Day 12: Can they cook? What’s their favorite meal?
Delphi is… an interesting cook. Their food looks sometimes delicious, sometimes dubious, but it’s the most amazing thing their guests have every tasted. They particularly enjoy barbecue.
Iliad only really knows how to make soups and stews, but goddamn if it isn’t the best stew you’ll ever taste.
Day Nine: Do they have a patron arcana? Who is it? What’s their relationship like?
Minor spoiler warning for the Arcana!
Delphi
Delphi’s patron arcana is, just like in the game’s canon, the Fool. They often look to Scout for guidance, especially because they often make pilgrimage to the realm of the Arcana.
Almost as a secondary patron, they have an incredibly deep trust and connection to the Hangman, and why not? He’s saved their beloved multiple times, and he is a reassuring presence to Delphi.
Iliad
Due to her lack of magic, Iliad considers herself invisible to the Arcana, often believing that they overlook her or simply do not care. She has had, from birth, a contract to the Devil however, who if anything has been far too close for comfort; he would visit her yearly on her birthday. He often manipulated her by promising to release her from his contract. More on that tomorrow, however.
Despite her nihilistic beliefs, however, the arcana do watch over her and guide her, particularly her family’s patron; Strength.
APPRENTICEMBER DAY FIVE: Delphi AND Iliad Edition!
{Art by @governmentfundedvampiresex! In the center is xer oc Garlic! Leftmost is @fishyreject’s Rhett, and rightmost is Delphi!}
Day One: Do they have any other friends outside of canon? What about the minor characters?
Delphi AND Iliad Edition! (So I’m not tagging my friends 100 times)
Oh man there’s. A lot.
I have a bunch of aus/roleplays with my friends where our apprentices interact with each other… so I’ll just use this day to describe some of the relationships between my apprentices and my friends apprentices, alongside minor characters!
The only minor character that Delphi has a very close relationship with is Maz, who essentially fucking adopted them onsight. They took one look at this scrappy little blue pup and went “is nobody else going to feed this poor little thing some soup?”
A joke I’ve made countless times before and will make again is that, prior to meeting Delphi, Maz had heard lots about them from Julian. Thanks to his… exaggerated descriptions, Maz was expecting a 6 foot tall, broad chested, bold and intimidating warrior wizard with a 16 pack.
When they saw Delphi for the first time, she had to hold back a laugh.
@fishyreject’s Rhett (art by him as well)
Delphi’s been friends with Rhett for as long as they can’t remember. They look up to Rhett immensely, secretly wishing they were as brave as he was. Rhett sees them as the sibling he’s never had (rip 2 his sister but she sux). Though they had a complicated relationship when Delphi was a court magician (thanks to Lucio playing favorites), they eventually felt confident enough to leave the well paying position and attempt to run the shop full time, and it was thanks to his support. They are… buddies.
If we are talking about the roleplay lore… Iliad and Rhett had an extremely rocky start. As in, “Iliad as a mecenary was tasked to hurt Rhett and all his friends” rocky. Though it was exposed that she was fed false information, and chose to join the side of the heros (not the anime ass redemption arc), Iliad… never fully forgave herself for her actions against Rhett and his family. However, she considers her and Muriel her closest friends because they’re have a similar calm, quiet nature, and they feel comfortable discussing their honest thoughts with each other.
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@governmentfundedvampiresex’s Garlic
Auuhaaouughha… the notorious Thripple…
There’s a lot to be said about them! In the thripple au, Garlic is Delphi’s boyfriends boyfriend, and the three of them share a unique warrior’s bond (and something else too, but that information is cursed)
Garlic is the most calm and supportive of the three, helping soothe Julian’s anxieties and Delphi’s stubbornness. He also cooks the best dessert of the three, to be honest. He’s a bit shy and sometimes doesn’t say aloud what he wants or needs, and Delphi wants him to be more bold and outspoken, so they encourage him heavily!
Iliad is the same, though in a less… pushy way. She wants Garlic to find confidence in himself, too. Additionally, Iliad has many hobbies that she shares with Garlic such as knitting or cooking, though she has little time to indulge in them… but the two often find time to work together!
@l0veal0t’s Faline
Before leaving for Vesuvius, Delphi and Iliad grew up on a small island off the coast of Olyth called Swami. It’s a rather secretive island, not appearing on most world maps. People often go there if they want a peaceful place to live in community, and not be found. Delphi and Iliad’s parents fit into the latter, but Faline’s parents simply wanted to live a quiet life on the small, independent island. But perhaps the wealth they accumulated through owning Swami’s sole trading port had much to do with it.
Delphi, Iliad, and Swami met as small children, and became fast friends, almost inseparable. They played together as well as doing chores. They whispered secrets to each other. Faline soothed Iliad when Delphi was missing, and assumed drowned at age ten (though she thought it odd that Iliad never seemed to recall that they had died, often speaking of them as if they were still alive).
…but during the destruction of Swami, Iliad mistakenly thought Faline was killed by the raiding pirates.
When they reunited, Iliad was probably overjoyed by the sight of her childhood friend, and immensely relieved that she was safe and sound.
@teeth-farie’s Salem
We have an au where Salem and Delphi do a little kissy… maybe even a smoochy.
They’re a fun dynamic together, considering that Salem looks uncanny and terrifying but in reality they’re very cuddly and sweet, whereas Delphi is the human equivalent of a poorly socialized Pomeranian that bites ankles.
They hold hands everywhere. Delphi likes to carry Salem around. Salem has tasted their skin.
Iliad is so terrified of them, very worried for Delphi at first but quickly sees how happy they make them.
Day Ten: Do they have a gateway? What does it look like? If they don’t have one, describe their ideal spot instead.
Delphi - A small island, big enough only for a little house. Extremely similar to the shop and yet different. The house is ever changing inside, adapting to what Delphi needs most at that moment… but the style of the house is strange, it is Nopalian in design no matter how often it changes. The pattern painted outside is familiar to Delphi- yet the memory won’t return no matter how long they stare. The waves are soothing, the grass smells sweet, and the insects frolic freely.
Iliad - Incredibly simple: a campfire. A warm stew on the stove. Tents with fresh linens. A collage of every mercenary camp she has ever stayed in.
Day Eight: Now let’s give their familiar the spotlight! Tell us all about them!
Spoilers for the plot of The Arcana (all routes) ahead!
Delphi
Though not a familiar, Delphi has always had a special bond with insects, often being followed by butterflies or glow flies.
Prior to their death and resurrection, Delphi’s familiar was a little Pomeranian named Hambone.
Post death, Hambone’s ghost sometimes takes the form of swarms of insects, passing knowledge and guidance onto Delphi.
Iliad
Iliad does not think she has a familiar because she lacks magic.
However, once when she was kidnapped by Mageslayers, she found that they had been capturing magical creatures for themselves. She defeated a captain, and ran away with his dog Bloodhound, who was ironically a German Shepard.
Blood acts as her hunting companion, able to track people using their auras. Though he sometimes pretends not to care for Iliad, he feels a deep kinship with her.
