A/N: Hello everybody! As promised, this post is a little peek into what I’ve been working on as of late.
It’ll be divided into two parts: drafts I’ve been intermittently working on from 2022 and earlier (some may be all the way back from 2020 as well, YIKES), and then more recent works that have popped up within the last five to six months.
More under the cut because this got . . . very long.
Old(er) Works/WIP(s) [from 2022 and before]:
Fics I owe/want to give people [three to five in total]
Expansion of AUs Written / Noted
Modern
possible modern AU of Bảo being a gamer as a teenager like some Youtubers, but he’s small-time indie kinda guy
Reversal [within my cast of OCs] (i.e. Apprentice!Bảo and Auntie!Liên)
Celestial Sanctum
Actor AU(?) [at least Lucio’s part]
Apprenticember—DAY(s) II & III (Part II)
Main 6 LI route stories with Apprentice and/or Librarian Lyra
Maybe??? Even??? Librarian Lyra Route???
Expansion on time spent with the various in-laws for both Apprentice / Librarian Lyra and her LI(s)
All Apprentice!Lyras interacting with one another [The Observation Room]
May be a series, or it may be a set of one-shots that interconnect somehow
Finish Devil!Lyra’s Ascension [lucio x apprentice]
OC Backstories
Lyra [slight reboot/rewriting of her past, present and future within the world of The Arcana
Lyra’s extended family
Rồngkarst (village)/Leysương (country) aesthetics [parts of Fantasyland Vietnam]
specific details and whatnot
Sekani/Walt/James/Bảo/Neha
Walterine’s Parents
How Walt is related to Sekani
James’s Parents [two] and Siblings [five of them]
The Banbha [James’s tribe in The South]
The Olde Deer God
Connections / Interactions with the Heart of the Forest
Tarot [Major and/or Minor] Card Associations
Annnnnnnnd just THIS chunk is written out in about 60 or so one sentence ideas in a notebook of mine that I’ll need to break down or combine in order to make any coherence.
[Oof]
WIP(s) [from Jan 2023 to now]:
Ceci and Thomas
Details how they’re connected to Lyra and her family
May or may not tie in with The Observation Room shenanigans
Also Ceci and Thomas’s siren / mermaid / undine(?) background / lineage
More stories about the fan kids
Tarot [Major and/or Minor] Card Associations
Familiars
Whether or not they’re aware of the canon / in-game events that their family and loved ones have gone through.
Whether or not they’re aware of THOMAS’s background as not being entirely human
Pictures of Crochet!Nook [thanks go to @fire-fira for this bit. I’m still overjoyed this could happen]
In Conclusion:
This writer’s brain is very full of ideas and I wish I had more time in the day to work on all of these.
If you made it this far, thank you so, so much for your time and patience to read all of this.
Please note: some OCs mentioned below have either yet to be (re)written about—in length—or will feature more in my MC’s backstory and/or her LI timeline.
Featuring Lyra Nguyen, Iris Nguyen, Muriel & Khamgalai of the Kokhuri, and The Hermit.
“GRANDMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!“
Khamgalai braces herself as Iris to barrels into her arms. Despite the fact the young girl basically slams into the elderly woman, Khamgalai easily holds her ground.
“Iris!” she greets, lifting the girl a touch. “Look at you! You’re getting so big!” Khamgalai sets Iris back down, laughing. “Where are your mom and dad?”
Iris points back to the tree-line in the distance. As Khamgalai looks, Muriel and Lyra are just emerging from the forest.
“Iris, what did we say about running ahead of your parents?” Khamgalai sighs.
“Not to,” she replies. With a stern nod, Khamgalai ushers the girl into the Hermit’s hut.
“One of these days you’ll get in trouble by running ahead,” Khamgalai sighs.
Changing the subject, she asks, “You fast enough to catch your Aunc Asra yet?”
“No; he’s really fast!” Iris replies. “Uncle Julian’s faster, but he’s got the longer legs.” Iris sets herself down on a chair, having the back of it to her front. “If Dad wasn’t so big he’d be as fast as Uncle Julian. Maybe even faster!”
Khamgalai laughs, getting the child some milk. “Perhaps. Could stop people cold if they literally ran into him, hm?”
“Yeah!” Iris giggles.
As if on cue, Lyra and Muriel finally come through the door. Behind them is The Hermit.
“Hi Grandpa,” Iris greets the Arcana. Hermit grunts in response, making his way to the back of the hut. He takes an axe and walks back out.
“She got away from you again,” Khamgalai chuckles, raising an eyebrow at the slightly haggard parents before her.
“Iris learned to run before she could walk,” Muriel reminds, shaking his head as Lyra laughs.
“Yeah; this isn’t anything new,” his wife nods.
Iris giggles, sipping some of her milk. When Khamgalai asks what they saw on the way in, and she pipes up with the following: “We saw ponds! There were a lot of cool looking pollywogs in the ponds! Half of them had legs already!”
“They should be adults within the next hour or so,” Khamgalai nods.
“That’s soooo fast!” Iris gasps, elated. Turning to her mom and dad, she asks, “Can we go back and see?”
“Wanna join us, Khamgalai?” Lyra offers. The old woman nods.
“If they’re the ones I’m thinking of, it’ll be a delight,” Khamgalai chuckles.
“Whaddya mean?” Iris asks, eyes curious.
“They have a little thing on their nose that leads to their head.” Khamgalai pantomimes the part in question: having the topside of her thumb to her face, the woman has her hand as straight as an upright board. She shifts her hand up until her fingertips are far past her head. “They sound like they’re blowing a horn sometimes! They even glow when they make the sound.”
Iris’s eyes are wide, definitely imagining the colorful wonders of these otherworldly frogs.
The child rushes to a corner of the hut, finding some old parchment stashed there. Upon her return, Lyra hands her little girl a stick of charcoal. Setting to it, Iris plots out what they’d all do upon finding the frogs. The child’s fingers are quickly blackened in charcoal dust as she doodles out her plans.
Beside her, Lyra and Muriel share an affectionate glance with Khamgalai, who returns it with a hearty chuckle.
Summary: Preparing for a funeral is normal. What's NOT normal is that the night before the funeral of your mother, in the realms of the Arcana, you run into the other kids she's had . . . from different timelines.
Not only is this group of seven dealing with grief and a whole slew of other emotions: they need to come to terms with their own personal issues.
Will they be able to coexist with each other for the time being, or will it snowball into an all out fight? Who knows? They, nor Scout, sure don't!
[More under the cut!]
Splashes From an Inkwell | [The Cast]
Iris Nguyen:
Early 30s. Her father is still alive, leaving the two of them to live with the effects of having lost her mother.
Shiloh Nguyen Devorak:
Mid to late 20s. His father is still alive, leaving the two of them troubled by their loss.
Junior Nguyen & Avery Webber:
Mid 50s and early 60s, respectively. Lucio and Lyra are both deceased, but Avery’s biological parents are still alive.
Hải Nguyen Alnazar & Noor Nguyen Alnazar:
Late 20s to early 30s. Asra and Lyra are both deceased, the former having passed just a few months before their mother did.
Thomas Nguyen-Devorak:
Early to mid 30s. Lyra’s passing was completely unexpected, leaving Portia and Thomas in shock.
[Related to The Path She Picked series and sequel to One Last Time]
To Pay Our Last Respects; Chapter II [IRIS, SHILOH]
[CHAPTER I]
WARNING: Contains massive spoilers from the latter parts of The Arcana: A Mystic Romance.
[With mentions of: @vesuvianoak‘s fan apprentice Ąžuolas and fan kids, Esther, Hazel, and Noah, the lattermost being to whom Iris is married to.]
IRIS
It’s been a while, but I know I’m in the spirit world. It feels real, but the way I walk is a mite slower. When I move, my whole body feels a bit weightless, and so heavy at the same time.
Once I am out of the woods, I finally get my bearings. In the distance is the hut Grandma Khamgalai and Herm have been staying in. It’s never changed, as far as I know.
There’s smoke coming out of the chimney, so I know either Herm or Grandma are in there.
As I continue to make my way there, I look down at where I step. I don’t want to accidentally step or disturb some of the neighbors.
The closer I get though, I start to get a funny feeling. When I’m within reach of the door, I slow my steps, listening.
Inside the hut, I can hear Grandma talking. At first I think it’s to Herm, but then I realize he’s moving around in the hut, cooking something. Grandma would usually be padding around nearby as he did . . . so why wasn’t—?
I hear the Major Arcana’s feet coming my way in the nick of time. I jump out of the way as the door swings open.
“Oh!” Hermit blinks, seeing me on the other side. His starry green eyes are apologetic. “Hello Iris.”
“Hi Herm,” I reply, stepping back to let him come out. As he shuts the door behind him, I ask, “Is there someone else in there with Grandma?”
“Mm,” Hermit nods, sparing a glance behind him before walking on. I follow.
“Wood pile?”
“Mm.”
“Want me to carry or do you want me to chop?”
“Both, if you are able.”
“Of course I’m able!”
We find the wood pile a ways away from the hut. It is really low, which is surprising.
“How’d this happen?” I ask, grabbing an axe nearby.
“The guest in the hut happened,” he replies.
I blink. “Human or demon?”
“Human, like you.”
I pause, setting the axe down again. “I beg your pardon?”
To be honest, I’m not that special: I know there are people that can find their way to The Hermit’s realm, but there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to even get to this place.
“He’s struggling with a loss, like you,” Herm explains further. I grimace, picking up my axe and getting to work on getting wood for the pile.
It'll be a bit, because I'm unwilling to let Grandma go without while I'm here.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
After The Hermit and I get the wood pile about 2/3rds the way there, we hear Grandma's voice in the distance: she's calling us to come in for lunch.
I trundle after Hermit, feeling sore. Aunc Asra has told me that if I got hurt here, it's not real. I didn't take my body with me this trip at least, but it's hard not to feel a bit beat up.
Like the gentleman he is, Herm opens the door for me. I see Grandma getting the table ready . . . with our guest.
I pause after closing the door behind me. The person is not that tall. They couldn't be much shorter than Aunc Asra, to be honest.
They got a shock of auburn hair, and a face that strikes me as familiar.
"Iris!" Khamgalai greets, walking over to give me a hug. I gotta bend down really low in order to let her hug me fully. “How are you holding up, sweetie?”
“Uh, could be better,” I reply, giving her a small smile. Grandma ushers me to the table, having me on one side of her, and the stranger on the other.
"Iris, this is Shiloh," she points to the newcomer, flashing a smile. "Shiloh, this is my granddaughter, Iris."
"Hi," they greet, glancing at me before looking away sheepishly.
"Hey yourself," I reply, giving them a little wave. After Grandma lightly nudges them, Shiloh returns the little wave.
Soon, Hermit sits across from her, passing bowls of bantan and cups of tea around. When he also sets down a platter of khuushuur, I grin.
“Thank you for this,” I dip my head to the Arcana.
“It’s no trouble,” Hermit rumbles.
“. . . there’s no pork in this, right?” Shiloh asks, looking at the soup suspiciously.
“No there isn’t,” Grandma replies, patting their shoulder. “Dig in! I knew even before you got in here that you look like you’ve hardly eaten.”
Shiloh blushes vividly, already scooping the thick soup into their mouth.
As we’re all eating, I spare a few glances over to this person. Their clothes make me think of someone with refined but flashy taste, if the long sleeves and gold-colored accents were anything to go by. The material isn’t velvet, but it’s sitting heavily over their body.
What I’m really shocked about though, is their magic. Even if it’s pretty subdued, I can feel the cracklings of . . . something. Given the fact that Khamgalai made bantan, they’re probably a few hours into getting over a hangover too.
After the stranger finishes their soup, Grandma moves the platter of khuushuur over to them.
“This looks like chiburekki,” Shiloh remarks, looking at the offered food.
"Chiburekki?" I echo. Why is that familiar?
"Mhm. A fried dumpling thing." Shiloh picks up one with a wooden fork. They pop it into their mouth, and chew. The khuushuur settles into one of their cheeks as they eat, taking a few moments to savor and chew.
“What’re you in for?” I ask them, chuckling when they’re startled by me addressing them.
After stopping themself from choking, Shiloh swallows, replying with, “I dunno."
I raise an eyebrow and look at Herm. When he shrugs, I look at Grandma.
“Were they the one that got all your wood?”
“Not intentionally,” Khamgalai replies plainly. Shiloh shrinks in their chair, red to their ears as she continues with, “From what I understand, it’s something like this: when he landed in the Hermit’s realm, he got knocked into the wood pile. He smacked into it so hard it scattered to the four winds!”
“How were you drunk before even getting here?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “Had a night out with your friends?”
Shiloh shifts under my scrutiny, lips pressed tightly together.
“I’m pretty patient, kid,” I forewarn, “I can wait a pretty long while.”
Hermit gets up and leaves us alone. I don’t blame him: these are really weird circumstances. In the meantime, Grandma and Shiloh end up doing dishes together while I tidy up the living area. The two of them exchange a few words here and there. Given Shiloh is stage whispering, I can’t hear much.
After a bit more poking from Grandma, Shiloh finally caves.
“It’s . . . complicated,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He dries his hands and stumbles back over. He seats himself on a low stool.
Slowly, Shiloh leans down, stretching. As he touches the tips of his shoes, Shiloh strategically pops his back. I sit down on a low stool too, settled beside my grandma as Shiloh begins.
He talks about after he went to sleep last night, he woke up in the Arcana realms. When I ask how he knew, Shiloh responds with, “Lamps don’t just grow out of nowhere,” he laughs wryly. “It’s . . . it’s a little fuzzy but I was drinking with this demon I ran into . . .”
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
SHILOH
Hours ago, The Hanged Raven . . .
“ . . . do you get visitors often?” I murmur, nursing my pint of ale in my hands.
“Mm . . . yes and, uh, no,” he replies.
I mm in understanding, trying not to stare. It’s really, really dark in here, but I can make out the outlines of his silhouette. The demon before me . . . he’s humanoid, but massive. From head to taloned feet, he’s covered in black feathers. There's some swathes of dreadfully pale skin—almost grey!—in between rows and rows of said feathers. Thanks to him handing me this pint what I think ale, I can tell he’s got claws at the ends of his massive hands too.
“So, uh . . .” I look to the ceiling, noting the cobwebs. “Have you been out much?”
“Only to hunt,” he replies. He gestures to some bones in the corner of the room. The sight makes my skin crawl.
There were still some chunks of meat on the osseous matter.
“It disgusts you, doesn’t it?” the demon looks into his massive tankard wistfully. “I know I am . . . I can’t change it however.”
“Hey you need to eat to live,” I reply, taking a swig. As the taste of Salty Bitters collides with the back of my throat, I gag. Shaking my head furiously, I heave a strangled, “Oh gods—!”
The demon has a lopsided smile as I dig into my coat pockets, bringing out a handkerchief to hack into. I stuff the cloth into my mouth, trying to soak up whatever remains of the Salty Bitters in my mouth.
“I should’ve uh, forewarned you,” the demon murmurs. “I’ve had them for so long, I don’t taste it anymore. I still feel the effects though,” he laughs, placing a taloned hand over his face.
I spit out my handkerchief, opting to drink out of my canteen of water from then on.
“It’s, cough, okay,” I reassure. “My first drink when I was of age was Salty Bitters. It’s been a while since I had any, haha . . .”
The demon lifts his cup up into open air. One of the ever-floating bottles of Salty Bitters swoops over, filling up his tankard.
“What’re we drinking to?” I ask, steadying the canteen in my hand.
“To better times,” the demon murmurs. He immediately downs the tankard in one go.
It’s after that that I excuse himself, feeling nauseous. This sort of Salty Bitters is far more potent than the ones back home . . .
“Safe travels,” the demon bids me.
As I stumble out, the scenery outside The Hanged Raven has changed. It wasn’t full of red-lit mangroves—
It’s the very edge between a forest and a massive field. I trip, knocking over a wood pile. As I lay on the ground, confused, I decided to sleep it off . . .
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
IRIS
". . . and that’s how I’m here,” Shiloh concludes.
I stare at him, amazed. I look to Grandma, who looks back at me. Then, together, we look at Shiloh.
“How often do you travel the realms?” I ask, my mind racing.
“Often enough that demons don’t faze him,” Grandma replies.
“What your Gran said,” Shiloh nods.
“Um . . .” I rub my neck, trying to calm down. “That demon . . . did he tell you what his name was?”
“They don’t tend to.”
“Did he look familiar to you?”
“I rarely meet the same demon twice,” Shiloh explains, raising an eyebrow. “Why?"
“Salty Bitters is my father-in-law’s favorite drink,” Iris explains. “Julian Devorak’s his name. The fact you said this-this demon was drinking so much to cope—”
“Wait, what?” Shiloh stares at me. “That’s not possible.”
At this point, Grandma decides to get some water for the three of us. As she leaves her seat, Shiloh repeats that it isn’t possible for Julian to be my father-in-law.
“What makes you say that? Do you know Julian?”
“First off: everyone knows my dad,” Shiloh uses his fingers to mark each of his points thereon. “If my Dad is your father-in-law, you’d either be married to me or one of my siblings, if I had any. Since that isn’t the case . . .” He shakes his head some more, looking like he’s suffering another headache.
I rack my brain, trying another avenue: “Do you know Muriel?”
“Barely. He doesn’t like my dad much, so he tends to stay away unless it’s just my mom and/or Asra around.”
“Is your mom Lyra Nguyen?” I feel a strange weight in my chest. The weight is clammy, fueling my crumbling disbelief in what’s happening.
Grandma finally hands me a mug of water. I set it on the nearby table instead, my eyes flicking between the furniture within the hut, and Shiloh’s face.
“ . . . how . . . ?” Shiloh stares at me, expression matching my own.
We both look to my grandma, needing answers.
“Would Herm know?” I ask her.
“He should have some kind of answer,” Grandma nods. “We may need to wait a while, though.”
“Fine by me,” Shiloh sighs. He drinks his water, thanking Khamgalai. “May I sleep on the floor?”
“Let me get you some blankets young man. Please remove your shoes.”
Shiloh nods, immediately unlacing his long boots. I help Grandma get the blankets down from a storage closet, setting up an area for Shiloh to sleep off his hangover some more.
Pretty soon, he’s out to sleep. As for me, I take a moment to just . . . set my head on the table.
Grandma stands beside me, gently smoothing her hand over my back. “You should sleep too,” she recommends.
“I’ll sleep after we hear from Herm,” I softly reply, resting my chin on top of my crossed-over wrists. Satisfied with my answer, albeit a touch worried, Khamgalai leaves me alone.
The truth is . . . I do need sleep. Damn, forget mourning my mother and all for a minute . . .
I fight off my exhaustion with questions. When Mom was still alive, she said for every question I had, The Magician had about thrice as many in turn for me. It feels that way right now . . .
What did Shiloh’s mom see in Julian? According to my own mom and dad, he’s a hell of a nuisance at times. This was extremely so when Mom, Dad, Asra and my uncle Julian went into a crumbling Vesuvia to oust the late Pontifex Vulgora.
Is Nadia still the Countess?
Where’s Portia in all this? She’d be Shiloh’s aunt, right . . .?
What about Asra? Who did he end up with? For some reason, the thought of him travelling all on his own makes me unbearably sad . . .
“Not everyone ends up with someone, and that’s okay.” Mom always told me that. That was her comforting words to me when I was having difficulty finding a partner I wanted to spend my life with.
Considering Shiloh now, that made me wonder . . .
Did Noah exist with Shiloh’s world? Did Uncle Ąžuolas exist? What about Esther and Hazel? Having a world without them, it feels so wrong . . .
WARNING: Contains massive spoilers from the latter parts of The Arcana: A Mystic Romance.
[Featuring: @vesuvianoak‘s fan apprentice Ąžuolas and fan kid, Noah, the latter to whom Iris is married to.]
It’s been raining ever since she passed. The first few hours were just a downpour. According to some, it was as heavy as the rains from when the Red Plague was still running rampant.
Now, at least, it’s lessened to a light drizzle. Her funeral is going to be tomorrow afternoon, barring the rains. I hope it clears up by then . . . she doesn’t need to be buried in mushy mud.
I’m alone in The Shop at the moment. It’s been closed since she passed, though outside is a different story. Customers, neighbors, and kind travelers passing through have left offerings of flowers and rain-drenched candles in condolences to my family.
My hands crackle with sparks. I bring my hands up, leveling the heels of my palms close to my lips. I blow, sending the sparks flitting about until they find the wicks of candles in the shop. Once the space is illuminated, I lower my hood, sighing softly.
It looks like the way we left it when we came back from the Dark Forest . . .
I don’t know who’s taking it harder: me, Aunc Asra, or my dad. Asra and Dad have known Mom for years. The stories of how Asra lost it at Mom and Dad’s wedding is still the stuff of legend.
Right now, Dad and Asra are at Great Uncle Bảo’s old shop. Auntie Neha and the funeral director are helping them with things to be finalized for tomorrow. In the meantime, my better half is at his parents’ place, getting dinner ready. Julian and Ąžuolas offered their place for us, my dad, and Asra to spend the night before the funeral.
Dad and Asra declined, opting to be in the forest to be closer to the hut. I know their plan after dinner is to ward the hell out of the forest. As the theory goes, the dark energies suffocating the woods has been cleansed since Lucio was banished to the realms of the Arcana. I know Grandma Khamgalai and the Hermit have been keeping their vigilant eyes on him to make sure he doesn’t pull a stunt like the one that sent Vesuvians fleeing to the Dark Forest in the first place.
I’m still debating whether or not I want to join them for the night. Between the three of us, we haven’t been getting enough sleep. Well, Asra sleeps more than usual, but that’s one of his terrible coping habits. Nadia has been keeping him company on the really bad days. The same courtesy has been extended to Dad, but he’s been walking the length of the city-state.
People have been talking: not only has he been walking the street by himself, he’s been talking to himself. No one knows what he’s saying, but it’s been speculated that in his grief, he’s been talking to Mom. I can’t blame the guy; he was the one that found her.
I vigorously shake my head, my body twinging. The memory of my dad in anguish, holding Mom’s lifeless body in his arms sends goosebumps through my entire body.
I stamp my feet into the floor, dispelling some sparks that had built up within me.
. . .
. . . .
. . . . .
Why was I here again?
I shake my head, exhaling shakily. I tense and relax my shoulders a few times, grounding myself. I locate a little candle holder and start to ascend the stairs.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
South End: The Devorak’s Residence
“Do you guys need anything else?” Ąžuolas stands at the threshold of the guest room, looking at the both of us. Downstairs, Uncle Julian and the rest of Noah’s siblings are cleaning the kitchen.
“No,” I replied, re-tying the bag of stuff I grabbed from The Shop.
“Thanks for checking in on us Dad,” Noah adds, nodding in the general direction of where Ąžuolas stands. “We’ll let you know if we need anything.”
With a nod, my father-in-law leaves us be.
I check the bag one more time before I lie down to the bed. It’s close to the window. I sit up again when I spot my Dad and Aunc Asra down below. I couldn’t hear much, but they’re talking with Julian. Dad spares a look up my way; I wave, and he offers me a small smile in return.
When Asra places his hat on, it prompts Dad to pull his cloak over his shoulders. With a force field over their heads, keeping the rain off, the pair walk toward the Dark Forest. As they disappear from sight, the rain lightens considerably.
When I lie down again, my husband hugs me from behind.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep, hon,” I murmur, hugging a pillow to myself. “Just giving you forewarning.”
“It’ll be okay,” Noah soothes, rubbing a hand over my shoulder. “If anything, we can have some of Grandma Maz's Pep-Up Soup for breakfast.”
I laugh softly, turning back momentarily to kiss my husband. Returning to my original position, my eyes shift to the crib not too far away from the bed. Inside is our little girl, sleeping away.
“Lucky little thing,” I murmur.
“It’s not Kham’s fault she’s a baby,” Noah replies, chuckling softly. He drapes his arm over my side, hugging me closer. “Still . . . do you want a sleep potion?”
“If I have one now I won’t be able to wake up on time,” I remind him. “I’ll be okay . . . maybe your snores will get me to sleep.”
“I don’t snore.”
“Babe, you do.”
I don’t need to turn my head to know he’s playfully sticking his tongue out at me in reply. It helps me laugh a little. Before long, he’s settled down for the night . . . leaving me with the shadows of the room for company.
I swallow, willing myself to fall asleep. Please . . . I just want to sleep.
It’s been like this since . . . you know. It’s really fucking annoying. I close and open my eyes repeatedly. Counting chickens doesn’t help either.
The only upside is that I can feel that my husband is snuggled right behind me. I like his presence there. Noah’s not the biggest or strongest guy around, but he loves me for me. I’ve more than once kicked bullies’ asses for picking on him for being blind, but that’s a conversation for another time.
That being said, I’m really glad I’m not going alone to the funeral tomorrow. Aunc Asra said he’d be helping to keep an eye on my dad. Dad hasn’t been the same since. Honestly, who can blame him?
With that thought in my head, I close my eyes. I can feel my body drift to a sort of unconsciousness. My vision warps a bit before sleep engulfs me.
—I’ve been thinking about some multi/poly relationships within the fandom with the LIs and their apprentices.
I’ve been wondering how these dynamics would work with Lyra and her kids from the other parents!
First one of the bunch—
Asra/Lyra/Muriel:
How It Happens:
Honestly this is the one of the polyamorous relationships that has a high possibility of happening.
It comes about from when Lyra and Asra first become a couple, and eventually Muriel joins the relationship.
Muriel feels really awkward and feels like he’s intruding on his best friend’s relationship.
The feeling eventually goes away, because no matter what—and it took a while but it worked—Asra and Lyra involve him in everything.
When they do go out together, Muriel tends to be in the middle, all of them within arms reach.
Muriel made the rings for Asra and Lyra for their wedding, and eventually he was gifted a ring from them.
He teared up. They all did.
Muriel divides where he sleeps at the shop and in his hut.
Lyra’s uncle Bảo helped them get a custom bed in the shop so the three of them could fit on it.
Muriel was sure it was magic somehow, even if said uncle isn’t magically inclined.
The topic of kids coming up made Muriel wary to say the least.
Still, he was the one that made the cribs, giving each kid a custom headboard designed with their names surrounded in protection spells.
[More under the cut!]
⁂
The Kids Themselves
Hải and Noor are the older set of kids to happen first, a set of fraternal twins. Parents are Lyra and Asra.
They’re older than Iris (Muriel’s her father) by about four to five years.
Iris grows tall really, really fast.
She’s born as a really big baby: Lyra needed to get a C-section (both in-game/in the Modern AU)
Muriel felt awful and wasn’t in the room when it was happening, but once all the blood was mostly cleaned up, came back in and cried upon seeing this little tubby baby of theirs.
Asra was sniffling in the background and the twins are just in awe.
Also slightly terrified since they saw a part of the procedure before running out of the room.
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The Parents’ Relationship With The Kids:
Lyra:
w/ Hải
She is really worried about him in general.
He’s not the most social.
She’s the one that has to nudge him to go outdoors more often than not.
Painfully, socially awkward to the point he’d hide under the bed in order to not have to go out.
Her son didn’t really want to have friends.
It seemed the case until she found out about the bullying.
Modern AU: She went to the principal’s office about it but not much was done.
In-game: Pulled the parents aside to talk. Pretty much the same results.
Lyra was with him when he found his familiar: Scheherazade the Earless Monitor Lizard.
Scheherazade is a much older little lizard—Hải named her that because she had many a story to tell his curious little self.
She is usually the third person—it’s a toss-up between the Countess or his grandpa for first and second—to see his designs for prosthetics.
He’s working on models geared to be affordable to the general populace and with less expensive materials than the metals his grandparents work with.
Bounces ideas off of each other for his sketches of possible toys for kids.
He uses wood usually, and he makes steel tops for kids.
w/ Noor
The baby can do fire and water magic?? Oh dear.
Lucky for Lyra and her partners, Noor wasn’t too out of depth with her magical capabilities.
Noor took an instant shine to dancing when she saw Mom, Dad and Zaza doing so.
Noor compares marriage to having a life-long partner—or partners!—that would each take turns catching the other, be it in the highs or lows.
When she is old enough is able to handle herself on her own, Noor takes trips all over the place to learn dances from all the regions she can.
Lyra: “Please show us signs of life through letters.”
Noor: “I promise, I promise!”
Noor keeps her promise, and always returns within a handful of months from each departure.
Noor does have trouble with finding a place in Vesuvia.
She gets a bit mad about it, and Lyra pulls her over to Selasi’s in order to beat the shit out of some dough.
Most of the time the dough is too overworked to be given to paying customers, but she still eats it.
Has a little too much fun being a tester for any of the toys her twin creates, so Lyra usually follows along to make sure no one loses their eyebrows, again.
It is a looooooooong story.
w/ Iris
Oh she was so heavy as a baby.
Julian talked to Lyra about her options in terms of delivering, and they agreed upon the C-section procedure.
Iris was a whimsical child.
Learned to crawl, and then run before walking.
Often gave her mom heart attacks when she’d walk off into the Forest, forcing Lyra, Muriel and sometimes Asra—Inanna was always in tow, sniffing her out—to go and bring her back to the safety of the city.
Makes friends with a baby Pika who eventually became her familiar.
Lyra: “Honey, why is he named Flower?”
Iris: “He had a mouthful of them when I met him!”
Lyra: “Fair enough.”
Wanted to be as strong as her Papa.
Lyra often secured places for her to work out as a teenager.
Lyra even convinced Nadia to allow Iris to sometimes attend training sessions of the Palace Guard.
Was offered a position many times, but Iris preferred to help out in the shop.
Biggest sigh of relief for Lyra, to be honest.
Lyra is often greeted by this child in the way of being picked up and swung around.
She’s learned to become a noodle when Iris swings her around.
Is deeply amused by the fact she’s fallen in love with Noah, the blind son of Julian and @vesuvianoak‘s apprentice Ąžuolas.
More often than not is a silent observer of their interactions from afar.
Was the one to get Noah’s ring size from Ąžuolas and nudged Iris with it so she could get the ring bands.
Muriel:
w/ Hải
Their relationship doesn’t have a lot of spoken dialogue.
Hải can be having a really bad day so Muriel goes to where he’s sulking with a pair of whittling knives and blocks of wood.
They carve together in silence, with Hải holding up his work so Muriel can give pointers.
Muriel is the one that takes him and his siblings out into the woods to get ingredients their Zaza can cook for meals.
Helped Hải get over his fear of moving water.
He taught him to swim.
To be honest, it’s just a doggy paddle.
No one is willing to point it out though.
He was the first parent to learn that Hải was aro-ace.
Muriel reminds him that Lyra is ace as well. Being aromantic didn’t change the fact his entire family was going to support him no matter what.
They hug it out a while and Hải is really thankful for it.
Mun note: I deeply headcanon Muriel is biromantic ace.
Became good friends with Scheherazade when Hải came back from his trip with his mom and grandpa—Salim took him to see and learn from some other alchemists in Zadith.
Was worried Scheherazade was truly a very small dragon, but Hải assured him she wasn’t.
When Hải needs something heavy to be held down or picked up, he turns to Iris and Muriel for help assisting with the task.
Muriel enjoys watching Hải in his element. It’s the most peaceful state he’s seen his boy.
This includes on the annoyingly complicated commissions he works on with his grandparents.
w/ Noor
Was not at all surprised of the magical aptitude she has as a child.
Deems Noor the one with the flashiest tastes in fashion.
Being family friends with the Countess does not help things.
Seriously the kid’s like a beacon or an explosion of colors wherever she goes.
The Masquerade is a big one.
Noor tries to get her Dad to dance a little more.
Works as well as you think.
Is the shoulder and warm arms she cries on when things don’t go well with any of her romantic relationships.
Muriel: “...I could have Inanna scare them.”
Noor: *through her tears, she manages to laugh*.
Usually the first one to see her coming back on her little trips, be it with Asra or by herself.
Also makes sure she eats after her rigorous routines.
She forgets to a lot and he will keep poking her about it until she eats.
This goes for also making sure she doesn’t eat too much or too close before a performance too.
Makes her flower crowns, and was the one to teach her as a kid.
w/ Iris
Muriel was scared he was going to lose his daughter and his wife when Lyra was getting closer and closer to her due date.
It didn’t go nearly as planned with the twins, how could the pregnancy with his child end well?
Luckily, the C-section was a success and Lyra wasn’t in too much pain after the fact.
Iris always points out the scar on Lyra’s abdomen when she does get a glimpse of it.
Was not expecting Iris to want to be like him in two distinct ways: Very Tall and Very Strong.
She tops off in height at 6 feet tall as an adult and she is very strong.
Carried her over his shoulder on the way back home when she snuck off to The Forest.
Iris: “I wanna see the Peryton!”
Muriel: “No they’d chop you into pieces and have you for snacks.
Iris: “DAAAAAAAD! I’M A WHOLE MEAL.”
In the bg, Asra and Lyra are dying with laughter.
*Siiigh*
Unlike Noor, Iris’s style is more in the realm of the feminine: poofy skirts, princess-sorta ball gowns, etc.
Again with the Satrinavas, they spoil her time to time.
The tailors have a good time with Iris, since she has so many anecdotes to tell.
Muriel reassures her each time she puts on a special outfit that yes, she looks beautiful.
If anyone says she ain’t pretty enough because of her muscles, Noor and Hải would look for Auntie Nahara to prove them otherwise.
When Iris starts dating, Muriel asks her to keep a protection charm on her at all times.
It’s a little charm made of twigs, some flowers and a couple of smoothed stones from the river.
Then she up and goes dating one of Julian’s kids.
It’s a funny dynamic, really.
No one had a dry eye at her wedding though. N o o n e.
Muriel: “I’m proud of you. Congratulations, sweetie”
Iris: :D!!
Asra:
w/ Hải
Is not surprised by anything in terms of Hải’s interests nor secrets.
He’s the most chill of all the parents: most things don’t ruffle his feather in comparison to his spouses.
Scheherazade was a bit unexpected, but she’s good friends with the Stove Salamander.
Was very, very proud of the fact his child was able to discover what his magical abilities were, even if he started late compared to most magicians.
If said customers ask about his kids, Asra regales the story of the magnetized spoon to the kitchenette upstairs to every customer
Asra: ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧ “I’m so proud of him! He was really worried about it for a while but—”
Hải: (￣ ￣|||) “ZAZA YOU’VE TOLD THEM A HUNDRED TIMES. STOP, PLEASE!!!“
Gets him things made of various metals on his trips.
Upon the return trip Asra either sends them in piece by piece or they all arrive at his father’s shop at once in a number of sacks.
Hải: o(≧∇≦o) | o(*>ω<*)o | (ﾉ^∇^)ﾉﾟ|
Will help Hải paint any and all his projects, because while the kid is great at building and assembling things, his knack for painting is left to be desired.
Asra: “Are these colors okay?”
Hải: “Zaza, we’re trying to not blind people. Switch out the blue with...green?“
Asra: “Dark green, got it. I’ll make it match your Dad’s eyes.” (≧∇≦*)
Muriel: (>.<);;;
Asra always encourages Hải to do what he loves.
Gets into arguments with Noor about the toys time to time, the disagreements over the size, color and shapes.
w/ Noor
Asra’s the one she goes to for pointers on how to dance.
Noor: “Am I angled right?”
Asra: *makes the necessary adjustments.*
Noor: “Ohh, right. Thanks Za!”
Asra: o(*>ω<*)o
Was the parent that was happy to allow Noor to go on a trip by herself.
He went around in circles with his spouses for about a week until Muriel and Lyra relented.
Before she left though, Asra added in a punch of reminders of protection spells, just in case.
Every time a romantic endeavor went sour, Asra was the one to make her favorite comfort foods while the others huddled around her and hugged out the sads.
Faust was usually mysteriously gone until she returned, looking too pleased with herself.
Lyra: “Faust? Where have you been?”
Faust: Crimes!
The next day Noor would find out her ex(es) had a terrible incident happen to them.
Nothing major mind you, but they looked ridiculous for about three weeks or so.
Helped her to pick out her outfits for performances.
Lyra and Muriel helped to subdue the technicolor ‘monstrosities’ if they deemed it too much.
Noor’s loudest cheerleader in audiences.
One time he got ejected from the area for being as such.
Muriel and Lyra get a kick out of pointing it out, much to his chagrin.
Asra: “I love seeing you perform and having so much fun!!! I’m sorry...” ( ͒˃̩̩⌂˂̩̩ ͒)
Noor: “It’s okay, Za.”
w/ Iris
He asked the cards what sort of a child she was going to be.
He did not expect a jumble each time he asked.
Asra: “Even the cards couldn’t predict you, sweetie.”
Iris: “Good!!”
Is the victim of all the ‘short’ jokes from the kids to the parents, despite the fact Lyra is only two inches shorter than him.
Iris has used him as a weight when she was pulling carts around, or helping some of the neighbors with fixing up their homes.
Goes to her if he can’t open jar or two, or seven.
Iris: “Papa’s not around?”
Asra: “In the woods with your mom and siblings.”
Iris: *pops them open with ease*
Asra: “Thank you, sweetie!”
Iris: “You’re welcome.”
Oftentimes finds Faust curled up around Iris’s shoulders, because she runs the warmest in the house, second to Muriel.
Will join them, and subsequently, so will the rest of the family.
Will help her do makeup on the occasions she wants to look extra pretty.
Asra: “Glitter or smokey eyes?”
Iris: “Both!”
Asra: “Alrighty, let’s see...”
With any of the seemingly random color combinations she imagines, it turns out better than expected!
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Miscellaneous Details:
Levels of confidence from most to least from childhood to adulthood: Noor, Iris, Hải.
Hải gets better with his self-confidence years down the line. It’s a long process, but he will get there.
As teenagers Iris offered free piggyback rides to her friends and siblings—the twins of course always called first dibs.
Being aro/ace, Hải never looked for any partners in the romantic or sexual sense.
[Modern AU]: His sisters defend him to the point of were Noor almost threw hands with a belligerent, willingly ignorant S.O.B.
Iris was happy enough to let her sis whup the asshole’s ass but Hải had to pull her back.
Also if Iris gets physically combative with anyone it would end up with a hospital visit for the other dude.
Hải is the Best Man at both of his sisters’ weddings.
Everyone cries, because goddamn it we love it all.
