the arcana main six at a water park like general headcanons ( if I am requesting too much just let me know) Thank you I hope you are doing well <3

Ok ok ok let's hear it!!!

Yess!! I love the summer, and I love headcanons, and I love The Arcana, so by default, I love this request!

No no no bluhame don't you ever think that! As I said countless times before, I love all requests! And, if I ever did get overwhelmed with them, I would tell you guys!

No problem! I'm doing great, thank you!

Love you very much!!

P.S. Oh, also, your fic request for Asra and sort of Greek Mythology/The Arcana crossover is coming soon!!

[violettduchess]

Headcanons: a kiss in each season with 4 different princes!

A/N: So after talking a bit to the lovely @bellerose-arcana I added 4 vamp suitors too!

Word Count: 872

Spring: Clavis / Mozart

Clavis kisses you with all the vibrancy of spring. You feel alive like a riotous blossom proclaiming its return from a long season of sleep. Wild and full of abandonment, you throw your arms around him the way Mother Nature haphazardly throws color back into the world. Every shade of green from pale jade to deep forest colors your heart. Petals practically vibrating with the force of their colors, the pinks and reds and blues and yellows, bloom within its chambers. It is the season of rebirth, of hope, of emergence. This is what you feel when you kiss him. A fountain of love that springs between your hearts, whose refreshing taste is on your lips every time you kiss.

Kissing Mozart feels like the thaw of winter as it slowly melts away, giving up its hold on the world so that spring can be born. You are Persephone, rising from the Underworld to breathe life into his wintery form. Your fingers run through pale, snowy hair, curl into its softness. Cool amethyst eyes slowly warm, ignited by the feel of you pressed against him. Color stains his cheeks like sunlight breaking through the gloom. His embrace shifts, muscles going lax, his body warming under your touch, softening and opening like a bud reaching for the sun.

Summer: Keith / Leonardo

Keith is like a summer’s day that sneaks up on you with its intensity. He wraps his strong arms around you and you are warm and safe and the world is bright. His embrace is the brilliant blue sky wrapping itself around you. It feels expansive yet welcoming. You could lose yourself in it and be happy forever. And then he kisses you, pure and joyful, and you taste sunshine on your lips. He is the brightness of red strawberries and the sweetness of peaches. You tighten your arms around him, wanting more. As you linger in his embrace, as you chase the taste of him, heat builds inside you, waves of it slowly rolling through your veins. This is no longer a soft summer morning, but midday in all of its sweltering glory.

Summer has its halcyon days that seem to stretch on forever, where the sun lounges in the sky like a lion on the Savannah, sprawling across the day it knows it owns. Leonardo pulls you to him, almost lazily. Definitely possessively. As the sun greedily clutches the sky, he holds you against his body, his kiss a paradox: slow and heated, unhurried, the languor of the day conveyed through lips and tongue....yet these slow, decadent kisses spark a thundering through your veins, loud and wild as a sudden summer storm.

Autumn: Leon/ Comte

Leon cups your face in his strong hands, his eyes as gold as the turning leaves, bright as a brilliant autumn sun when he looks at you, the anticipation of your kiss akin to the trees bracing themselves, whispering of the coming winter. But there is nothing cold about the feel of his mouth on yours. His lips move over yours, soft as cashmere, sweet as apple cider. His fingers trace the curve of your jaw. You melt against him, your heart soaring like a kite on the wind, a tail of soft, glowing sparks trailing across your skin. 

Comte’s touch is gentle, sure and velvet with desire. His lips brush the lightest of kisses across your collarbone, a cool autumn mist rolling across trembling fields of gold. You plunge your fingers into the silk of his hair, baring your neck to his wandering mouth. The long line of your throat echoes the wolf, head thrown back to howl its love for the beauty of a harvest moon. And when Comte raises his head, his eyes amber on fire, lupine in ferocity, you know his restraint has been pushed to its limit....and desire, with all the force of an October storm, is about to break free.

Winter: Gilbert / Vlad

Kissing Gilbert is wrapping your arms around the chilled air, pressing your lips to the smooth, slate gray clouds and tasting the sweet shock of cold on your tongue right before it melts. His fingers trace a frosted filigree against the nape of your neck, an invisible tattoo marking you as his. Teeth, white as snow, are winter’s bite when they nip your sensitive, flushed skin. The sting leaves you red, red with the evidence of his desire, red with a bonfire growing within. His hunger consumes you, a blizzard of craving and voracity that you willingly yield to, that you blissfully allow to swallow you whole.

Vlad holds you in his arms, the soft black satin of a winter sky embracing its precious diamond stars. His beauty is the softness of snow as it floats down to earth. And just as snow covers all in a blanket of glistening white, so does he enfold his beloved in his arms, wrapping you in an embrace as soft and tender as the light in his rose-red eyes. He lowers his head, his lips brushing yours. You feel beautiful, treasured, as if the white winter moon has chosen to bathe you in its soft, argent light. You wrap your arms around him, closing your eyes, knowing he will always be your way through the darkness, your warmth in the cold. 

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @alixennial @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @ikemen-prince-writers-posts @thewitchofbooks @redheadkittys @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @kpop-and-otome @writingwhimsey @mxrmaid-poet @silver-dahlia @wendolrea @otomefoxystar @nightfoxqueen @myonlyjknight @queen-dahlia @aceuuuuu @scorchieart @kissmetwicekissmedeadly

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: when an apollo camper falls for an aphrodite camper, heart-shaped cough drops and haikus written with glitter gel pens aren't too far behind. word count: 6815 words a/n: it started as a simple headcanon. apollo's kid falling for aphrodite's. i told a few friends on discord about it, and they ate the idea up so much, i knew i had to write something about them. this story is about two ocs, but you'll see a few familiar faces in here too, and if you're paying close enough attention to context clues, you can figure out where eva and kodi's story fits in within the pjo timeline. taglist: @poptart-cat-78 @fynn-arcana @babsbabbles @laughingphoenixleader {if you’d like to be added to my halfblood 5&1 taglist/pjo taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

five times it paid to know an apollo boy (and one time being an aphrodite girl paid off too)

~eva's first summer~

 Eva wasn't surprised that, in a camp with archery, flying pegasi, and lava in the dish pit as well as on the climbing wall, she'd gotten herself hurt within her first week at Camp Half-Blood. 

 But, although she hadn't sat down and considered all the possible injuries available to her at Camp, if she had, getting a papercut while opening a chocolate bar for s'mores wouldn't've exactly made the list.

 And yet, even in the dim lighting of the camp's bonfire, she could see very clearly the scratch on her thumb.

 "That kind of injury takes some serious skill," someone said.

 She couldn't see his face in the low lighting by the bonfire, but she saw him hold something out to her.

 "Need a band-aid?"

 "Thanks," Eva said. She took it from him and unwrapped it.

 By the time the bandage was around her thumb, the stranger had disappeared into the crowd, and she shoved the wrapping into her pocket.

 She'd almost forgotten that moment had happened by the time she got back to her cabin. But now that she looked at it in the light, she saw that the band-aid was a shade of hot pink— her favorite color, and the same color as the accessories she'd worn with her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that day.

~eva's first summer~

 When Eva was a little girl, she always looked forward to Valentine's Day. It made more sense now, looking back on it after her demigod diagnosis, why her decorated shoebox mailbox was always filled to the brim with heart-shaped lollipops, tiny treasures, and cards with cartoon character puns on them. Of course Aphrodite's daughter would attract a lot of attention from her classmates.

 Not long after she settled into camp, she realized Cabin 10 was one giant Valentine's shoebox.  Eva was used to coming back to the cabin each evening and seeing her sisters' bunks surrounded by flowers and chocolates and her brothers' bunks cluttered with assorted candies and letters that smelled like perfume. As long as there were Aphrodite kids who treasured cheap attempts to buy their affection, there would be kids from the other cabins more than willing to oblige them.

 But Eva didn't get gifts like that, at least, not as much as her siblings. She spent a lot of that first summer reminding herself that she was still the youngest in the cabin, and that her time to shine would come soon enough.

 In the meantime, though, she'd just have to get used to all the flowers. She had just the luck of having a bunk next to Silena— kind-hearted, beautiful Silena, who could scarcely glance in a boy's direction without him falling for her. Eva soon found out that where there were boys falling for you, there were flowers, and where there were flowers, there were allergies, and she figured the best way to dispel the issue quietly was to stop by Cabin 7.

 A normal camp would have a camp nurse, maybe a nurse's assistant on staff, and wouldn't be much more than a phone call away from the nearest hospital. Camp Half-Blood's medical treatments pretty much amounted to "tell someone at Cabin 7 what's wrong, and if they can't patch you up, well, there's not much a mortal doctor could do for you anyways."

~💘~

 As Eva approached the cabin, she noticed there were several chains by the door, each one with a different label underneath.

 "PULL FOR URGENT EMERGENCY"

 "PULL FOR IMPALEMENT"

 "PULL FOR PRANK-RELATED INJURY"

 "PULL FOR WALK-IN CONSULTATION"

 That last one sounded the most like what she needed, so she pulled that chain and heard a chime go off in the cabin.

 "I'll be out in a second," a voice said, and a moment later the door opened to a blonde boy, not much older than Eva, whose eyes widened when he saw her.

 "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" he asked, with so much concern on his face she might as well have been actively on fire.

 "Yeah," Eva wrinkled her nose, "just a slight problem I was hoping someone could help me with."

 "Oh, good," he said, "I, uh, what can I do for you?"

 She hesitated a moment, not sure what would happen if word got out that Aphrodite's new daughter was allergic to flowers.

 "Can you keep a secret?"

 "Anything for you," he said, then coughed so hard Eva thought that he might need a doctor, "I mean, uh, of course."

 "I found out I'm allergic to flowers," Eva whispered, "and Drew said that if I wake her up with my coughing one more time, I'm gonna be the one who needs beauty sleep."

 "That's perfect!" the boy said.

 "My allergy is perfect?" Eva asked.

 "No, no," he said, "I have just the thing. Don't go away!"

 He scurried back into the cabin, and about a minute later he came back with a bottle and a cloth pouch.

 "These will help the allergy," he handed her the bottle, "take one each night before bed, and you should be cough free. But, just in case!' 

 He handed her the pouch as well and she opened it to see several heart shaped lollipops.

 "What are these?"

 "Newest breakthrough in Cabin 7 medicine," he said, "making your own blend of cough drops is almost a rite of passage, but I've turned the science into an art form."

 Eva held one up and sniffed it. "You made cough drops into lollipops?"

 "Yeah," he said.

 "Why?"

 "Why not?"

 They stood in silence for an awkward moment.

 "I gotta go," Eva said, "but thanks for everything."

 "You're welcome," he said.

 She walked away, slightly confused and highly appreciative, though the whole of the moment was soon lost in the hubbub of demigod adventures.

~eva's second summer~

 The biggest problem with being a child of Aphrodite is that your skill set usually boils down to "distraction." Another unfortunate truth is that sometimes "distraction" boils down to "do the hard part and run through the woods so that someone else can get the glory for your actions."

 Unfortunately for Eva, this was one of those times.

 All of Red Team had been hopeful for their own chance to shine when Clarisse announced that she wouldn't be going directly for the flag this time. She claimed it was a solid strategy for her and a couple of her siblings to divert the enemy's attention, so she volunteered to take patrol up along the lake instead of in the woods as usual.

 However, this shuffling of the troops meant that Eva and a couple of the other Aphrodite campers were on a new mission: distract the enemy while the remaining Ares campers rush the Blue Team's flag.

 Things had gone pretty much according to plan there. A few of the Apollo kids had been guarding the flag, and more than half of them had abandoned their post to chase down the Red Team's distraction.

 But although the chase was part of the plan, Eva hoped the boy running after her would just give up already. She wasn't sure how much more of it she could take right now.

 As the forest passed by around her, she glanced over her shoulder— just long enough to see her pursuer's determined smile— then looked back ahead of her, in just enough time to notice the tree root in front of her, but without enough time to avoid tripping on it.

 She landed with her hands in front of her, the wind knocked out of her for a moment.

 "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," his voice behind her said, "are you okay?"

 Eva pushed herself up a little and turned her head to see the boy who'd been chasing her, now with a concerned look on his face.

 She wanted to make a clever remark and then run past her enemy and make her escape, but as she tried to push herself up further, she realized the pain in her knees and chin, and especially her hands.

 "I'm alright," she huffed, sitting up and looking at her hands, both of them brushburned and dirt stained, and one having a decent sized cut.

 "No you're not," he said, and knelt down in front of her, "you're bleeding in five different places."

 "I'll be fine," Eva said.

 "At least let me take a look at it. Apollo's my father, I…."

 "I know," Eva said, "and you'll take me back to Blue Team's jail as a wounded prisoner."

 A drop of blood fell onto Eva's shirt, and it took her a few seconds to realize where it had come from. She touched a sticky spot on her chin, then looked at her fingers to see a streak of red and brown.

 "Capture the Flag isn't my concern right now," he said, taking off his helmet to reveal a familiar face, with a mop of fair blonde hair that would've looked even lighter if it wasn't so sweaty, paired the warmest brown eyes Eva'd ever seen— the boy who'd given her the cough drops and allergy pills last summer, "let me patch you up, and I'll give you a fifteen second head start."

 "I guess that sounds like a deal," Eva said. She was supposed to be the distraction anyways, and this camper wouldn't be after her teammates if he was occupied with her instead.

 "Good," he said. He'd already taken off his chestplate as well, and he pulled a knife out of a holster at his side.

 "What are you doing?" Eva asked.

 "Emergency bandages," he said, cutting a strip off the bottom of his shirt, "maybe this'll convince Annabeth to let us bring more first aid supplies next time. She says they only slow us down," he cut another chunk of the fabric off his shirt, "but this would go a lot faster if I didn't have to tear apart my wardrobe to do it."

 "You don't have to."

 "Nonsense," he said, pouring some water from his canteen onto one of the cloths, "you wouldn't've tripped if I hadn't been chasing you. May I?"

 She nodded as he took her right hand and dabbed her open palm with the wet cloth. She tried not to wince too much.

 "Sorry," he said, "I wish I had something better to clean this out with."

 "No need to apologize."

 Once her hand was clean, he wrapped a strip of the fabric around it, and tied it tightly.

 "Here," he said, handing her the wet cloth, "wipe up that cut on your chin, then apply pressure to stop the bleeding."

 She followed his instructions as best she could as he cut off another chunk of his shirt and wet it.

 "You know a lot about first aid," Eva said.

 He smiled a little as he took her other hand and dappled off the dirt.

 "I'm not the best of my siblings," he said, "but I do what I can."

 Eva knew all about struggling to be the best, having consigned herself at this point to the fact that she wouldn't even be third best among her siblings for a very long time.

 "I'm Eva," she said.

 "Evangeline Blythe," he nodded, "I know. This is your second summer, right?"

 "That's what it says on my necklace," Eva said, glancing at the single clay bead on the string around her neck.

 He held up his own necklace with two beads on it. "Then I guess this is my third. I'm Kodi Archer."

 "I remember you from last summer," Eva said.

 "You do?" Kodi asked.

 "You gave me something for my allergies," she said.

 "Glad to make an impression," he said, cleaning the spots of dirt off her scratched-but-not-actively-bleeding knees, "that's also not the first time we met."

 "It's not?"

 "I'm just sorry I didn't have any hot pink bandages on me this time."

 "That was you?" Eva asked, recalling the bonfire and the perfectly accessorized band-aid.

 "Yeah," he said.

 Kodi looked back up at her, a smile on his face as their eyes met for half a moment. His eyes then shifted, however, to the cloth she had pressed against her chin.

 "Let's see what I can do for that chin," he said, his hand brushing against hers as he took the cloth from her.

 She hardly noticed the sting of the wet cloth on her cut as he tilted her chin up with his other hand, giving her a better view of his face in the golden lighting of the sun, warming his eyes to an even richer hue. He hadn't been this nice to look at last summer, but he'd apparently grown into his nose, and his height, and some confidence had no-doubt come with it, all of which paid off nicely together.

 Her gaze was drawn away when she heard a sound in the distance: the blaring of a horn, signifying the end of the game. Kodi stopped a moment as well, looking up as though trying to see where it came from.

 "That's a relief," he smiled.

 "Who do you think won?" 

 "Doesn't matter," Kodi said, "I'm just glad I didn't have to explain to Luke and Annabeth why I was stopping to help you and would've given you a head start instead of taking you prisoner."

 "At least you don't have to report to Clarisse," Eva offered.

 "I don't envy you on that one," Kodi said, dabbing away the last of the blood on her chin, "now, keep applying pressure, and stop by Cabin 7 to get it looked at once you get back by the main camp, okay?"

 Eva rolled her eyes.

 "At least grab yourself a couple real bandages?"

 "Do they have hot pink ones?" Eva smiled

 "If you tell them I sent you," Kodi smiled back, resheathing his knife. "Now, do you think you can walk with your knees all scraped up?"

 "I think so," she said, trying to stand up off the ground.

 "Here," Kodi jumped to his feet, then held a hand out to Eva, who gladly took it and let him help stand her up.

 "Thanks for everything." Eva said, taking a couple steps with minimum difficulty.

 "All in a day's work," he said.

 In the distance, they heard quite a ruckus.

 "What's that?" Eva asked.

 "Sounds like some commotion over at canoe lake," Kodi said, "probably nothing important."

~eva's third summer~

 Eva had no idea where the haikus were coming from.

 It started one day at dinner, when she got up to make her offering to Aphrodite, and came back to find a three-by-five index card on her napkin. One one side was her name— Evangeline, not Eva— written with a smudged pink glitter gel pen. The other side had three lines written on it.

 She stayed at the table after most of the other campers had left, when it was a little quieter and easier to focus on the words scribbled on the notecard:

 "if the sun should rise

 and see the way your face shines

 it would be ashamed"

 That was it. The only other thing on the card was a heart, near her name, a classic Valentine's heart with an arrow through it, and a scribbled line near the top corner that looked like something you'd do to get the ink in a pen flowing.

 By now, Eva was used to this kind of stuff. Toward the end of last summer, a couple of the Demeter boys started competing to win her affection, and she found her bunk surrounded each day with fresh flowers (which, of course, led to frequent trips to Cabin 7 for allergy medication and a weekly supply of heart-shaped "cough-pops," as Kodi had branded them.) It wasn't uncommon for the Hermes kids to slip candy bars into her pockets and backpacks for her to find later. One of the Ares kids had dedicated an arm-wrestling victory to her, and one of Mr. D's boys had just about run out of elaborate pickup lines to use on her.

 Being well-acquainted with this kind of stuff by now, Eva slipped the poem into her backpack and went on with her evening.

~💘~

 That night before bed, she pulled the notecard out of her backpack, only to discover a second notecard with it. Her name was written on this one as well, with the same arrow-struck heart next to it, but there were two marks in the corner, and the glittering ink on the other side read:

 "your smile is like the

 dripping of nectar, like a

 lump of ambrosia"

 It was a pity that whoever wrote the poem wasn't there to see her read it, because they would've seen another one of her smiles as she read it.

 She stacked both notes together neatly, and was about to set them on her nightstand, when she realized there was a third notecard already there. The unlined side, once again, bore her name and and the same kind of heart, this time with three marks in the corner, and a haiku that read:

 "your laugh is a song

 that i've always known without

 knowing all the words"

 Eva couldn't help but laugh just a little as she read it, then stacked all three notes on her nightstand and went to bed.

~💘~

 As they tidied up the cabin the next morning, Eva smiled with a newfound confidence. There's always something special about having an admirer, but even more deliciously romantic about a secret admirer, one who writes you poems and tells you the sun doesn't hold a candle to you.

 "Is there an Evangeline in this cabin?"Aurora, one of the first-year campers, asked.

 "Yeah, that would be me." Eva sighed. Her dad had always said he gave her the name because it was a beautiful name, and she was his beautiful daughter, but she'd never been a fan of the impromptu Disney karaoke sessions she'd see whenever she introduced herself by it. "Eva" suited her much better.

 "Someone left you a note," Aurora said, holding up a three-by-five card.

 "Where?" Eva asked, walking over to her.

 "Tacked onto the door," the girl said, "I found it while I was sweeping."

 Before Eva could get to her, one of their older brothers, Mitchell, grabbed the note and read it out loud.

 "'You are a poem, and I am just the reader,'' he read, slowly, his tone slightly mocking, "'I've mem'rized your words.' What a piece of…."

 "None of your business," Eva snapped, taking the note from him and looking it over carefully, noting the lines in the corner and familiar handwriting. A favorite pastime of the Aphrodite kids was making fun of the horrible attempts at poetry the other kids would write for them, but for some reason the mockery of this one seemed out of place.

 "Relax, Eva," Drew said, "tell me, who's this new beau, Evangeline?"

 "I don't know," Eva said, calming down a little in spite of her anger.

 "Someone from Apollo's cabin," another guy said, looking over Eva's shoulder.

 "You don't know that," Eva shrugged. Several Apollo campers came to mind.

 "Well, it is a poorly written haiku," Mitchell said.

 "And there's that arrow through the heart," he said.

 "Who do you think it is?" Aurora asked.

 "I don't know," Eva shrugged, "but it's not the first one, either."

 Now that the whole cabin was invested in this story, she showed her siblings the other three notecards and told them where she found them, as they laughed at the words comparing her to ambrosia and singalongs.

 "Those are some hard-to-get-to places to sneak a poem into undetected," Mitchell said.

 "Could be a Hermes kid, then," Lacy suggested.

 That didn't seem right, but Eva couldn't say why.

 "Could be anyone," Silena said, "but for now, let's finish getting the cleaned up and head to breakfast. Just because those Posiedon boys are gonna lose at cabin clean up again doesn't mean we shouldn't try to win."

 And with that, the campers got back to work.

~💘~

 Within a week, Eva had found five more notes in various pockets of her backpack, one at her seat at almost every meal, one on her nightstand each night and her cabin door in the morning, and three in her shorts' pockets (and how they got there without her noticing, she didn't want to know.) Each of them came with her name and a heart pierced with an arrow, a series of strikes up in the corner (which she soon realized were tally marks, the highest one up to twenty-nine so far, though a few in between were missing,) and a haiku, likening her to arrows, celestial bodies, anything beautiful you could think of (except, strangely enough, flowers,) and an assortment of diseases and ailments. Any time she found one, her nearby brothers and sisters would gather around and giggle and gawk over the attempts at romance.

 Eva, however, treasured every one of these notes in her heart. With each note she found, her secret admirer became even more of a point of interest. At the end of that week, her curiosity got the better of her, and she hatched a plan involving a stakeout out front of her cabin. Whoever was hiding these notes came every night to leave them on the door, and tonight she'd catch the cupid culprit in the act.

~💘~

 It was nearly midnight, and her tiredness had almost caught up with her as she crouched behind a flowering shrub outside the cabin.

 Suddenly, she heard the sound of someone coming, and perked up to watch. This part required the most secrecy. If they heard her, no doubt they'd come up with some alibi that didn't involve haikus and thumb tacks. She'd have to catch them in the act. Quietly as she could, she watched as a figure approached the door, stuck something to it, and started to walk away.

 Quickly, Eva shone her flashlight at the note, just to check that it was indeed another three-by-five with her glittering name on it, then turned the light on the intruder.

 "Going somewhere?" she asked.

 He looked like he was gonna jump out of his skin, but instead turned back around to face her. She recognized him as one of the Stoll brothers from Hermes' cabin, but even in better lighting she wouldn't be able to tell you which one.

 "You've been writing me haikus?" Eva asked.

 "Oh no," he said, his hands over his head in a way that made Eva feel like she was some kind of cop. "I'm just the delivery boy."

 "You're running errands?" Eva asked.

 "Half-Blood's gotta make a living," he said, "and I'm just using the skills dad gave me."

 Hermes was a master of sneakery and delivery, and there was a reason the Stoll brothers were the heads of his children. Every demigod knew that if you want something done sneaky and you want it done right, you turn to the Stoll brothers.

 Every camper also knew that they could both be easily bought.

 "Who put you up to this?" Eva asked.

 "My 'client' paid a high price for my silence," he said.

 "Oh?" Eva asked, "and how high a price would I have to pay for the opposite?" 

 "I'm not a sellout," Stoll said, "even among thieves and pickpockets, there is honor."

 "Such a shame," Eva smiled, smugly, knowing she had a bargaining chip worth much more than money, "because that means I won't have to tell my lovely sisters that you were part of this 'secret admirer' plot."

 "Why should that matter?" he asked.

 "They haven't been able to stop talking about it," Eva said, "someone being so clever and sneaky in the name of love. They always go crazy for guys in touch with their romantic side."

 "Really?"

 "Oh, sure," Eva said, "If they found out you were involved with this, oh, they'd be all over you."

 "They would?" he asked, his voice weak.

 "And of course," Eva said, knowing exactly how to seal the deal, "the best thing about attracting my sisters' attention? Being a child of Aphrodite pretty much guarantees more candy than you'll ever be able to eat, more than enough to share with such a daring romantic soul as your own.."

 "Any peanut m&ms?" he asked.

 Though they were a favorite slip-into-your-pocket candy from the Hermes kids, the Aphrodite kids seldom appreciated them. However, there was no one at camp who loved them more than Connor Stoll, who'd burn a pack of them for his father on the regular, and that gave Eva a pretty good hunch who she was talking to.

 "Too many to eat," she said, "it's a shame, really."

 "What's a shame?"

 "Oh, you know," Eva said, "the fact that you'd rather keep your silence than attract the interests of a dozen beautiful girls with a lifetime supply of chocolate."

 Eva turned, with a smile on her face, knowing she'd made an offer he couldn't refuse.

 "Do you promise you won't tell him I told you?" Stoll asked.

 She turned back to him.

 "The only person who'll know about this conversation is my siblings, who will get to hear about how wonderfully romantic the great Connor Stoll is."

 He smiled, so Eva assumed she had guessed properly as to which brother it was.

 "I don't know," he said, with a wink, "Kodi paid a good price to tell me not to tell you."

 "Kodi?" Eva asked, "Kodi Archer?"

 Aside from her trips to Cabin 7 for allergy pills, cough-pops, and brightly colored band-aids, she hadn't spoken much to Kodi since the Capture the Flag game at the start of last summer. She'd attracted the attention of a lot of guys last year, and even more this year, so a lot of her attention-seekers fell through the cracks. She couldn't keep up with every boy who went out of his way to do something for her.

 "I don't want any trouble between myself and the guy who makes my medicine," Connor winked again, and nodded in confirmation, "but don't tell anyone besides your sisters."

 "You got it," Eva smiled, "now, you should get outta here before the harpies catch you."

 "That's not a concern when you know what you're doing," he laughed. He pulled something out of his pocket and threw it into the distance, and Eva watched something in the sky chase it into a far-off tree.

 "How did you…" Eva asked, but when she looked back at him, he was already gone.

 Since she didn't have any magical harpy-escape-plan, she decided it best to head back to the cabin.

 But she stopped a moment at the cabin door, running her fingers along the index card. Had she been paying attention, she could've figured it out without Connor's help. No one at camp called her "Evangeline," except Kodi. He'd written it in what he clearly knew was her favorite shade of pink. The arrow piercing the hearts doodled on the notes represented Cabin 7, and also the boy whose last name just-so-happened to be Archer. There were metaphors to sunshine and medicine and archery all throughout the poorly written poems, and while any other poet would've likened her to beautiful, fragrant flowers, only Kodi knew of her allergy. Not everyone on campus would trust the word of one of the Stoll brothers, but the facts lined up in this one.

 She sighed, and decided not to bring the notecard back to the cabin with her. It would be better to leave it there for her siblings to gawk over in the morning.

~💘~

 The next morning, Eva regaled the tale of her stakeout to her cabin mates, a captive audience, especially for her version of the story, in which Connor had taken the task of leaving the haikus solely "for the sake of romance" and "keeping the delicate flower of young love alive" and a few other poetic turns of phrase that made him into the kind of guy that at least a few of her siblings would fall for by the end of the story.

 The other big change in this version of the story was that when she recounted it, Connor was not so easily bought, and claimed to "honor the romanticism of mystery," meaning he disappeared into the night before telling Eva who her secret admirer was.

 In Cabin 10, names were thrown around often. Eva could list off the top of her head at least a dozen demigods who'd tried gestures like this to win her siblings' affections. Gossip was more juicy when you had names and faces to go with the story.

 But for some reason, Eva didn't want this to be juicy gossip, though, quite frankly, she couldn't quite put her finger on why. So, she kept Kodi's name out of the discussion, suggesting to her clamoring sisters that maybe the best way to get that information was from Connor, either through sweet-talk, or just sweets in general

~eva's third summer~

 It was Eva's turn to help Silena in the stables. It always fascinated Eva, how comfortably Silena got on with the pegasi, and vice versa, especially because Eva was terrified of them. It wasn't just pegasi; she was afraid of horses too, and though she'd never seen a unicorn, she was sure she wouldn't want to. No matter how much Silena would tell her it was safe, that the pegasi wouldn't hurt her— and even having a satyr and that Percy kid translate the pegasi's whinnies for her multiple times— this was something Eva couldn't shake.

 And yet, that afternoon she found herself in the stables with Silena.

 "I wish I could talk with them," Silena said, brushing a winged palomino.

 "Why?" Eva asked, polishing a saddle as far from the pegasi as she could be.

 "I think they know more than they let on," she smiled, "kind of like you."

 "What?" Eva's nose wrinkled.

 "I heard you talking to Connor outside the cabin last night," Silena said.

 "You what?"

 "I knew you were gonna stay up and get to the bottom of the secret poet mystery," Silena said, "so, I waited up to listen in. Kodi likes you?"

 "Not so loud!" Eva said.

 "The only ones around to hear us are the pegasi," Silena said.

 "And they know a lot more than they let on." Eva rolled her eyes, then looked back down at the saddle in front of her and buffed up a stain.

 If Silena had anything further to say, she didn't say it. Instead, she rubbed her wrist, anxiously, then bit her lip, with a far-off look in her eyes.

 "I'll be right back," she said, before Eva had time to question her or protest at being left alone with the flying death horses.

 "May as well get this over with," Eva muttered. She picked up the horse-brush Silena had been using and decided to try to face her fears head-on.

 Everyone had always told her these kinds of creatures were more afraid of her than she was of them, which seemed stupid because they weighed at least ten times more than her and had a mouth bigger than her entire face.

 But whoever had said it was apparently right, because the pegasus she approached seemed startled by her mere presence, and the last thing Eva remembered before hitting the floor was the pegasi standing in front of her, reared up to a terrifying height on his hind legs.

~💘~

 Eva knew stable floors to be notoriously hard and dirty, and yet when she came to, she felt like she was lying on fresh bedsheets on a mattress. Instead of being surrounded by hay and the smell of a stable, she saw tulle around her, and smelled something delightfully clean.

 "I know this room," she thought, "I'm in the Big House."

 Usually, campers only stayed in the Big House for medical emergencies. As her consciousness regained itself, a pain in her head did too, and she realized why she qualified.

 Trying not to move her head too much, she looked around the room. Out the window was total darkness, like the middle of the night. Flowers were gathered, not near her bed, but on the other side of the room. The only light in the room was a lamp, which sat next to a chair that was next to the bed, and in that chair sat someone Eva knew well: a dimly lit Kodi.

 He didn't look like he'd intended to fall asleep. Instead of a blanket, his lap was covered in notecards, and he hadn't returned the cap on the pink gel pen in his hand.

 She turned over, just a little, and felt something out of place on her pillow: a notecard, her name written in familiar handwriting, with an arrow-pierced heart, and more tally marks than she wanted to count. The other side contained three simple lines.

 "evangeline, please,

 you've got to wake up because

 i kind of love you."

 The rest of the kids in Cabin 10 would've laughed their heads off at the words "kind of," but she was focused on the word after them: love. It was one thing to say you like someone, or have a crush on someone, or you think someone's cute. But to say you love someone, even just "kind of?" In the last three summers at Camp Half-Blood, and all those years of grade-school Valentine's and getting hounded for her phone number, not one of those guys had ever said they love her. And now, Kodi had.

 But Kodi hadn't just said that he loved her, he'd shown it. Maybe the hot pink bandages weren't a coincidence. Maybe the heart-shaped cough pops were made with her in mind. Maybe there was a reason he'd helped his Capture the Flag enemy. Maybe he hadn't left her side since he heard about her pegasus incident, and wanted her to see a friendly face when she came to.

 Even if none of that was true, there was no denying he'd gone out of his way to pour his heart out for her. Given the lengths he went to to get his poems to her and the price he paid for Connor's silence, it was clear that he wasn't doing this to get something in return. He just wanted her to know that she was special, and she was loved. That was all he'd been telling her from the beginning, wasn't it?

~kodi's fourth summer~

 From the first time he met Evangeline Blythe, Kodi had known one thing: she was special, and she deserved to be loved like it.

 Of course, his friends and siblings tried to dissuade him. Demigods and mortals alike throughout history had grown a sudden belief in "love at first sight" after meeting Aphrodite kids, and it never worked out as planned.

 Kodi, however, was great at working out plans. He saw the way she accessorized each day, and sent for some colored bandages to meet that need. Every time he saw her felt like Valentine's Day, so when her coughing fits started, it'd only made sense to make heart shaped "cough-pops" to capture that essence. And when he realized that helping her with her injuries in capture the flag wasn't enough to compete with all the other boys who sought her attention, he started his most ambitious project yet, which took a long while (and several pink gel pens) to execute, but the payoff was well worth it.

 He was a worried mess when Silena called him to the stables, and even more of a wreck when he saw Evangaline's lifeless form, and the blood dripping from her forehead. He was thankful he always kept a bit of ambrosia on hand. Had his shirt been able to voice an opinion it would've been ungrateful, though, that Kodi had thought ahead to keep hot pink bandages and a knife on hand, but didn't keep any cloths on hand. A chunk of his shirt was cut off without a second thought as he wiped the blood off her forehead and prayed a million prayers to his father.

 He'd gotten her to a more stable condition— no pun intended— though still unconscious, and brought her back to the Big House as safely as he could on the back of a pegasus.

 Kodi had insisted on staying by her bedside until she woke up, and Chiron said that would be fine, as long as they weren't alone together. Silena volunteered to stay with them, feeling excessive guilt over not being in the stable to stop the problem before it happened.

 Around midnight, after an unexpected heart-to-heart with Silena about his feelings for Evangeline, he'd told her to get some sleep, and that he'd wake her up when Evangeline did.

 In the meantime, Kodi had plenty of time to write some more haikus, and had just slipped the best of them on her pillow when his exhaustion from the day's events finally kicked in.

~💘~

 Kodi woke with a start when he felt something touching him, and looked down to see a hand on top of his. The hand was slender, nails well-manicured in a shade of pink that perfectly complemented the bracelets around the wrist.

 His eyes followed the arm to Evangeline's face, her eyes open and her lips smiling at him as she lay on the bed next to his seat.

 "Good morning, sleepyhead," she whispered, despite the fact that the sun hadn't even risen yet.

 "You're awake," he whispered back in surprise, "and you're… holding my hand?"

 He wasn't sure how this had happened, but he tried to move his hand away from hers, just in case, but instead her hand chased after his, and caught it.

 "I am," she smiled.

 "Why?" he asked, and when she looked disappointed, he followed up, "not that I'm upset, just a little confused. Did I miss something? Maybe you're delirious? I should wake Silena, or maybe get Will…."

 "Not yet," Evangeline said, "I'm thinking clearly. I'm actually thinking a lot more clearly about a lot of things than I have been in a long time."

 "What kind of things?"

 "I never asked to be Aphrodite's kid," she said, "we don't get to come up with strategies or fight epic battles or tend to the wounded with great expertise," and she smiled and squeezed his hand, "but we do have it lucky."

 "How?" Kodi asked.

 "When your mom is the goddess of love," she smiled, that pure smile that somehow had a way of healing his soul every time he saw it, "the most confusing thing anyone can ever go through suddenly makes a lot more sense."

 "What's that?"

 "This," Evangeline said, holding up the note he'd left on her pillow, "'I kind of love you' too," she said.

 "You do?" He asked, and he hoped she liked his smiles as much as he liked hers, because there was no stopping the one that now spread across his face. All that planning and working at getting her attention had actually worked.

 Instead of responding, she squeezed his hand three times, and he'd listened to the modern poets enough to know it meant "I love you."

 He responded the same way, but after the third squeeze, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, the world stopping a moment as he looked up and saw the blush creeping along her cheeks, that perfect shade of pink she'd taught him to see everywhere.

 "You said you needed to wake Silena?" Evangeline asked.

 "Yeah," he said.

 "Can it wait ten seconds?"

 "Why ten seconds?" Kodi asked.

 "Because," Evangeline said, leaning closer toward him off the edge of the bed, "that gives me just enough time to do this."

  Then, she kissed him, and if it had lasted ten seconds or ten hours, he wouldn't've known the difference, and he wouldn't've cared. It still would've been overwhelming. He still would've thought it ended too soon. It still would've taken him a few hazy minutes to recover. Even after passing out in a stable and spending a day in a hospital room, her lips still tasted like chocolate and strawberries, and they pressed against his as gently as a feather, pulling away just as softly.

 "Wow," he whispered, between deep breaths, "I think I kind of love you more than I thought I did."

 She giggled a little, and said "me too," and it was the capstone of the greatest moment of his entire life.

 The sun was just beginning to rise out the infirmary window, and as perfect as it would be to say they held hands and watched the sunrise together while Apollo painted the skies in glorious hues, no one could honestly say that's what happened that morning— because Kodi was much more interested in watching Evangeline than in anything the sunrise had to offer.

[akikocho]

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬!

I'm Aki Kocho. I'm an artist...well not an active one due to artblock (for 2 years). I'm an active OC creator who always share my OCs' information for fun. I am also a Character x Oc/Yume Character enthusiast. Nice to meet you

This account is my new account. My previous acc was @butterflystarry-8104 but due to me being forgetful at emails and passwords, I couldn't use the account :'D

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓

➥ This account is full of rant, shitpost/meme posting, OC headcanons/memes etc. This is also a safe place for LGBTQ people and this is just a friendly but not so friendly account.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐑

➥ The user said feel free to call them by these names: Aki, Kocho or both

➥ This user is in legal age

➥ This user is a Biromantic Asexual using He/She/They pronouns. But they're very comfortable if you say "He and They" pronouns

➥ This user's MBTI is INTP-T and their Zodiac sign is Leo

➥ This user is an agnostic.

➥ This user rants a lot. Please be minded about it and if you're uncomfortable, unfollow this account.

➥ This user speaks Bisaya, Tagalog and English. They also want to learn new languages soon.

➥ This user HATES anti-ocs and anti-rareshippers. Feel free to unfollow/block this account if you are one.

➥ This user is pro-fiction. If you don't like a person like this then unfriend and block this account.

➥ This user shares a lot of questionable things. Feel free to tell them if you're uncomfortable with it.

➥ Please be minded that I don't support JKR even though I'm having a hyperfixtation to her works. I DON'T support the transphobe author nor satisfied with her works. My stories related to JKR's work are changed to what I like. Hope you understand.

➥ Feel free to interact with this user.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍

➥ Anime (Demon Slayer, Haikyuu, Tokyo Revengers, BNHA, Dr Stone, etc)

➥ Games (Obey Me, Twisted Wonderland, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Criminal Case, The Arcana, Genshin Impact, Project Sekai)

➥ Novels

➥ Musicals (Hamilton and many other musicals that I forgot the titles 😭)

➥ Music

➥ Writing

➥ Creating OCs

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐒

✰ Twitter

➥ @kocho_aki

✰ Tiktok

➥ @kocho8104

✰ Instagram

➥ to be added

✰ Discord

➥ Aki Kocho #7960

✰ Facebook

➥ Aki Kocho

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓

𝐇𝐎𝐆𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐂𝐒:

✰ Maya Bell Avery

✰ Malachi Brett Avery

✰ Jacob Bennett Avery - TBA

✰ The Sallow Twins: Castor and Astral - TBA

✰ Festie Yawa - TBA

𝐇𝐎𝐆𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐎𝐂:

✰ Ma. Audrey Hecate

✰ Alexander Roman Avery - TBA

✰ Magnolia Summers - TBA

✰ Edith Bishop - TBA

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐂:

✰ Marigold Beau Avery - TBA

𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐎𝐂 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒:

✰ Aki's HPHM Dialogues Part 1

✰ Aki's HPHM Dialogues Part 2

✰ Aki's HPHM Dialogues Part 3

✰ Aki's HPHM Dialogues Part 4

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒/𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒:

✰ Maya in Charlie's Level 10 Friendship Reward

✰ Post Hogwarts Avery Twins Headshot art

𝐇𝐏𝐇𝐌 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐔 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒:

✰ The Diamond Empire King: Malachi

✰ 10 of Diamonds: The Duchess: Maya

✰ The Runaway Candidate: Jacob Bennett

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒:

✰ Avery Siblings memes

✰ HPHM OC memes

✰ CharMay's Children

✰ AndreChi's Daughters

FINALLY! I JUST DID A PROPER INTRODUCTION! I just copied it from my FB introduction because I'm lazy asf. Anyways, I hope I can meet new moots here and interact with them also :DD

I'm also putting my tags in this post :))

[saeyv]

Hello! {Dec. 11, 2023}

Introduction 🧁

Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me already, I am Saey ♡ and I write bulky, headcanon-formatted "character x reader" tales/shorts. I was previously known in the Arcana fandom on this platform, but later became a well-renowned League of Legends and Arcane fandom "x reader" author on Tumblr! Around here I focus on Identity V though~

I first started playing Identity V during the summer of 2020, during the pandemic. At the time, I wasn't that invested and would only play for fun! I would later pick up the game again in 2023 and begin writing content that same year! My favorite identity switch is Weeping Clown + Smiley Face, and my overall favorite character in Identity V is Joker!

I want to give you all a little insight into why I began writing trigger-heavy content, especially because I know a lot of my pieces can be considered "questionable" or "morally wrong".

In high school, I developed very bad agoraphobia after a series of traumatic events. I had really bad paranoia and a myriad of other mental health issues, as a result, and was kept in isolation rooms during school for multiple years because of it. I have been to over 5 therapists, but none could help me.

Writing in my downtime became my way of coping with my trauma. It made me feel less alone. Tapping into uncomfortable subjects became more painless to write than love and romance (but now I can do both!! That's growth right there!) and I discovered if I don't confront my trauma and issues, I constantly think about them.

I have always been really shy when it comes to sharing my writing, but I wanted a space to put all of my work and share these pieces with others. I hope I am able to create a space where you feel like you can relax and not focus on your own traumas- Or even where you can come to confront them with me.

See you,

Saey ♡

[kuruparlayan]

judgement

arcana headcanon. 20.  judgement  :  is your muse forgiving of themselves ? how about of others who wrong them ?

Simply put, Adonis is forgiving of everyone and yes this does include himself. Despite his imposter syndrome, he is one of the most emotionally well adjusted character who understands his worth and the intricacies of others' psychology which he is able to put clearly into words.

I think this moment in Climax really shows how Adonis is confident on his place in the world, focus on what he has control of and does not hold it against others for the world to be the way it is, even if unfair. He also does not hesitate to put his foot down and tell things how they are:

As for forgiving people, Adonis tends to forgive the friends who wronged him right away, believing in the best in others. I do not think it comes from him even lowering his self-esteem, I think he genuinely believes that people like, let's say, UNDEAD members when the unit was at its lowest, can better themselves if given the chance. Adonis never gives up on people, and it is what makes him so damn precious.

A special case would be Eichi Tenshouin, however. During Summer Vacation, Eichi threatened Adonis and plotted against UNDEAD. To protect Rei, Adonis leaked his status as the son of a powerful figure in his home country, making him vulnerable but making fine's plot fail.

Following this, Adonis was taught ballroom dancing by Eichi and Yuzuru and taught the former self-defence as an extra thank you. He even wholeheartedly supporting Eichi in getting a co-star role in a drama with him and then took care of him with others after Eichi was in pain post the self-defence class. All this while Adonis was aware of Eichi and Rei having a tumultuous past as he mentions it in Sandstorm... then there is this:

Sandstorm takes place after Fair Waltz. And Rei is telling Adonis, I'm paraphrasing, that Adonis fell for Eichi's act of wanting to... stop doing cruel and evil acts which hurt people. The moment is self-explanatory. Rei and Adonis have known each others since childhood. Rei understands how Adonis' mind must think when it comes to Eichi, and how benevolent Adonis is. Adonis is at loss for words, he is... sad. Disappointed... but he is not angry at Eichi.

He is a pacifist not for show, he is at heart. The truth is... even if he might be on guard around Eichi, at most, or fight against him if needed to protect his loved ones... Adonis could not build resentment against Eichi, because Adonis is someone devoid of hatred. He will forgive anyone.

[floraluniversal]

The Fool, The Moon, and The Sun

a collection of muse headcanon questions inspired by the major arcana of the tarot  /  send the corresponding number(s) for headcanons surrounding the given prompts !

00.  the fool  :  what are your muse’s thoughts on new beginnings ? does it frighten them or  excite them ?

Stephanie is conflicted on new beginnings and changes, with her way of life, her circumstances and what her sister wants for her, she feels she should be afraid, but with the way a universal’s magic affects them to increase their desire to travel and experience new things, the idea of a new beginning excites her a lot, making it more of a guilty desire for her.

If it weren’t for Celeste’s grasp on her self-worth, Stephanie would’ve gotten up and left the second she turned 18.

18.  the moon  :  what does your muse long for ? is it a realistic desire ?

Stephanie longs for two very simple things:

She longs for freedom, to be able to explore nature and be a part of it without being harassed by hunters or people who hate universals.

And she longs for love. Familial, platonic, romantic… You name it. She just wants the chance to love and to be loved back. She’s obsessed with stories about found family, friendship and romance, having a lot of books that she’s read over and over for each of the three tropes. She’d love to fall in love and have a family one day.

As simple as these desires are, they seem unattainable to the girl. After all, she’s stuck where she is because she’s always in possible danger, she can’t defend herself or stay safe without Celeste… The idea has been planted into her brain that she’ll be killed as soon as she crosses back home through the portal.

And for the love, that one seems impossible due to the way her world sees her. Not only is she a universal, ‘a power hungry monster without emotions’, but she’s also a magically altered freak on top of that due to the amount of magic her body makes. She’s had very few friends since becoming altered and they were all torn or distanced from her one way or another, it’s very hard for her to even imagine that someone would love her.

19.  the sun  :  in general, how optimistic is your muse ? does your muse appreciate the small things in life ?

Stephanie is very optimistic about her situation. She forces herself to be, otherwise she feels like she’d have nothing good going on for herself and she’s felt miserable for too long to go back.

Her time looking longingly at the woods behind the garden wall has really helped her appreciate every single thing she can experience out there. The tickle of the tall grass, the gentle summer breeze cooling her down, the cold water streaming sending shocks through her body whenever she dips her foot in, the smell of a flowery field, the warm embrace of sunlight on her face. Having very little to experience back home, all of these little things became extremely sacred to her.

But the most sacred small thing in life to her is friendly interaction. With the amount of time she is forced to spend alone, anyone to talk to is a memorable event she’ll be thinking about for a long time. Not to mention any kinds of friendly affection she may get, she’ll treasure those in her heart forever.

[aliasimagines]

Hewwo, friend! In my country comes hot, stuffy weather🌞. So, I start imagine... Headcanons, what professions will have the main 6 on summer vacation?)

a/n: i hope you ment profession as in what summer jobs would they have. I also included some general summer headcanons. And this is a modern au + high school / college au where they are working over the summer, if it makes sense. 💕

Julian

he is a broke as medical student he sure as hell will use his time making some money cause he needs it

i want to say he works in a bar close to the beach

because that way he is close to the water and is working in a cool, rowdy environment

he finds that relaxing don't judge

he loves summer, he can swim, drink, have fun, relax a bit

he hates the sun tho, his skin is super sensitive also he doesn't really want to get tan because it ruins his goth vibe

wierd grungy, indie, emo, punk, pop rock concerts look out goth boi is comin'

will wear his boots in the biggest heat. It's not great but he is stubborn.

Muriel

it depends on where he is cause i can totally see him wanting to work around animals

so it really depends on what environment he is in during summer

he is on a farm? he will work his ass off, feed all the animals, clean there living spaces everything

he is in a city? he is working in a zoo or an animal shelter. he is doing everything he can for those animals you can bet on it.

i would also love if he met Inanna because he works at the shelter? it just strike me 🤷🏻‍♀️

he genuinely doesn't really like summer because he sweats a lot and that's not fun but he enjoys the cold drinks

in the new update we learned he is willing to go to a festival so drag his ass to one and make him enjoy the summer!

Asra

he loves summer! the heat, the crop tops, the fancy colorful drinks, all the people he can meet and just being free and carefree

i don't know man, i can't see him doing any other thing then reading tarot

maybe in this au he is the apprentice at a shop, how bout that

or i might could see him working in one those really awesome stores that a) always smell like incense b) sell all kinds of really amazing stuff like colorful clothes, and bags and lil statues of Buddha (no xd) and dream catchers (gosh i love dream catchers) and c) looks freaking aesthetic

I don't know what these shops called in general but i always pass one in the mall when I'm there with my dad and i always wanna go in and he always complains about the smell

sooo i got a little distracted there oops

asra much like jules would love to spend his time at concerts, festivals etc but he enjoys sitting outside at night maybe at the beach sipping on some wine with nadia or just enjoying the summer night and sky alone.

Nadia

she likes summer

She can wear all her beautiful dresses (i mean she always wears beautiful clothes)

although she might not be in actual need of money cause her family is super supportive and everything she still wants to work

maybe something with fashion? or as an intern at a big company? Idk i think she might even try something like a waitress

she loves chilling with asra during summer like i mentioned above and i can totally see them at festivals n shit

i just really love her and Asra's friendship

drinkin a cool rosé on a hot summer night is her thing™

Portia

she always has a fan with her during the summer months because a) they're fancy b) it's so goddamn warm she needs it or she'll faint.

imagine her working in a botanical garden? i think this idea is so cute

or even at the same bar as Julian, that would also be fun. and chaotic.

she. loves. swimming.

or just floating in /on the water. It is so freaking relaxing and refreshing to her you can't even imagine.

she especially loves the summer nights because there is just something about chilling with friends on the beach, looking at starts with Peppi in her lap

Lucio

working for the summer? Pff no. Except that yas. because mama Morga is bout kick his ass if he keeps living up his family's money.

so ends up working in a beauty salon cause he figured he is good at make up, skin care and hair care so why not?

he ends uo loving it

if you wanna gossip you go to Lucio, he has all the gossip. he knows every little shit about everyone

*while doing someone's hair and makeup*"Uh gurl no, you can do better than him i heard he haf like 5 partners in the last two weeks and always dumped them after the first date. But you babe? You slaying queen!"

he doesn't like getting sweaty so he hates that about summer (but who doesn't)

but he loves partying. (as we know) so whenever he is off work he is in house party, a concert, a festival, you name it. as long as tge place has colorful cocktails that look good on his insta he is fine.

hope you like it ❤️

[shadow--writer]

Prolly gonna open headcanon requests again on my birthday (including Fictif last legacy!!)

sooo

stay tuned! The ones in my inbox have (mostly) not been deleted and I have a new rules post as well. They aren’t open now but they will be in like three four days for my birthday!!

this is ur handy dandy prior notice

[rose-of-fair]

Summer AU with Asra (killing two birds with one stone here):

-Asra loves to spend his days sitting in a kid pool and have Faust nearby as he drinks coconut milk.

-Shirtless 24/7. Not like his S/O could complain.

-Asra insists he helps them buy a new swimsuit. He’s got some great taste. Though time time he teased his S/O to buy a little more than sexy swimsuit just for him to see.

-Mediates near the ocean everyda...and falls asleep

-Wears the same Lisa Frank themed swim shorts.

-Will visit any concert or festival with his S/O. It is never a dull moment when spending your Summers with Asra

-His favourite time of the is when he and his S/O are cuddled on a hammock as they watch the setting sun

-Lots of random dancing to the latest Summer playlist

-Cooks and spoils his S/O to death. Asra has more free time than ever to practice his culinary skills.

[graphitesatellite]

Okay alright!

So I have a request!

For the arcana, either the main 6 or the main 3, could you maybe write a headcanon where mc gets hurt really badly and the li has to take care of them please? I don't know if you do that, because it is a little angsty, and potentially a little gorey too, but if you do, I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

Oh, and your work is amazing, by the way! Like everything you post is so good to read! I really love it so much!

jdhdjdkshsj omg anon you are too sweet, thank you so much <3 stuff like this keeps me writing

for the record im almost always down for angst, so no worries there, and as far as gore goes I can handle blood and vague viscera but I just Do Not fuck with detailed descriptions of organs (think the pinkie pie cupcake creepypasta, shit scarred me for life)

so yeah I’m gonna hurt mc pretty bad but hey at least they’ll never get disemboweled :)

content warnings: severe burns, broken bones, blood, bugs, and vomit

Asra

it happens so fast — so fast, nobody can tell exactly where it started. After such a dry summer, all it takes is one spark to turn the maize maze into an incinerator.

you entered separately this year, figuring it would be fun to meet each other in the middle and find your way back out together. It was a good idea in theory, and you were enjoying yourselves until a voice somewhere shrieked, “FIRE!”

the flames tear through the dry maize like it’s tissue paper. You’re surrounded in an instant, and Asra is beside himself because he doesn’t know where you are, or how to get to you. That doesn’t stop him from sprinting through the maze, completely disregarding his own well-being as he calls your name, choking on smoke and the inside of his own throat. Magic surges through him, acts on his instincts. It might be the only thing keeping him alive.

he finds you unconscious in a dead end, trapped on three sides by towering walls of fire. His heart hammers so hard it hurts. You’re so still. Are you breathing? Images flash behind his eyes: fine sand, charred bone, ash. His panic overwhelms him, and he blacks out. Next thing he knows, he’s laying on cool ground, somewhat singed but mostly okay. A few kind strangers kneel over him, encouraging him to relax and breathe. He can’t do either until he knows what happened to you.

the good news is you’re alive; somehow (try as he might he can’t recall the details), Asra managed to drag you out before the flames engulfed you entirely. The bad news is you sustained severe burns across your legs and torso. It’s painful to look at, and Asra finds himself thankful you’re still passed out. That feeling is quickly displaced by the urge to get you home and make you better, as better as his magic will allow. Exhaustion be damned.

one of the bystanders offers a free ride to center city on their wagon, and Asra graciously accepts. He spends the entire time hunched over your unconscious form, gently smoothing his hands over your burns, again and again, like they’re stubborn wrinkles in a piece of cloth. Each pass restores your skin a bit more, building it back layer by layer. It’s gruesome work, but by the end you look mostly okay. Covered in scars, but okay. Alive.

back at the shop, he’s not convinced he could carry you up the stairs in this state, so he drags some bedding down and makes a nest in the back room, surrounding you in the softest blankets and pillows he can find. Only then, after he’s sure you’re cozy enough, does he take a pause. It’s so quiet here. No crowds of concerned onlookers, no squeaky wheels or braying animals. Just him, and you, breathing. Hot tears well in the corners of his eyes. He stifles a sob, catches himself on the edge of a table as a wave of dizziness rushes over him. He really overdid it. The last thing he wants is to take his eyes off you, but on the verge of passing out, he settles down at your side, lays his head on your chest, and quickly falls asleep to the sound of your beating heart.

some time later, when you come to, confused and panicking and weeping, he doesn’t feel rested, but he sits up anyway. You need him more than he needs sleep, as far as he’s concerned. He takes your face in his hands, whispers assurances that you’re okay, you’re safe, you’re home. You swear you feel your skin smoldering. Asra shows you the fresh scars, gutted by the fact that while he can heal your physical wounds, he can’t magic away the trauma. That’s something you’ll have to work through in time. That’s something he’ll help you navigate, one step at a time.

Nadia

maybe what stings the most is how preventable the situation is — the puddle of water you slip on could have, should have been mopped, should have been noticed by someone and taken care of before it caused an issue, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t. It’s an untraceable failure Nadia nonetheless blames herself for when it throws you off balance and sends you tumbling down the grand staircase.

she watches it happen, notices the puddle just an instant before you do. There’s not enough time to warn you, not enough time for her to reach out and steady you, but she tries. You slip, she cries your name, the tips of her fingers graze your shoulder as you topple over and fall, fall, fall… it takes so long for you to fall. You seem to bounce off each step, limp as a ragdoll by the time you hit the bottom with a sickening thump. She runs down the stairs after you, almost loses her footing and collapses next to your prone form. You don’t respond to her voice, nor her touch. She cradles your head to her chest as she calls for someone to help.

it’s a miracle you didn’t split your head open. You’re covered in bumps and bruises, and a few of your ribs might be cracked, but Nadia is, at the very least, grateful you’re not hemorrhaging from a head wound. She refuses to move until a doctor examines you, deeming you unconscious and badly hurt, but alive. Then, with the help of palace staff, she lifts you off the ground and carefully transfers you to bed.

You sleep for several days. It kills Nadia that she can’t ask if you’re comfortable, if you need anything. She tries her best to do what she thinks you would want, lighting your favorite incense, gently washing your face, sitting with you and holding your hand as she reads or fills out paperwork. Any meeting she can’t take in your room is swiftly postponed or canceled. Her duties as countess are important, and she takes them very seriously, but they’re not more important than you. Nothing is more important than you.

she wears a very brave face around the staff and doctors. To them, she seems perfectly calm, a portrait of composure. In private, she’s never felt so scared, so helpless. She wants to fix this, but she doesn’t know how. She doesn’t think she can. There’s so little she can actually do for you right now. She needs something to do, something concrete and direct, something to make her feel useful. But all she can do is putter around, and wait. It’s her own personal hell.

the day you wake up is easily the second happiest day of her life, right after the day you got married. Your eyes crack open, you whisper her name, and the tears are instant. She can barely keep from smothering you in kisses. She helps you drink, pets your hair as you adjust to the waking world once again. You reach for her hand and ask how long you’ve been out. She answers, and you, shocked, ask if she’s been with you the whole time. But you already know she has. The look on her face, the love in her eyes, says everything.

Julian

you don’t remember the name of the bar — it can’t be the rowdy raven because you’re not currently in Vesuvia, but it’s a similar sort of deal, the kind of place where “unsavory” characters hang around and “make trouble,” mainly by drinking violently strong alcohol and bickering over card games. You and Julian have your own booth, and you’re a couple drinks deep, teetering on the edge between tipsy and buzzed when you decide a game or two of cards might be fun.

half an hour later you’re on a hot streak and the other people at the table are starting to get pissed. You excuse yourself from the next round to use the restroom, giving Julian a kiss for good luck. When you return, he’s raking in the pot, and you’re so happy for him that when you go to sit down, you don’t notice the guy next to you pulling your chair away. You lose your balance and fall backward, throwing your arm out to catch yourself. Big mistake.

you land hard, all your weight coming down on your forearm, which buckles with an awful crunch. There’s no doubt that it’s broken, but you don’t realize how bad it is until you sit up and look. Julian is at your side in an instant, wincing at the unnatural angle, murmuring it must have been a clean break before asking the guy what the hell he was thinking. The guy gets defensive, saying it was supposed to be a joke, you don’t have to be all up in arms about it. The rest of the table laughs. Julian seethes. You can tell he’s about to do something reckless, so you tug on his coat with your good hand and tell him you just wanna get out of here. He shoots the table one last withering glare before he helps you up and leads you out of the bar.

the adrenaline of the moment wears off while you walk, so by the time you make it back to where you’re staying, you’re in incredible pain. Julian ushers you to the bed, sits you down and gently takes your arm. After an excruciating moment, he tells you he’s going to have to set it, and it’s unfortunately going to hurt. A lot. You hate the sound of that, but you tell him to do it, get it over with. He asks if you want him to count down, you say no. He asks if you’re sure, and before you can fully say yes, he sets the bone, and you pass out.

when you come to, you’re tucked into bed, arm splinted and wrapped. Julian dozes in a nearby chair, an open book in his lap. He startles awake when you try to sit up, tells you not to exert yourself, asks if you need something. You tell him some water would be nice. He brings you a glass in record time, carefully props you up so you can comfortably drink. His touch is so mindful it borders on reverent. Teasingly, you ask if he treats all his patients this way. He quirks a brow at you, then grins his signature grin, saying other patients have to pay extra for the special services he gives you. You try to laugh in a way that doesn’t jostle your arm too badly.

Julian’s expression falls in a very sudden, very familiar way. You cut him off before he can even start, firmly telling him this isn’t his fault and he better not start apologizing. Basically pouting, he asks if you’re sure it’s not at least a little bit his fault. You give him A Look. He sighs and glances away, softly admitting he doesn’t like that fact you got hurt when he was right next to you, and there was nothing he could do. He just wishes he could have protected you somehow. You understand this, you really do. It’s horrible to feel helpless when someone you love gets hurt, but you remind him he’s not entirely helpless. He made you better, didn’t he?

after a pause, he says he hadn’t thought of it that way. A smile creeps up his lips, and with a chuckle he says he’s glad you’re around to help him think straight. Smiling right back, you tell him you’re glad he’s around to make you better. He promises he will always make you better, whenever you need him, no matter what, and you know he means it with all his heart.

Muriel

it’s a beautiful day — the sky is clear, the sun is bright, the air is warm. The forest around you seems to glow green with exuberance. What a perfect day to go fishing; or, more accurately, what a perfect day to visit the river with Muriel and watch him fish. He’s better at it, anyway, and you’re having a good time balancing on big rocks at the edge of the water in the meantime. They’re a bit slippery, but you’re pretty confident you won’t fall. And if you do, it’s not like it’s a long way down. What’s the worst that could happen?

from the middle of the river, Muriel frowns as you walk across the rocks like you’re a performer on a tightrope, his heart spasming each time you pause and sway. He audibly sighs in relief when you make it to the other side, then tells you to please be careful. You flash him an impish grin, saying not to worry, you’re being so careful. As you do, you take a blind step forward. Your foot hits one of the rocks at an angle, and your ankle bends in a way it’s not supposed to. You pitch forward, falling first onto the sharp rocks, then into the shallow water below.

you hear Muriel call your name as you fall, and you’re underwater for mere seconds before he’s at your side, lifting you out. He holds you mostly upright against his chest, rubbing your back while you cough up a mouthful of river water. You cling to him, shivering from the cold, ankle throbbing. The rocks scraped you up pretty bad on the way down. You feel the sting of small wounds along your face and arms, though none of them hurt as bad as the area right above your knee, which struck the rocks most directly. It’s hard to tell how bad it is, but judging from how it burns, it must be big.

Muriel lays you on some soft grass under a nearby tree. His eyes are wide with panic as he looks you over, and once he gets to your legs, he freezes. With some difficulty, you push yourself up to see what he sees. That’s… wow, that’s a lot of blood. That’s so much blood, gushing from your leg. It makes you woozy, so woozy you lose all the strength in your arms. You drop backwards onto the ground, snapping Muriel out of his trance. He takes a deep, deep breath. When he exhales, his expression is less horrified and more… determined. Resolute. He rips a strip from his shirt and ties it tightly around your leg, apologizing softly when you whimper, telling you he’s going to get you home, and you’re going to be okay. You believe him wholeheartedly, and when he picks you up again, you let yourself relax against him. You’re so tired. You’re so cold. You tell him as much. Holding you securely, Muriel takes off running for the hut.

by the time he gets you inside, you’re barely conscious. The makeshift tourniquet has slowed your blood loss significantly, but not entirely. Muriel peels the wet, stained clothes off you, his shyness overpowered by the need to save you, whatever it takes. Then he lays you on some furs by the freshly-lit fire, letting you warm up while he gathers supplies to clean and bandage your wounds. He doesn’t say much as he does, mostly urging you to stay awake, to keep looking at him so he knows you’re awake. You try your best. You really, really try, but you’re just so tired. A solid black curtain falls over your vision. Muriel’s voice grows distantly frantic, but you’re too far gone. Blobs of color swirl beneath your eyelids as you slip from the waking world.

next thing you know, Muriel’s cradling you against his chest, hopelessly bargaining for your life, saying he’ll do anything, give up anything. He only stops when you manage to wheeze out his name. Then, after a pause, his shoulders shake, and he heaves a great sob. He pulls back to look at your face, sobbing again when he sees your open eyes. You realize he’s wrapped you up burrito-style in the softest furs you have, making it somewhat challenging to wiggle your arms free, but you do, and you reach up to hold his face in your hands. He leans into your touch like it’s his salvation, and honestly, maybe it is.

he weeps another moment or two, letting you wipe his tears with your thumbs. When you think he’s nearly calmed down, he asks, voice cracking, that you please never, ever do that again. You agree immediately, and you tell him you’re sorry. Suddenly puzzled, he asks you why. You say you’re sorry for worrying him, and he tells you that’s just the way it is, he always worries, especially when it comes to you, it’s nothing you can control or have to be sorry about. Still, you should have been more careful, and you promise him you won’t put either of you in that situation again. Muriel finally starts to relax. He thanks you, tells you he loves you. You ask him to say it again, pretty please, and when he goes pink, you giggle.

Portia

following an unmarked, unfamiliar trail through the woods maybe isn’t the best idea — but it’s certainly an adventure, and it’s one Portia is excited to share with you.

though you’ve taken plenty of hikes together, you’ve never come across this trail before. It branches off the main path suddenly into a deeply forested area, so naturally Portia wants to see where it leads, if anywhere. It’s not the most outlandish place she’s taken you. You don’t get a great feeling from it, but it’s not like the two of you are helpless. It should be fine, you think, and soon as you make up your mind, Portia happily grabs your hand and pulls you in with her.

the first moments are uneventful, which feels like a good sign. Portia wonders aloud what you might find, throwing in a few ridiculous ideas just to make you laugh. You easily slip into some banter, then some flirting, then some flirty banter. It’s turning out to be a pretty fun time when you feel a sharp pinch on your leg. Then another. Then another. Ow. What the hell? You look down, expecting to see some sort of nettle, but it’s so much worse than that. Bugs. So many bugs, crawling up your leg. You scream. Portia turns to see what’s wrong; she screams louder.

before you can react, Portia takes off running in the direction you came from, pulling you by the hand so you’re forced to run with her. The pinching travels up your legs, across your waist and your back. You try to shake the bugs off, but it’s difficult to do without stumbling. Portia just manages to keep you upright until you emerge onto the main path, where she grabs the first leafy branch she finds and uses it to sweep the little bastards off you. Every now and then she beckons you forward a few steps, stomping at the ground to kill the persistent stragglers. Each sting throbs in time with your rapidly beating heart; you’re sure you can feel them swelling.

you’re also sure you can feel more bugs on you, crawling across your skin, under your clothes. You swat at yourself in a panic. Portia hurries you along, telling you it’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay. You have a hard time believing this, but you trust her. Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, you make it home. Portia starts stripping you down before the door’s fully closed, and even though you don’t see any bugs, you can still feel them all over you. You squirm, squeak out a sob. Portia checks you over, tells you finally that they’re all gone, despite what you feel. She asks that you stand still for just another moment so she can remove the stingers. You do, though it seems like you stand there for much longer than a moment, flinching as Portia gently scrapes a playing card again your skin, apologizing each time, promising she’s almost done, almost done.

the pain is constant and burning. You nearly weep when Portia finally leads you to bed and helps you lay down on your stomach. The cool sheets provide you momentary relief while she rummages around for some sort of soothing balm. You close your eyes, take some deep breaths, try to accept the fact you’re safe now. Portia warns you before she touches you again, which you appreciate. She takes a damp cloth to your skin, cleaning each sting and dabbing it with a bit of balm, helping you roll over so she can get to the ones on your front as well. You close your eyes as a wave of nausea passes over you. You tell Portia you might vomit, and she passes you an empty container just in time.

once you’ve emptied your stomach, Portia takes care to wipe your mouth, and only then do you notice the tears on her cheeks. She blurts out that she’s so, so, so sorry. If she hadn’t urged you down the trail this never would have happened, but it did, and now you’re hurt because of her. You tell her she couldn’t have known, it’s not like she did it on purpose. And yes, it hurts, but its not permanent. She supposed you’re right… but insists that since it was her mistake, she’ll take responsibility by caring for you until you’re better. She asserts she won’t let you raise a finger, and really, you don’t think you can argue with that, even if you wanted to.

Lucio

I don’t wanna put a bunch of effort into writing a serious one sees for him cuz I don’t think he’s capable of taking care of himself much less anyone else

if you want my honest opinion on how he would handle an injured MC tho, I think he would whiff it super hard, try to make it better himself even tho he has zero (0) grasp on medicine and would end up making it worse. Like if you don’t bleed out or die from shock, you’ll succumb to infection within days. Dumbass doesn’t know how to properly clean a wound, he only knows how to hurt. It’s the only thing he’s good at.

[multifandomhotspot]

Who I'll write for

Detroit: Become Human

Connor

Markus

Kara

Chloe

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Newt Scamander

Queenie Goldstein

Credence Barebone

Star Wars

Ahsoka Tano

Rey Skywalker

House MD

Gregory House

Remy "Thirteen" Hadley

Lawrence Kutner

Allison Cameron

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Tony Stark/Iron Man (platonic only)

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Steve Rogers/Captain America (platonic only)

Wanda Maximoff

T'Challa/Black Panther

Michelle Jones/MJ

Jurassic World

Owen Grady

Into the Spider-Verse

Miles Morales

Peter B. Parker

Gwen Stacy

Spider-Man Ps4

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Siren

Ryn Fisher

Undertale

Sans

Papyrus

Read Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan

Charles Smith

Lenny Summers

How to Train Your Dragon

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Astrid Hofferson

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Aloy

The Arcana

Asra

Muriel

Julian

Portia

Nadia

Tangled

Rapunzel

Eugene

Cassandra

Varian

Big Hero Six

Tadashi Hamada

Honey Lemon

Avatar

Jake Sully

Neytiri

Neteyam

Lo'ak

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic (games/comics, movie, Prime, or Boom)

Shadow (games/comics, Prime, or Boom)

Silver

Amy (games/comics or Boom)

Rouge

Knuckles (game/comics, movie, or Boom)

Sticks

Blaze

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Leonardo (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Raphael (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Donatello (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Michelangelo (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Splinter (platonic only) (2003, 2012, Bayverse or Rise)

Big Mama

April O'Neil (2003, Bayverse, or Rise)

Casey Jones (2003, 2012, or Rise)

Rules

I will write pretty much anything from fluff to angst to smut

I absolutely will not write any smut for underage characters

You can request other characters from the listed fandoms but I may or may not write for them. Some characters are not listed because A) I don't know enough about them, B) I don't like them, or C) they're far too young for me to consider writing for them. But I may have forgotten some characters I will write for so it can't hurt to ask

For headcanons, you can request as many characters as you want so long as they're in the same fandom

For oneshots, one character at a time please

Matchups are accepted but please give a very detailed description of your personality, hobbies, and likes/dislikes. I would much rather have 3 novel worthy asks in my inbox then have a one sentence description. Also, one fandom at a time for this please

If you wanna ask questions about the author, be my guest but I have to warn you, I'm an oversharer

[xaharadesert]

Immortal MC & Reincarnated LI - Headcanon Pt 1

Arcana Characters (Julian, Portia, Lucio) x MC

A/N: This one is another request from the lovely @firefly-child! The premise is pretty much exactly what the title of this post entails— an immortal MC who’s first lover (the LI of your choosing) is reincarnated every time they die! It takes about 20 or so years for MC to find them every time they’re reincarnated, and they have no memory of their past lives. This time, they’ve met in Vesuvia, and LI is about to find out the whole truth! For the sake of continuity, MC is the “never-aging” kind of immortal, and can die. This is set after they completely regain their memories, probably a couple years after the main plot.

Also, thank you for everyone who has been patient about my absence! I lose motivation easily, and with my summer reading assignment finally arriving, I was pretty preoccupied. Actual school is starting up soon as well, and seeing as this is my final year of grade school, I’ll likely be really busy. Regardless, this is my second to last request in my inbox, even though I’ve divided it into two parts to hopefully motivate me. Please feel free to send in a request, and please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes!

TW: mentions of death

❤️Julian❤️

Okay, so magic in general is something that Julian had always been skeptical about

But immortality? That’s a whole new level of disbelief

It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, that’s just… a bit much for him to comprehend all at once

It would take a while for him to come to terms with it, but he warms up to the idea faster if you’re the type of person to tell stories about your past adventures

As someone who has traveled around the world himself, hearing new perspectives on the old folk tales he had heard during his adventures certainly opens his eyes to new possibilities

When he realizes that your knowledge is probably far greater than any other living beings he would be relentless in asking every question he could possibly think of

Even if you never actually bothered to learn much about any particular subject in your past, even a small scrap of seemingly inconspicuous information could lead to a major breakthrough (or so Julian claims)

So imagine his surprise when you add on the fact that Julian himself used to have the same knowledge and experiences himself

Again, the idea that reincarnation was part of the cycle of life for ordinary mortals was… a lot to process

If coming to terms with your immortality was hard for him, this would be near impossible

He doesn’t mean to offend you, but are you sure that he’s a reincarnation? What if you’re simply projecting your grief and creating a delusion to cope with your loss? Again, he doesn’t ask these questions to offend you, he just can’t accept the fact that he had lived previous lives

Out of all the LIs, Julian would be the most likely to reject the idea of being a reincarnation of your first love

Once again, it wasn’t out of malevolence, he just couldn’t understand— there were too many questions to ask

Was every human reincarnated? Would you be reincarnated if you died? But you did die, and you were brought back, so how did that happen? How did you manage to continue finding him every lifetime? If he looked the same as he did in his original life, how come he had never come across his own adventures or discoveries in some book?

Another, more malicious voice in his head asked another question— were you really in love with him? Or were you in love with the person you had expected him to be?

The two of you would need quite a few heart to hearts to sort through these questions and feelings, although you may not have an answer to every one

In the end, Julian might never completely accept the fact that he was a reincarnation of your first love (seeing as he had to memories to prove it), but it didn’t make him love you any less

The two of you would be happy together for as long as he would live, and then you would be happy together in his next life, whether he believed it or not

🧡Portia🧡

Going back to what I’ve said in previous posts about an immortal MC, Portia is 100% of the mindset that your immortality is the Coolest! Thing!! Ever!!!

She has no trouble believing you about that part, because honestly, the more magic surrounds her, the happier she is

A large part of her had always wanted as much magic in her life as possible, even if Julian had always insisted there was no such thing, and every time you revealed a bit more of your abilities to her, she only seemed to become more excited

She loves hearing about your past, especially any magical adventures you may have gone on

And when you finally reveal to her that she’s a reincarnation of your first lover?

She is beyond ecstatic

Of course, her first question is about whether or not she had magic in one of her past lives, and if so, can you please teach it to her again?

She wants to know everything about herself and her past lives with you, as long as you’re willing to tell her

Portia, as someone who firmly believes in soulmates, thinks that yours is the greatest and most epic love story ever now, thank you very much

In all honesty, after finding out that she’ll be reincarnated once she dies, she becomes a bit more reckless, so you’ll need to remind her that even though her soul will always return, her memories won’t

She tries to be a bit more careful after that

Emphasis on tries

There are a couple of moments when she feels sad that she can’t fully recall her past with you

She feels as though the two of you will always be a bit out of sync, seeing as you will always know more about her than she does of you

You’ll need to try your best to help her sort through these feelings, because she may try to simply repress them otherwise

But even with occasional doubts, Portia is thrilled to know that she has the most magical soulmate to ever exist

💛Lucio💛

Lucio wouldn’t doubt your immortality for a second, and probably wouldn’t wait any more than that before announcing it to everyone he met

Everyone had to know that you were the most magical, most amazing, most brilliant person to ever exist

He would not hesitate to tell grand stories about your adventures to anyone who would listen, often describing the two of you together in battle

You would have to gently remind him that no, most of the stories he told were not true

You’ll have to forgive him for that, he may have gotten a bit carried away with the excitement of having an immortal partner

However, this won’t stop him from aggrandizing whatever tales you do tell

It doesn’t matter how exciting or boring your life has been, when he repeats what you’ve told him to others, he always makes everything seem infinitely more wondrous than it actually was

Now, you will have had to wait a bit before telling him any more, seeing as he’s a bit overexcitable, so it may be quite a while before you continue on to tell him that he’s a reincarnation of your first love

Now that? That makes him short-circuit a bit

Obviously he had always known that he was amazing and incredible and the best at everything— but now you’re telling him that he can return from the dead?

You’ll have to remind him that no, that’s not quite how it works, because he forgets his past lives whenever he’s brought back

He has the same soul, but he’s not necessarily the same person

This seems to disappoint him a bit, but once you reassure him that you’ll love him in every lifetime, he seems to perk up

Of course you would love him, he’s perfect no matter who he is

He wants you to tell him everything you know about who he was in the past

You’ll probably have to be a bit selective about what you say though, seeing as his pride is more easily wounded than he’s willing to admit

Lucio especially loves to hear about the good things he’s done, his more selfless acts

Knowing that he used to be a good person makes him feel as though redemption is more achievable, although he’d probably never admit that out loud

He’s not one to be insecure about how your current relationship compares to your previous ones— he’s confident in the magic of soulmates, and that the two of you are a perfect match in any lifetime

[empressapprentice]

Arcana Headcanons: Infidelity + M6

I’m back with more headcanons, and will be sharing even more soon as I have more free time! My last batch was super sweet and fluffy, these are decidedly not. I’m doing these headcanons as character study exercises, and since the LIs are so devoted to you in-game, I wanted to think about what could possibly motivate them to cheat. Not all of these involve sex because I thought that certain characters would consider emotional interactions cheating on their partner. But warning for non-explicit sexual content for several of the M6--I’d say this is PG-13. These are kind of long, but I felt I needed some good exposition to set things up. I hate how much I enjoy angst :( Feedback and requests are always welcomed: if you hate it or love it, let me know why so I can improve! Plus, check out my Ao3 here, where I’ll be posting these as well.

Asra

Asra will never, ever regret giving up half his heart for you. But one night, he can’t sleep, feeling regret for the friendships and relationships he missed out on because it’s so difficult to form connections with others. He wishes that while he waited for you to recover from the resurrection, he’d been able to let others into his life.

He’s slept with people other than you (Julian, for one), but not since you woke up after the ritual. He realizes that he can’t remember any of his previous encounters. He completely forgot what anyone other than you feels like to hold and to touch.

The next day, he tells you that he wants to take a quick overnight trip to Nopal. With such late notice, you can’t tag along. He just wants to spend some time alone and actually get to know the villagers for once, intending to practice his social skills and break the cycle of isolation he unintentionally maintained with the people there.

When he sits around the fire, eating and sharing stories with the villagers, a handsome young man approaches him. He says that he’s always had a crush on the mysterious magician, but could tell that Asra was never open to getting to know anyone. Asra, remembering that he doesn’t know what it’s like to be close to someone else, starts flirting back. Before he knows it, his lips are brushing against the stranger’s.

The moment their lips meet, Asra pulls back sharply, overcome with guilt for betraying your trust. He shakily apologizes to the young man, saying he didn’t know what came over him. He runs back to his hut, gets on the Beast and travels back to Vesuvia as fast as possible. Faust comforts him as he sobs silently, thinking about never wanting to leave your arms again.

Nadia

Nadia is visiting a neighboring territory and sitting through a very, very boring dinner with dignitaries. She’s been away from Vesuvia for a week and anticipates having to stay for at least one more as negotiations drag on. She’s loath to admit it, but she’s lonely. The letters you’ve exchanged via Chandra only make the separation more painful.

So when a diplomat approaches her with questions about Vesuvia, she’s happy to have some company. She clearly admires Nadia quite a bit and compliments the work she’s done to turn Vesuvia around.

While basking in her companion’s kind words, she unconsciously moves closer to the other woman. It doesn’t take long for the conversation to become personal, moving away from professional networking. And even more quickly, the conversation becomes flirty. When Nadia moves her hand to touch the other woman, her intentions are clear. The diplomat is flattered, but hesitant, asking, “Aren’t you married?”

Nadia is momentarily stunned by the question, but refuses to lose her composure. The lie comes easily, from years of schmoozing fellow politicians. She replies that her marriage is open. The diplomat smiles, unaware of the shame pooling in Nadia’s core. She sheepishly invites the Countess back to her room.

Though the dinner is long over and the party moved into the sitting room for a digestif, many having already left, Nadia finds herself worried how it would look for the two of them to leave together. She hates herself for worrying more about appearances than you, but she’s been particularly hungry for the feel of a body next to her in bed and she’s frustrated at not being able to get what she wants for once. So, she agrees.

She excuses herself, saying that she must retire for the night, and waits a few moments for the diplomat to leave as well.

Nadia excuses herself after the shameful act, saying she must be in her own bed when servants come to wake her in the morning. She spends the rest of the night staring at her ceiling, vowing to never tell you about her indiscretion. You find out, of course, knowing your wife too well for her to hide that something’s wrong.

Julian

One night, he goes to the Rowdy Raven and is mid-tankard of Salty Bitters while animatedly telling the story of how he helped defeat the Devil. When he finishes weaving the tale, he heads back to the bar to another drink. Before he can get his coin purse to pay, an extremely attractive stranger tells Barth to put it on their tab--payment for the entertaining story.

Julian gratefully accepts, sliding into a seat to chat with the stranger. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Julian turns his charm up even more, wanting to make sure he keeps them entertained. They swap introductions, Julian’s natural tendency to call people affectionate names and his rakish attitude being interpreted as flirtation.

As the stranger returns the affection, Julian realizes what’s happening but doesn’t want to stop it. He’s practically glowing from the kind words flowing from the mouth of his new friend and is addicted to the feeling. A nagging voice tells him he should get back home to you, but it is quieted when the stranger moves closer to him, running a finger over his chest.

The stranger downs their drink and gets up abruptly. They tell Julian to finish his drink and meet them in the alley outside, with a cheeky comment about seeing what else his mouth could do thrown over their shoulder as they walk out the back of the tavern.

Julian’s breath catches at the thought of a clandestine alleyway quickie, and he can’t deny how appealing the idea seems to him. He stares at the drink remaining in his glass, fighting a mental war over whether to finish it quickly and run to the alley.

Barth approaches Julian, noticing he was about to finish his latest drink and anticipating a request for a refill. While waiting for Julian to finish, he makes light conversation with him. When he asks how you are doing, Julian bolts upright. His face reddens at the mention of your name, knowing he made a grave mistake even considering the stranger’s offer.

Julian leaves the rest of his drink untouched. He awkwardly gets up, says goodnight to Barth and hopes that he won’t run into the stranger when he exits the Raven out the front door. Mercifully, he doesn’t, but he might not have even noticed, he was so focused on getting back to you.

When he reaches the front door of the place you share, he’s sobbing. Even though it’s late, you are waiting up for him, knowing that he often needs you to offer him water and get him to eat some food after a night out. He falls on his knees before you, utterly broken by the kindness of you waiting to take care of him, and begs you to listen to him one last time. He tells you, again, that he is no good for you and it is inevitable he will break your heart. He confesses everything that happened at the bar, his voice breaking when he says how close he was to cheating on you. He admits in a small voice that he will never be worthy of you--despite all he’s changed, he’s always one step away from hurting you.

Lucio

Lucio is dressed in a new outfit, finely made and very flattering. He is about to attend a party at his estate in honor of the summer solstice. The last step in his pre-party ritual before joining you and making a grand entrance fashionably late is to admire himself in the mirror. He poses and struts in front of it, hyping himself up for the night, but stopping short as he notices a grey hair in his meticulously coiffed style.

Moving closer to the mirror, he is horrified that several other grey hairs have popped out since the last time he dyed his hair, not long ago. Stepping back, he frantically tries to change the style to hide them, shrieking as he realizes the wrinkles on his forehead are deeper than he remembers. The time-honored ritual, which has never failed to put him in the right mindset for a night of socialization, has only made him more self-conscious about his age than ever.

He starts pacing around his room, heels clicking and mind racing. He feels a strange sense of longing for his old life, when he had no responsibilities and never worried about the consequences of his actions. He’s old now, and he wishes for the freedom and stupidity of youth.

When he makes the grand entrance with you at the party, his heart isn’t really in it. He immediately heads for a servant, demanding a glass of hard liquor instead of his usual sparkling wine. One glass turns into several, and it’s not long before he’s very intoxicated. You see Lucio drinking more than usual, but you keep getting distracted by guests and can’t figure out what’s going on with him.

Once he’s drunk enough to not care about anything--just as he intended--he makes eye contact with an attractive woman in a slinky gown and winks. His rough flirting works, as the woman comes up to him. He feels a mixture of pride and shame that he’s still attractive and powerful enough to draw someone in with nothing more than a wink.

They chat briefly, but they both know Lucio desires more than conversation and the guest is more than willing to oblige. He takes the woman’s hand, leading her to an alcove far away from the party and they begin to make out. Soon his pants are at his ankles and they’re doing far more than kissing. It’s rough, messy and fast, exactly the thing he would have done in his life before he got the plague and before you.

The woman leaves him panting when they’ve both finished. His stomach drops as he realizes that this cheap attempt at feeling young again only made him feel worse. He realizes with a start that he jeopardized the thing that actually fulfills him and makes him truly happy.

Muriel

Muriel dislikes social interactions with pretty much everyone, especially strangers. How could he possibly cheat on you when he can hardly stand to spend time around his friends?

But as he becomes more comfortable with being around people, he starts spending time around the Palace. Usually, he’s waiting for you to finish your duties with Nadia so he can walk you home or go back to the shop for dinner, but sometimes he comes early so he can spend a quiet moment in the gardens.

The more time he spends at the Palace, befriending some of Lucio’s poorly-behaved albino animals and trying to train them, the more time he spends with a certain servant determined to befriend him.

At first, they don’t even catch his attention, he’s so used to tuning other people out. But this servant notices his gentle nature and sometimes brings him some water or tea and a pastry while he’s sitting by the fountain. They claim that they’ve been trained to always serve the needs of their guests, but they’re mostly interested in getting Muriel to open up.

After several weeks of Muriel becoming used to the servant and accepting that they can be trusted, he begins exchanging a few words with them beyond a grunted thanks for the refreshments. The way the servant approaches him reminds him of you and he finds he doesn’t mind light conversation to entertain him and distract him from Lucio’s pets.

One day, he realizes with a start that he not only trusts the servant and enjoys their company, but that he finds them attractive. He panics, not knowing how to tell you. He feels so ashamed of himself for letting someone new in and he’s never felt attracted to someone like this before, other than with you. He’s confused on how to handle his feelings and how he should tell you, if at all.

He confesses the situation to Asra before going to you. Asra is very kind and supportive, saying that it is natural to find other people attractive and that it’s a good sign that he is willing to let a stranger befriend him. But Muriel can’t shake the idea that he’s done wrong by you and refuses to come back to the gardens.

Portia

Given how much Portia likes secrets and romance stories, I think a part of her would love the idea of a sneaky romance. Portia is a deeply practical person, but there are times where she can get carried away with romanticism. The thrill of getting away with it and using her knowledge of the secret passages in the Palace, etc. to hide a tryst holds some appeal to her, but she’d feel ashamed of even fantasizing about it.

She has to work on the first night of the Masquerade after the events of the game due to her new responsibilities at the Palace. Out of solidarity, you work too, creating real-time magical spectacles to surprise guests. To keep up the aesthetic, you’re both still wearing costumes and masks.

While Portia is in the ballroom, she’s fretting over the floral displays and a heavily intoxicated person knocks into her, sending the vase flying. Before Portia can even react, she falls into strong arms, rescuing her from the splashing water and strewn flowers. She turns to thank the stranger, and they say she can express her gratitude by granting them a dance. In the spirit of the Masquerade, she accepts.

She and the stranger twirl around the dance floor to a fast-paced song. The stranger is a fantastic dancer and leads Portia through the steps flawlessly. They end the song by dipping her low. The music switches to a slow ballad while the lights dim. Still breathless, the stranger pulls Portia close, and she loses herself in the moment. The ambiance is incredible, and kissing a gorgeous masked stranger at a ball could not be more storybook-perfect. Their lips touch, until a swirl of magical energy brushes her and she remembers you. She steps back from the stranger and runs off, forgetting about her duties, the flowers on the ground and the rest of the Masquerade. She feels horrible about kissing someone other than you but can’t shake the smug pleasure deep inside her that loves her fairytale romance coming to life.

[valhallanrose]

The Red Plague

The art above was created by Nix Hydra, and can be found in the Minor Arcana Art Book (or where I got it - off the fandom wiki page, because who’s going to stop me)

Much of Zelda’s story in the non-apprentice timeline delves into the plague before, during, and in the aftermath of Vesuvia, and I wanted to compile my lore and headcanons for it in one place before I delve into her story fully. I will incorporate as much canon as possible, but given that that isn’t a large amount of info, a lot of this is based off research and personal worldbuilding. 

CWs for discussions of disease, death, body horror, I guess spoilers but I’m surprised if it is for anyone considering how the info is everywhere in game in all routes. This is also, again, personal headcanon and I don’t expect it to fall in line with everyone’s thoughts on the plague.

The Timeline

I’m going to go with a comprehensive timeline first, and this part is all based on canon information. I’ll try and provide as many sources as I can as well, but some of this is pulled from multiple books and I might forget exactly where something came from. 

As we learn in the Lucio tale, Dawn of the Grub, Lucio strikes up a deal with the wyrm of pestilence (Vlastomil) - his parents’ hearts in exchange for a disease that will allow Lucio to kill them both. The Lucio brought the disease back to the tribe, which weakened his father enough for Lucio to kill him. His mother Morga, however, fights off the disease, referring to it as a ‘summer cold’, and Lucio flees the tribe and joins a traveling mercenary band which allows the plague to spread. 

I don’t have a particular reason why Morga would have survived the plague. Her sprites in the game never show any sign of the plague that are generally acknowledged - no red sclera, no veins, no signs of weakness, so on and so forth. The best theory I can posit is that Morga either genuinely had a summer cold, or that the plague only took hold in Lutz rather than them both. Either way, unsatisfying, but we’re going to call Morga the exception and not the rule. 

Because Lucio did not fulfill his end of the bargain with Vlastomil, the plague continued to spread, following Lucio as he traveled the continent. This is also the point where the beetles appear - more on them later. 

The implication in the game is that the disease reached other countries and areas, but the next canon mention of the Red Plague’s spread occurs in Portia’s route, book X - Wheel of Fortune. A map is discussed where dates, places, and sightings of the plague are noted by Julian in his study of the plague - the Painted Fields, Blue Mountain Ridge, and Annyala Gate are all names that arise. 

Nasmira recognizes the name of Annyala Gate and points out that Nazali was at that battle, in which a band of mercenaries was sighted - and their leader needed an arm amputated, which is confirmed to be Lucio. Nadia states that Lucio came to Vesuvia not long after that battle, and the next time the Plague was seen was in Vesuvia. 

It is never seen again outside Vesuvia, and this brings us to the three years before the game, where Lucio’s ‘death’ heralds the end of the plague, and it is never seen actively again in the Arcana world. 

The headcanons I have are to help establish a solid timeline. Dawn of the Grub tells us the deal is made on Lucio’s 18th birthday, and I personally believe that Lucio’s death occurred on his 40th birthday, giving us about 22 years of time for us to work with for the spread of the plague. 

Some more headcanons mixed with canon:

Lucio is newly titled Count in the tale Travel at Night. Based on personal age headcanons, this tale probably occurs at minimum 17 to 18 years pre-canon, putting Asra at (at most) 10/11, Muriel at 14/15, and Lucio at a startling 22/23. It could occur later, as art style can influence perspective on age, but Muriel and Asra really don’t feel like they could be much older than that. 

During his mercenary days (sometime between the ages of 18 and 22/23) Lucio was contracted by the former Count of Vesuvia, Count Spada. This battle occurs at Annyala, mentioned above, and is the battle where Lucio 

At a certain point, Lucio was contracted by the Count of Vesuvia at the time, Count Spada, for a battle where he "made a name for himself." Story implications indicate that this was the battle during which he lost his left arm. It was amputated by Julian to prevent his death from blood loss. After he won the battle for Count Spada, he became friends with the Count and privy to secrets about Vesuvia and the Palace. Spada would eventually name Lucio his heir, and upon his death, Lucio earned rulership of Vesuvia. 

The plague eventually appears and ravages Vesuvia’s population

Plague patients are sent to the Lazaret away from the city and cremated, then scattered on the beach. 

Lucio contracts the plague and defies the average lifespan of those who contracted it by lasting a few months rather than 3-10 days.

Lucio dies on his birthday, not of the plague but as a result of the ritual he was attempting to gain a new body.

I tried to map most of that out here, and wow, what a sad little diagram. Nix Hydra, y’all are cowards for not going hard on this. I, however, am not, and I am about to go more apeshit than I already have. 

The Spread

Cracking my knuckles on the history degree, baby, I’m borrowing some real life inspiration from across multiple time periods to tie all this together. 

I personally think the whole “Oh, the plague arrives wherever Lucio goes and disappears when he leaves” thing is a copout, and we’re drop kicking that out a window. 

I do believe, as canon states, that the plague follows Lucio. It spreads obviously to regions he visits, but I don’t think it just disappears when he leaves. I really, really want to believe someone would have been smart enough to see the connection if the plague suddenly appeared and was later yoinked out of existence as soon as Lucio left town every single time it cropped up somewhere way sooner than it was noticed in canon. 

I don’t think the plague was as isolated as the game implies, and when it was in Vesuvia, it was probably also elsewhere. The epicenter was Lucio, of course, so Vesuvia faced the worst of it, but I think there would have been pockets with much smaller numbers in other parts of the world. 

Earlier I mentioned a few locations cited in Portia’s route as to where the plague had been before Vesuvia - the Painted Fields, Blue Mountain Ridge, and Annyala Gate. I think once these areas were hit with the plague, it would have continued to spread even after Lucio left. Across multiple routes, it’s made clear that the only ‘cure’ to the plague is Lucio’s death, which is why Julian had intended to kill Lucio after making his deal with the Hanged Man. The lack of Lucio’s presence would have kept the plague from continuing to escalate, but in these regions, it probably would have spread when the region’s people attempted to relocate, or ceased when the population died out. 

Annyala Gate, or the Great Gate, is a location I can dive a little deeper into. It’s the last location the plague was sighted before Vesuvia, and because it ties into my OC Zelda’s storyline, I have many a thought. 

Lucio is in Annyala sometime between year 1 and year 4/5, though I believe it’s on the later end of that spectrum, so let’s say year 4 to clearly predate his title as heir to Vesuvia. For reference, here is a map of the Great Gate as provided by the art book: 

Jeebus. Terrible photo quality. Ah, well, on we go. 

The Great Gate is situated between the Sea of Persephia (left) and the Salty Sea (right), and as the map currently stands, is the only point on land that gives access to the southern part of the world map. In this area in particular, I feel like a number of factors would have kept the plague alive long after Lucio left. 

Narrowest point on the world map for transport of goods between ports and seas, which would be a more efficient route than traveling around the continent to reach the same point

As previously stated, this is the only known access point to the south, and travelers heading through this area could possibly be carriers of the plague or catch the plague from the area 

The only way for the plague to stop would be with the death of Lucio, so once it was inflicted upon this area, it continued to spread and infect the population in adjoining areas 

The game repeatedly has emphasized the proximity of the Red Beetles (known harbingers of the plague) to water, such as the Nopali village in Asra’s route and the red stains attributed to them in Julian’s route, and we receive further confirmation in Portia’s route that the water supplies are contaminated during the period of the disease

Fun bit of trivia from Nadia’s route - in the Strength book, Nadia mentions that she remembers the beetles, and that once they had been used as part of a pigment used to dye fabric crimson, which was all the rage in Vesuvia. Should this trend have continued, people wearing fabrics dyed with this beetle pigment most likely would become infected, and thus, the cycle continued. 

I will also point out here that pigments have been used in makeup across history, and I’m sure applying some beetle-laden makeup would have really fucked some people up. Eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks...contact with any of these areas, particularly the eyes and mouth, indicate a possibility of infection. 

This does, however, leave a fifteen year (ish) period where the plague would have been active in this region until Lucio’s death. Historically, diseases can last such broad swathes of time. For the sake of displaying precedent, I will point out some examples here:

The Black Death, lasting 1346-1353

The third cholera pandemic, lasting 1846-1860

The third plague pandemic, a major bubonic plague like the Black Death, lasting 1855-1960

The HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has been ongoing since 1981 in the US

However, some of the most devastating plagues have lasted only a few years, which I will touch on later when I discuss Vesuvia’s case of the plague. All of the diseases listed above are additionally categorized with death tolls over a million people.

(On a side note, if you would like to contribute to programs searching for a cure for HIV/AIDS, I will suggest donating to organizations like amfAR, the Black AIDS Institute, or the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, all of which are linked accordingly and deserve your support if you are capable of making a  contribution)

Remaining question: if the last place the plague was seen was in Annyala, more than fifteen years before it was seen in Vesuvia, what the fuck happened during that time beforehand?

Vesuvia - Before the Plague

Here’s the thing. The timeline given by the devs is a fucking mess. So, what I’m going to propose here is almost entirely theory, and I ask that you keep that in mind. 

Lucio ascends to the title of Count by the time he’s about 22 or 23. Spada dies, presumably, and there’s no noticeable mention of his death via plague or the establishment of the court. 

For some fascinating lore on how the government in Vesuvia works, I’m going to point you to this post by @sunrisenfool​, who has one of the biggest brains and is gracious enough to allow me to reference their work a little for this one. 

I don’t think the court as we know it existed when Lucio became Count. I agree with sunrisenfool here that Valdemar has been the Palace’s cockroach for a while - which was actually also confirmed in the Star book of Portia’s route, in which we see Count Prospero (founder of Vesuvia) summon Valdemar and ask for their aid in creating a city that will never die. The remaining courtiers would be gradually established as time continued on, all demons who struck bargains with the Devil in one form or another placed into positions of power alongside Lucio. We also cannot forget Valerius, who made his own deal with the Devil, and played his own role in this scenario.

We know that Lucio was also a pawn, later on, in the Devil’s agenda to bridge the gap between the main world and the Arcane realms. The ritual discussed in Portia’s Star book is described as a vessel to do just that - 

“...every 777 years, the physical and magical world will collide...the laws of magic will no longer be immutable, and the world will bend to our will...So long as the Countship and canals remain whole, so shall the power to reshape the world. You need only await the conjunction. Perform the ritual and lead the city to glory heretofore unknown. I, Count Prospero, first of my line, declare the founding of Vesuvia. The city eternal. My legacy.” - Count Prospero

It’s confirmed after this scene that the ritual, using the canals as a conduit, opened a ‘door’ so to speak to the Arcane realms. It’s also said there is a three year window to perform this ritual, and that at the time of game canon, we are at the end of that three year window. 

So. Borderline conspiracy time. 

Circling back to the lovely sunrisenfool’s work, I’m going to pull a particular excerpt here:

...the Consul of Vesuvia is the second most important/powerful political figure in Vesuvia, directly after the Count/ess. Aside of the political and civic duties I have already explained, the Consul acts as a “protector” of Vesuvia, albeit not in a paternalistic politically-conservative way (which is how paternalistic policies would be understood in our world). Instead, the Consul is meant to rule the City if the Count is absent or incapacitated, therefore being the subsidiary depositary of the secret of the foundation of Vesuvia, and the importance of it’s Canals.

Lucio makes it pretty clear he doesn’t know much of anything about the ritual during Portia’s Star book, but he was told about it by Spada before his death as it was a secret kept close to the court. That gave him something of leverage, even if he wasn’t aware of it, 

My thought as to why the plague did not spread in Vesuvia sooner is that Lucio had knowledge of this ritual, however minimal, and the Devil needed him alive to eventually use the ritual for himself. So, as Vlastomil (the wyrm of pestilence who granted this curse) was established in Vesuvia as Praetor, the plague was kept at bay for the time being while the city came under the full control of the Devil’s demons. 

I cannot imagine the only person who knows about the ritual is the Count, because that feels like a woefully flawed plan, so I do believe the Consul would have also been privy to such a secret in case the Count was in a position they could not share it due to absence or incapacitation. Basically, a rehash of sunrisenfool’s point, but I digress. 

As the window drew nearer for the completion of the ritual and it became clearer that Lucio knew next to nothing about the ritual and how it worked, the Devil decided to take a different approach. The plague was unleashed once again by Vlastomil, with the goal that Lucio become infected and eventually die, and that Valerius take over the Countship. Lucio no longer was useful to the Devil, and should he be removed from power, someone like Valerius - who knew the purpose of the ritual, who was under the Devil’s bargain by this point - would be an ideal candidate to finish the task at hand. Leverage, it works wonders. 

I don’t think the ritual performed to gain a new body could have been mere chance. I think Lucio knew more than he let on about the canals and the magic in Vesuvia from Spada. Yes, I know the first three were written before Portia, but come on, the timing is insane. He’s no magician, and performing something that complex and magically charged right at the beginning of the three year window when the ritual is supposed to be performed feels far from coincidental. Fight me. 

But, on to what happens in Vesuvia once the plague is free to spread again.

Vesuvia - During the Plague

The first sighting of the plague is in year 20, and I personally believe the plague lasted about two years or 24 months. The period is divided into three ‘waves’ - the first six months, the year leading up to Lucio’s death, and the six months following Lucio’s death. 

The First Wave

The first wave begins when the first known case of the Red Plague is confirmed, and in this period, the spread is rather slow.  

Here is the introduction of the Lazaret, which I do believe is a building that existed before the plague - this is personal thoughts, but the odds of this being the first major disease Vesuvia experienced feel pretty slim, and I do think this was a previously established quarantine that was renovated/expanded for the Red Plague outbreak. In an effort to get ahead of the disease, the space was designated a quarantine, largely staffed by volunteers when the palace seemed to not acknowledge the growing situation. It would slowly begin to increase until the plague boomed at the six month mark, heralding the beginning of the second wave. 

The Second Wave

This is the ‘bad period’ of the plague. I say that loosely, because it’s all bad, but I digress. 

I headcanon that the apprentice dies in the beginning of the second wave, when spread of the red plague rapidly begins to increase and the call goes out for researchers to search for a cure. We know how that story goes, so moving on to the details of this wave. 

There were two groups at this point in the plague - those assigned to research, working out of Valdemar’s dungeon/lab/carnival of horrors studying the plague, and those assigned to the Lazaret, caring for the sick and dying and maintaining the facility. 

I’m going to focus more on the Lazaret for this, as the research aspect is pretty well covered throughout Julian’s route and conversations with him in other routes, and this post is already getting long. 

The Lazaret was home to the dying, where they would be cared for in their final days and eventually cremated. My thought is that the remains of the patients were carefully catalogued in the beginning, returned to families willing to claim them, and those left unclaimed were scattered on the beach at the Lazaret. Later on, as more and more people died, less remains were claimed, leading to the black beaches that still mark the shores of the Lazaret in canon. Often the staff here were a mix of healers, doctors, apothecaries, anyone willing to try anything to ease the pain of such a disease. 

The staff at the Lazaret began wearing layered masks - the plague mask with its herb-stuffed beak, another facial covering beneath for an added layer of protection, and a head covering that sealed the gaps between the mask and the face. They were also required to wear gloves, tight-fitted sleeves tucked inside, and their pants tucked into their boots to reduce the risk of infection through contact. Their days would start in locker rooms on one end of the facility, removed from the patients, and suit up for the day while leaving belongings in the lockers. The end of the shift consisted of showers and disposal of garments to be sterilized, they’d return home in the clothes they came in, and by the time they returned a new uniform would be waiting for them. 

Lucio caught the plague during this period, most likely halfway through. He lasted several months, but the exact length is unknown, aside from he ‘lasted longer than most victims of the plague’ who died between 3-10 days.

I don’t think the averages are entirely accurate. There were most likely some who were asymptomatic until the plague was in very late stages, or those who presented symptoms very early on and survived for long stretches of time. All would die bearing the red sclera, veins, and other symptoms depicted above. Basically, this disease is claimed to be unpredictable, and I think that would also stretch to the duration at which each patient had it. Those who were physically frail likely would have died sooner than those who had been in oprtimal health before the plague, making the times vary rather drastically. I’d suggest perhaps a month at the longest, a few days at the shortest. 

Policy wise - during this period, the ports would have closed, and Vesuvia would have shut down. Nobody in, nobody out, not without rigorous inspection and quarantine before exiting to the city to avoid further spread. Often the only people allowed into the city were doctors from other regions affected by the plague called to help research, but during this year, I would estimate Vesuvia lost easily 30% of its population to the Red Plague. 

The Third Wave

This wave is the period that occurs after Lucio’s death at the Masquerade, three years pregame. I’ll touch a tiny bit more more on this in the next section, but this is where we see the gradual end of the spread of the plague, and the last cases shown in Vesuvia. It’s the end of the plague period, and I give this about six months for the official ‘all clear’ to have been given by those tracking case counts. 

The Lazaret is eventually decommissioned and now sits abandoned, a shadow on the horizon to remind those who survived what had been lost. The city mourned, the gates slowly opened, and gradually, we reach the point of comparative normalcy we see in the game set three years later. 

Vesuvia - The Aftermath

Lucio’s death would, ultimately, mean the end of the plague. Rather than immediately disappearing and all those suffering from it be cured, however, I would be inclined to say that the spread came to a halt. 

The last wave of the plague, in the six months after Lucio’s death, would have been a decrease in new cases until there were no new ones being reported, and the last of the patients who had been infected finally passed. 

The final duties of the doctors at the Lazaret, after all remains are cremated, would have been the incineration of all materials that could not be sterilized. Linens, spare uniforms, unclaimed personal affects, so on and so forth until the time came to return home. I do not remember the exact location, but I am fairly confident of a mention of the MC remembering barrels burning doctor’s uniforms and masks in the days after the end of the plague. It was, for a lack of better words, a purge - an attempt to erase the last physical memories of what the city had endured. 

Events like this are traumatic for all involved. They are painful wounds, and for the rate of death I imagine occurred in Vesuvia, the odds that someone lost no one are slim. There was likely a long period of mourning, and as noted in the present of the game, rarely is the plague spoken of outside of the context of the investigation in the primary routes. 

Many of those medical staff members who survived were those assigned to research at the Palace. The proximity of the staff to the ill at the Lazaret quarantine likely would have made the rate of infection far higher for the caretakers, meaning that often the staff would end up caring for colleagues in their final days. 

Even three years removed, the time of the plague is a raw wound for those in Vesuvia - but I do think the period is fascinating and I love exploring the different facets of it in my own world building. And, well, shameless self promo, but I am eager to write it myself when I get into Zelda’s backstory.

If you made it this far, thank you. Go drink some water or something, idk, wellbeing checkpoint bc what a long ass post