#that'd be a really wildly good skill

[neomachine]

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Here's a two-parter idea for hc (idk this time if it's a full or a Mini, I'll let you choose ;) )

1. How do the M6 hold babies? Who's a natural and who has the stiff "toddler who's meeting their baby sibling for the first time" hold? Who likes them & vice versa? Who's the person you hand a baby to & then immediately have to take it back bc something about their aura immediately made the baby freak out?

2. Similar vein; like the wands in Harry Potter, we all know kids pick and choose who they like & nobody has a choice in the matter. Which of the M6 do kids like? Who's a natural child repellent? Who do the kids always undyingly attach themselves to even though by all means that person seems like the last parson the children would fall in love with?

Feel free to include the courtiers or any other side characters too if you like, I think that'd be funny

The Arcana HCs: M6 with Kids

~ @themushroomgoesyeet this started out as a mini-hc and then I got so carried away I turned them into a full series. XD thanks friend! ^.^ - brainrot ~

Julian

Loves kids!! so young! so small! so full of life and energy!

Kids tend to be initially cautious when approaching him (he's so tall, and edgy-looking, and kind of loud)

But as soon as he notices them he's folding up his gangly legs so he can crouch at their level and make eye contact and ask them about their day and introduce himself to their toys

And oh my, the stories he comes up with - it's not uncommon for you to lose him in the marketplace and come back about thirty minutes later to find him seated on a crate, about fifteen children of varying ages sitting in front of him, hanging onto his every word with stars in their eyes as he props up a toddler with one hand and wildly gestures with the other

Depending on how enthusiastic his audience gets and how much time he has to work with, he may or may not teach them the basics of improv and catch them up in acting out his story

It's impossible to pull him away once he's appointed different kids to their roles and gotten them started on his fantastical adventure

Remembers all their names and faces and preferences and goes out of his way to wave hello to them if he ever spots them while he's out and about

Asra:

Kids love the look and smell and feel of them but they rarely approach them because of how generally detached they seem

He's quite fond of kids himself, and they will straight up worship him if he puts effort into connecting with them, but most of the time he's too lost in his own wanderings to get around to it

Has strong feelings about their well being though, and will drop everything if they see one in need of assistance and not receiving it

Always accidentally ends up in a teacher's role (it's his infinite patience), he's just bad at knowing what might or might not be a good idea to teach them

How to knit? Wonderful! Now they have a new, soothing, productive hobby and skill set

How to pick a lock? No!! Now they're going to apply their scary levels of creativity and tininess to getting access into spaces they really shouldn't be in!

Known to randomly distract them during scary public things (you found them putting on an impromptu magic show in an alleyway for all the kids in the street right after a nasty cart crash)

Has an easier time with kids than with babies. Babies can't talk, if something's wrong they just cry while you try to troubleshoot

Nadia

She regards them with distance and respect and they do the same for her

It's much easier to care for them with improved infrastructure and accessible education than it is to learn what kinds of bodily fluids are normal on a child and what kinds aren't

(spoiler alert - snot is normal. snot is expected. snot will be everywhere. snot can never be fully cleaned up.)

Kids pick up on this, and are generally more likely to admire the very pretty lady from a distance than they are to walk up and start talking to her

Every now and then, though, some precocious child will start following the trail of her perfume, which will lead them to her skirt, which they will bury their snot-covered face in because it's soft and smells nice

And every time, without fail, Nadia will pause what she's doing and bend down to politely introduce herself and ask for their name without a single though to the mess on her clothes

She actually does better with babies than with kids, because it's easier for her to hold and physically protect a baby than it is to try to have a conversation with a child and quickly discover just how different Toddler Logic is from Adult Logic

Muriel

Small children congregate around him in droves and he has no idea why

They are small, they are fragile, they are living creatures who do not deserve to be hurt or abandoned, why are they crowding around his feet instead of holding onto their parents???

From a child's point of view, it's quite logical

Man is tall. Man is quiet. Man stands still. Man has gentle aura. Man provides shade. Man is clearly a tree (for chilling next to, and attempting to climb on, and occasionally bringing flowers to)

If Muriel can muster enough courage to break his initial "freeze" response, he'll find a corner to sit in so he can be extra stable and not run the risk of accidentally crushing someone

You found him like this once at a party, sitting still as a stone, with two kids chatting with each other on his lap, one scaling the sheer cliffside of his back, one perched on his shoulder sticking flowers in his hair, and two more playing with his hands (which are easily the size of their faces)

He gave you the same look you'd expect from someone stuck with a cat sleeping on their lap

Will listen to and remember any story he gets told and mention it later in conversation

Portia

Loves kids!!! x2

Unfortunately, she tends to scare the shy ones off at first with her intensity, which does make her cry herself to sleep sometimes

She has both the physical energy and the delightful imagination that perfectly suits her to joining into any game the kids around her come up with and making it one of the most exciting experiences of their tiny lives

She's also brilliantly prepared to comfort a child through any burden their small souls carry

Runny nose? She's got a handkerchief. Skinned knee? She's got band-aids. Dehydrated? She's got a water bottle. Hurt feelings? she gives the best (seriously, the best) comforting hugs

Nobody can mediate squabbles like she can (she brokered a trade deal with Firent, she can easily handle playground territory fights)

Over the years she's become the confidant of many tiny ones and you've caught her more than once mending a torn skirt or fixing a broken toy for a kid who didn't want to have to confess to their parents and face the consequences on their own

Does she fill you in on all the little one's gossip and drama? Of course. Does she take it just as seriously as her job? Absolutely

Lucio

He likes kids more than he thinks he does. Unfortunately, they're not usually fond of him at first

When he looks at kids he just sees tiny people who aren't quite big enough yet to go to real parties or do anything interesting with him

That said, he also likes to help people. In the past it was partially to show off, but he genuinely enjoys making someone else's day brighter and knowing he was the reason for it

Plus, kids are considerably easier to impress than grown ups are

Children, on the other hand, are more likely to see a very loud blonde man with a scary metal arm and walk in the other direction

Lucio does not like it when anyone, child or otherwise, takes one look at him and walks away

He must convince them otherwise

Usually resorts to sweets (he's got his own weakness for cookies, even if he still has no idea how to make them)

You've watched him win the admiration of about thirty tiny people in fifteen seconds flat when he loudly proclaimed that he'd be buying any treat any children wanted from the baker's stall

To say that he was still talking about the stars in their eyes when they looked at him three weeks later is an understatement

[pettyprocrastination]

queer and feelin longing emotions and thinkin bout shortcake and the harleyyyhhh: when she first sees you shes like 👁👄👁 speechless, How could you possibly get hotter??? ure driving into frankie's driveway because you all are carpooling to meet the guys for a night out. she meets u in a daze at the end of the drive while youre taking the keys out of the ignition.

"i didnt know you owned a motercycle" she says, her face growing warm while u kick out the kickstand.

"oh um, yeah! i do!" you say with a nervous chuckle; your heart always races when youre around shortcake, but you've never seen her look at you Quite like this.

"why do i never see you riding it?" she asks, glancing down every so often as you absent mindedly start fidgeting, rubbing ur hands against the seat and the handle bars.

"ummm, i really only ride it when i need to think on some stuff or when i need to calm down," you explain. "its also really impractical for days i have a certain way i want my hair to look" u chuckle as u unclick the buckle to your helmet and hope, as youre taking it off, that your helmet hair isnt unseemly today.

"is everything okay? have you been on edge lately?" she asks, her brow furrowed. you smile at her but it doesnt quite meet your eyes.

"a little, but i'm working through it" you respond, you grasp the handle bars a little harder, u hadnt meant to let That slip.

shortcake seems unsure but after a moment she reaches out to gently lay her hand atop yours and u loosen ur grasp. "is there anything i can do to help?" she asks softly, kindly. you feel so Seen, so Loved; shes only touching your hand but you can feel the warmth of it through your entire body. "i'll uhhhh i'll let you know?" you leave it open ended, because you dont Think its possible for her to help you with your growing feelings....But you Never Know. the answer seems to appease her, for now at least.

youre together in this moment quietly, contently, a single innocent touch and your gaze at one another are all that connects one another to the present. you hear the front door of the house open and shut, you both suddenly move your hands away; the self depricating thoughts, quickening heart rates, and warm faces are all that you share now.

"hey, nice to see you bringin the ol girl out for a change" frankie says while walking towards the two of you. he raises an eyebrow at you, "you good?"

you nod, "i will be." he nods back, knowing. that sometimes you arent ready to talk about what thoughts ail you.

"oh hey your hair is a little..." he starts, moving his hand up to you head before stopping, "can i uhhh-" "oh yeah sure, thanks" you say, quickly. as frankie messes with your hair, you feel your stomach do flips and shortcake admires how sweet you look together.

he steps back admiring you- his amazing skills as a hair stylist, "better than ever" he says with a grin.

"oh wait hold on, you missed something can i just real quick" shortcake says, searching for consent. you nod you head at her and now she hands taking back stray pieces or smoothing out others. you shiver slightly as she tucks your hair behind your ear? you arent sure she actually moved anything that time. frankie is watching the two of you intently; he loves the careful way she tends to you and the way your eyes flutter shut every so often.

she moves back, and says "there, now we're good" with a soft smile. frankie smiles at her and gives her a quick peck on the cheek, "i love your attention to detail," he says, adoration in his eyes as she giggles.

"thanks," you whisper. you dont want to ruin this moment with your feelings butting in; they are so happy together, you wish so desperately you could make Them that happy.

frankie pats his pockets until he finds and fishes out his keys, "i'll go start the car, you can set your helmet inside the garage if you want?" he offers. "that'd be great thank you," you say, unstraddling the bike and the couple, unbeknownst to the other, watch a tad too intently as you do.

shortcale shakes herself out of slightly inappropriate gaze and decided to walk you up to a garage, "i've never ridden a motercycle before, it seems like fun" she says, just to fill the silence.

you're quiet, comtemplating for a moment. "would you like to?"

she laughs out a breath "oh i would love too. its a shame you dont have a second helmet, we could ride together"

you glance at her and grin a little before turning around to call out, "hey frankie? you still got that helmet i leant u?"

(idk why im writing i Got homework to do and like i keep thinking tumblr is gonna cut me off with a word count or a character limit but No they just let me Keep Going for like AN HOUR, anyways 👄👁👄

Anon I offer you my hand in marriage the dowry is easy: just keep sending me asks (also go do your homework babes!!)

I absolutely LOVE THIS AAAAA

Also the thought of shortcake going for a ride with you hhh. Her arms are tight around your waist and the engine is rumbling in her ears as shes pressed against your back, it makes you grip the handlebars tighter and at a stoplight you have to take a deep breath to calm yourself. She's never ridden a motorcycle before but in the moment, cruising down the road with her arms around you, she feels safe and secure and wants it to last forever.

Frankie walks outside just as you pull up the driveway.

"How was it?"

Shortcake tugs the helmet off with a giggle and he takes in her wild hair. "So much fun! I never knew it'd be so relaxing."

She never knew how nice it felt to have you in her arms.

Frankie ignores the way his heart hammers wildly in his chest by seeing the way shortcake, his girlfriend, stares as you lean on the handlebars of your bike. He sees her flushed face and hears the hitch in her breathe when she looks at you.

He tells himself it's from the weather. It has to be. Theres no way she feels the same way for you as he does. That's just his own mind taunting him with a fantasy.

That's just him being selfish.

"I should probably head out." Your voice breaks them both out of their own head. Both members of the couple you dreamed of each night wearing a face like a kicked puppy.

"Are you sure? You can stay for dinner if you want-"

"We can order takeout and-"

You hold your hands up in an apologetic gesture. "As fun as its be to watch you guys argue over pizza toppings again, I'll have to pass. I've got an early shift tomorrow. I should get home before it's late so I can get some sleep."

The hand that frankie held on his girlfriend's waist tightened as you backed out of the driveway and into the street with a final wave.

He knew you didn't work tomorrow

"Is she gonna be alright?" Shortcake's voice was tiny, barely heard over the roar of your engine as you drove off.

Frankie knew you were going to spend the whole night driving without a destination.

"Yeah." He pressed a comforting kiss to her temple. "She's alright, just needs to clear her head. We all get like that."

He knew at somepoint in the night you'd stop at that one 24-hour dinner you loved, he would probably stay up and meet you there. If you didnt want to talk about what was bothering you that'd be fine. He would simply order himself a burger as the two of you spoke about whatever nonsense came to mind at 3am before leaving, usually with you following him home and crashing on his couch.

You hadn't done that in a long time. He wonders why.

"I worry about her."

Ah. Right. That's why.

Shortcake leaned her head on his shoulder and he felt a steady thrum in his chest.

"Me too."

Maube he would take her with him tonight. She'd like the fries.