#melchior and mercedes

[arcanarubinaito]

How It All Went Wrong

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

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

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

Summary:

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

Tags:

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

“So. Who broke it?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Suspicious.”

“No, it is not–”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[shipcestuous]

There's visual novel/game app called The Arcana: A Mystic Romance in which the "romanceable" lead character of each route each has a pet (or "familiar") that they have a special bond with. One of the characters, a villain in most of the routes, has a pair of spooky white dogs - Mercedes and Melchior - who are implied to be littermates. They are always together and almost always hooked around each other like in the picture below:

I saw some fanart of them as humans (ish) that I had to share:

Like dang, if ever one single picture was going to make me ship something, it would be this.

They're really devoted to their master even though he has been "dead" for three years and they always hang around in his wing of the palace with his ghost.

Beneath the cut is a few more versions of them as humans. I was amazed how many there were. It's funny, there didn't seem to be nearly as much art, if any, of the other familiars as humans.

Apologies to the artists for not linking and crediting and all that.

There were even more.

[dandydanthelion]

i love this creature, the bozo

and yes i turned lucio into a bozo, couldn't help myself

[elsyrel]

"I've heard him send out the dogs"

The Good Guy <3

[luciosfanpage]

[drowchancellor]

Giving a fuck about what?

Part 1

Part 2 (romantic edition)

Part 3 (romantic edition)

Part 4 (you’re here)

Part 5

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Lucio who is self-conscious about his hair and wouldn't let anyone touch it when he was Count

Not just the receding hairline Asra likes to tease him about, but also the way the fine strands lie flat on their own without the dramatic volume he likes to incorporate into every aspect of his life.

He's not as finicky about it after becoming a journeyman with you, but there's a special moment in the mornings before he gets ready for the day when he'll let you run your fingers through it

It's silky soft, almost as fine as baby hair, and the longer you play with it the more he relaxes into you until you can practically hear him purring - until Mercedes or Melchior decide to join the fun and lick him

[lunnyhasunohana]

Mercedes and Melchior

[incorrecttwsted]

[zona-doing-art]

Lucio sketches!! + Mercedes and Melchior <3

[xaharadesert]

MC’s Familiar Having a Crush on LI’s Familiar - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6 + Familiars)

A/N: another poll winner! The request for this one specifically asked for the reactions of the LIs and their familiars, so it doesn’t really fall into “x MC” territory :) also, I’m leaving the species of MC’s familiar purposefully vague, but with the assumption that it’s not the same species as LI’s! Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes!

TW: swearing in Lucio’s section

❤️Julian❤️

As a man of science, he has many questions

Are relationships between different species common in the magical world? Does a “crush” indicate that familiars have a similar level of sentience to humans? Is this an innate trait, or something that manifests as a result of magic?

The temptation to launch a scientific investigation is strong in this situation, but he restrains himself

It feels immoral to toy around with love, even if he doesn’t really understand it

However, that means that he’ll be supporting this crush from both the standpoint of a friend and a scientist

🌑Malak🌑

He had never really thought about romance before

Most of his time was spent bothering people and collecting shiny things, and he was content with that life

So finding out that another creature had a crush on him was an odd experience, to say the least

Not to mention that it was someone he already knew, and shared a strong connection with

He thinks he might give it a try. He won’t be sharing his collection of shiny things, though

🧡Portia🧡

Immediately thinks it’s the cutest thing to ever happen

100% supportive, no matter the species difference

Gives your familiar the shovel talk (Pepi is her baby, after all)

Makes all the classic parent jokes about keeping the door open

After making that joke, she sits in silence and contemplates the reality of the relationship, and now also has many questions

Will not be asking them though; might ask Julian about it later

🐈Pepi🐈

Embarrassed by her mother, which is difficult to achieve, given that she is a cat and feels no shame

When she finds out about the crush, she just kind of shrugs it off

It makes sense, after all; she is a cat, and cats are perfect

If the crush seems serious, then she’s willing to reciprocate

Probably would not be the best partner— she prefers to spend her time napping in the sun, so if your familiar is high energy then it might not work out

💛Lucio💛

What the fuck

Like, genuinely, what the fuck

I mean, he’s not really one to judge, given his own weird tastes

But, like, really? How the fuck does that happen?

Thinks his dog(s) can do better than your familiar, and makes this well-known

🐾Mercedes OR Melchior🐾

Makes perfect sense to him— he would fall in love with himself too

Not really interested in reciprocating though: he is a very busy boy

Many squirrels to chase and bones to chew

May pursue a more dedicated friendship, though

And if he’s feeling generous, then he may share one of his toys with your familiar

💚Muriel💚

A bit hesitant at first

He’s a very reserved kind of man, and he really only has Inanna by his side all the time

So he doesn’t know how he feels about losing her to any degree

But if it makes her happy, then he’ll support it

After all, it’s your familiar, and he trusts you

🐺Inanna🐺

Really did not expect that

Immediately rejects the crush, partly out of panic, because she really doesn’t want anything to change

But over time, she realizes she might like something more with your familiar

Eventually, the crush is returned

Mostly, she truly feels comfortable with it when she realizes she will always have Muriel’s support

💙Asra💙

Makes perfect sense to him; he’s loved you for years, so it’s only natural that Faust would form a bond with your familiar as well

He thinks it’s really cute, and encourages them to spend time together

Sometimes jokes with Faust about her “snake charm”

As a bonus, your familiars spending time together means that the two of you can spend more time together as well

Most definitely plans double dates (platonic or romantic)

🐍Faust🐍

Faust had a crush on your familiar before they had a crush on her

So she’s delighted to see it’s returned!

Very enthusiastic about having a partner

If your familiar is larger, then she’s hitching a ride whenever they hang out

Very cuddly for a snake, especially if your familiar gives off body heat

💜Nadia💜

Keeps her thoughts to herself while she tries to understand how exactly your familiar can have a crush on hers

She doesn’t want to judge what she doesn’t understand, so she asks you a few questions about it

Once she gets the gist of it, she’s very supportive, and finds it rather cute

Keeps an eye on Chandra though, since she knows her familiar likes her personal space, and helps to enforce boundaries

Overall thinks it’s harmless fun

🦉Chandra🦉

Eh

She’s not into romance, and let’s your familiar down as easily as she can

Still wants to be friends, but needs her own space

She’s a very solitary creature, and she has no desire to change

Will still occasionally be more affectionate to your familiar when she sees that they’re feeling down

[stariisoda]

It's M&M! Had this lineart hanging around so I finally got to coloring it. Maybe a series with the familiars?

I imagine Melchior is just a silly boy and Mercedes is the fierce and snappy one.

[t-toxic-waste]

Modern Arcana AU where Lucio is posting videos of Mercedes and Melchior on TikTok with the "lemmedoitforu... Kermie" audio, but they don't get popular as fast as he wants them to so he makes another deal just to make his dogs go viral.

[dandydanthelion]

hmmm imagine if faust was a fox instead... and inanna was a bear... and mercedes and melchior were goats.. yk since half of the m6's familiars correspond to their arcana patrons...

[cherryxsapphic]

Literally nobody

*mc in the prologue*

Mc: can I pet the fancy looking dogs

Portia: not unless you want your hand bitten off

Mc: ...

Portia: MC NO!!

(based off me and my friend desperately wanting to pet Lucio's dogs and Portia not letting us)

@donnas-dollface

[luciosfanpage]

free my man he did all of it but i don't care