After a long while of deciding whether or not Iâd finish this (esp after the grimoire template showed up and I couldâve drawn things for that) I went ahead and just colored these anyways.
Hereâs the first lil profiles I made of my apprentice kids. Theyâre twins! Except only one is the Apprentice and the other is still in the city somewhere else, worried for what Exactly their sibling has gotten into...
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Spoilers for the new Arcana chapter+Asraâs route
because my apprentice has a twin and Iâm Emotional over the fact they donât remember anything of their past since waking up, and that maybe their twin couldnât see them for fear that trying to remember would hurt them
(link to titleâs song reference bc Pain)
Asra watches the confusion, the denial twist on Apolloâs face, his voice breathless and distressed, âArtemis canât... canât remember anything? What do you mean?âÂ
âIâve tried to let them remember only some things, Apollo, even the smallest things, but it ends the same.â Asra explains on, resigned and worried. His tears have since stopped, only a tired sting in his eyes left. âIf I even try to bring back their memories once more... I donât know that theyâll survive it again.âÂ
â...And so everything theyâve known...? Our mother, the shop, you, me...â Apollo is bright-eyed, tears forming at the edges of his eyes, as his shoulders slump at the realization. He leans on a wall of the shop, this shop that the twins had all but grown up in.Â
âGone.â Asra swallows hard, his own memories with Artemis now only his own and it hurts, âI will find a way to fix this, but until then, we cannot risk them.âÂ
It hurts. To know they wonât remember, for a long time if ever. It hurts to see the light gone from their eyes when they do. It hurts to have to be a stranger.Â
Apolloâs sighs with a shudder, shutting his eyes tight and turning his head down. Tears fall, his shoulders shake, his hand comes up to cover his sobs. Sorrow radiates from him, his empathy magic never fully wrangled in. Asraâs known Apollo just as long as Art, even if heâs not as close to him as the older twin. While the Spyra twins are not identical, they look too much alike as it is.Â
It all compiles to break Asraâs heart that much more, what little pieces of it remain.Â
Apollo wipes at his face and looks back up, âH-how... How does Art live then? They stay who they are and not... just nothing, but if they donât remember their life before that, how--âÂ
âI think I can be there to help them along, slowly. Help them run the shop, remember how to control their magic, maybe it can bring them back. If I keep some... distance, they shouldnât be in danger. But if they see you and try to remember you and your mother, Apollo...â
â...It could be too much.â Apollo finishes, and his still watery gaze falls to the floor.Â
A long moment of silence passes before Asra breaks it, just a whisper into the air of the dim shop, âIâm sorry.âÂ
Apollo gives a humorless laugh, a sad smile, âSo am I. You mean a lot to them too, yâknow.âÂ
Apollo takes a deep, shaky breath, stands from the wall and hugs Asra tightly, âTake care of them. You and Faust both, keep them from doing too many dumb knife tricks or making dumb, deadly potions, just... Help them, As.âÂ
Asra hugs Apollo back, ignoring the faint wetness of more tears on his shoulder, âI will, Apollo.âÂ
When they let go long moments after, Apollo sighs again, pats his face to try and reign himself in. He begins roaming the shop --once their motherâs, now Artemisâs-- and starts picking up items here and there. Asra recognizes them each as childhood trinkets, journals and more. Things with memories that Apollo fears will be too much.
Asra watches him, and listens to him hum a lonesome lullaby, sobs interrupting the melody frequently as he shakes. The last thing Apollo takes is the telescope, hidden in the corner of the kitchen. Their motherâs most precious item as she taught her twins about the stories in the stars-- the constellations and gods of their old country hidden in the night sky.Â
[rambles Arcana kids bc this is all I have until D&D for real next week]
The twins might have something like a Greek accent, maybe... Maybe something else, I dunno. Either way, they do also know another language, their motherâs native one. Apollo however is good at mimicking other accents, even if itâs a little goofy sometimes.
Theyâre twins, but by no means identical: aside from their obvious eye color and hair style difference, Apollo is slightly taller and more willowy, and Artemis shorter but stronger-built where they do more physical work than their younger twin. If they tried to and/or someone didnât know them at all, they could fool people into thinking theyâre the same person, but itâs Easy to know the difference between them... physically, and emotionally too since theyâre quite different in personality.Â
Their birthdate on our real calendar is November 11th. Their birthday is Soon, aw.
Iâve already talked abt their piercings and tats, to a degree. What I donât think I mentioned already was that they probably have matching tats, with a sun/moon theme (Apollo and Artemis still symbolize sun and moon, you canât take that from me) ...This makes me sad though because if... the Apprentice doesnât remember their past... the Apprentice twin doesnât remember what it means... or gets a headache thinking abt it too long... IâM SAD, ABORT ABORT,
Artemis wears cooler colors, blues and purples and teals, and then light or dark neutrals depending on what theyâre doing: Apprentice!Art wears off-white flowy pants, where hunter!Art sticks to more neutral ones and tighter-worn fabrics for the Stealthâ˘Â
Apollo wears warm colors, akin to sunsets and sunrises-- pinks and peach and orange and light blues and yellows, and some brighter reds too. Apprentice!Apollo has some dull brown and beige thrown in, colors of practicality. Bard!Apollo is more dramatically dressed near-always, with light and bright colors and even more flowy fabrics.Â
While theyâre both okay w/makeup, Apollo is better at it and often would help Artemis w/putting it on for Special Occasions. Apollo just has more experience w/it.
...I would not be surprised if both of them knew Lucio during his mercenary days, to varying degrees. Art was rather freelance in what--or who-- they hunted, so they couldâve helped or even been a rival of Lucioâs, for at least a brief part of their life. And Apollo... yeah, okay, lemme be real, he couldâve flirted with him while at a tavern. At... At least flirted... COUGHS ANYWAYS.
Both of them love puns, but Art acts exasperated and Apollo just smiles with glee. But if you do tell a joke to get Art out of their shell and they laugh, itâs So Good. Like, an angel gets its wings from it. This isnât to downplay Apollo either, but his voice is just always lovely and itâs easier to get him to laugh.Â
In a modern AU, Artemis is definitely a hiking/survivalist expert, like yâknow, those classes weekend warriors go on? Yeah, theyâre the teacher in those. Apollo remains a musician on streets and in little hole-in-the-wall cafes and bars... and works at other cafes and coffee shops during the day when tips donât pay enough.Â
I also remember someone started talking abt a school teacher AU w/the Arcana cast, and said the MC might either be a librarian or arts teacher, and it cracked me up bc that would be Art and then Apollo respectively (Art a librarian because they like peace and quiet and books, but if not that then mb the P.E. teacher. and Apollo maybe more the music teacher, but just art works too.)Â
catch me still thinking abt Julianâs route and how Apolloâs empathy magic more or less started syncing up with Julian, which in tandem to the paid options... Hoo. Hooooo. /cuts bc Specific spoilers donât look @ me like that
The garden scene where the MCâs like âDoes he like the pain?â Nope, Apollo would have noticed before even the garden something was different --a single spark, a flare-- but what it was was hidden by the adrenaline of running from guards, up until Julianâs âOne might say I have... intimate knowledge of [pain]â line. And then Apollo realized. And then pressed physically and felt as keenly as Julian. I could almost go back to smut writing for a variation of that scene where the guards didnât circle back and scare them off. ...I probably shouldnât though. Probably. P-prob--
Then later, in the room at Mazelinkaâs house, there was still feelings of want there. Apollo wasnât about to be hot and heavy in an unfamiliar house... but Julian is rather plain to read even without inherent magic intuition, and Apollo had to test, to touch, emotions driving him, his feelings and Julianâs both. And it was all too good to push Julian around... before being reminded hey donât be hot and heavy here in an unfamiliar house. Bless Mazelinka for dealing with their bullshit. Sheâs the real MVP.Â
And the end of the chapter, sleeping w/Jules --actually sleeping, not with Other Intentions-- was a lot emotionally still. There wasnât a strong desire like before since it was time to rest, no question abt it, but Julianâs rambling words (âI'd love to make something real with you. If we had more time...â) and a bittersweet feeling struck through Apollo from it. He wasnât sure if it was his own response to seeing Julian make such an expression or from Julian himself, but it didnât matter, it led to the same response of-- of affection, to be gentle, that, oh, by the stars, youâve gotten too close already, Apollo.Â
But Jules being so like... 0 to 100? So easily infatuated is great and terrible both for Apollo because of how heâs influenced by emotions, especially synchronized to those he stays around long enough. Theyâre gonna be so in love, but how the story continues will tell me at what price, Iâd think... hoo boy.
Uhhh, was gonna make up whole art works for them and all, but Iâm feeling more inclined to just writing, so?? take info abt my twin apprentices Artemis & Apollo (alongside me yet again linking their concept arts pfhfth)
ArtemisÂ
The somber hunter turned apprentice, who has sleeping problems.
Pronouns: they/them
Height: 5â˛4âł
Zodiac sign: Scorpio (older of the two, by all of 4 minutes)
Favorite food:Â Moussaka
Favorite drink:Â Orange spice tea
Favorite flower:Â Lunaria
Magic proficiencies:Â Claircognizance (recognizes things just before they happen, gets bouts of deja vu often from this, and near-always knows when someoneâs in the area w/them), aura manipulation (slightly, mostly used for healing or concealment of self?), potion-making
Love Interest:Â AsraÂ
Songs I relate to them: The Woods by Daughter, Midnight Moon by Oh Wonder, Dear Fellow Traveler by Sea Wolf (to Asra) Â
ApolloÂ
The talkative apprentice who was once a bard.
Pronouns: he/him or they/them
Height: 5â˛7âł
Zodiac sign: Scorpio (younger of the two)
Favorite food: Baklava  Â
Favorite drink:Â LemonadeÂ
Favorite flower:Â Phlox
Magic proficiencies:Â Empathy (to a moderate degree; heâs still trying to control it, canât handle negative emotions en masse, but gets a rush from positive ones), verbal invocations/incantations (in poems & songs), rune-weaving (mends clothes with thread in runic designs to embed enchantments... or try, anyways) does sleight of hand countÂ
Love interest:Â JulianÂ
Songs I relate to him: At Least Iâm Not as Sad as I Used to Be by Fun., Overture by Patrick Wolf, Câmon by Panic! at the Disco & Fun. (to Julian)
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Me: I should wait for the update to see what we learn abt the Apprentice before making anymore headcanons around my twins
Also me: okay, but--
Artemis and Apollo's mother Maia Spyra came from a far off land of astronomers and mathematicians who worshiped the stars including, of course, the sun and moon.Â
There was something that happened-- skirmishes between common folk and nobility maybe, or nobility against each other-- but either way Maia decided she would not see her children (who possibly were conceived out of wedlock, which might have also been a problem) grow up in the strife, so to Vesuvia she went, with but some money stolen from family and enemy alike, clothes on her back, and as much as she could carry to take care of her tiny twins in the trip to the city-state. She found work with an old widower in his herbal shop, a kind of grumpy man with little family of his own left, but had a secretly soft heart as Maia worked so hard to make the shop better. He died peacefully after some years, when the twins were about 10, and the shop was left with Maia.
Apollo and Artemis were named as such because those names might (still) be the names of the Sun and Moon as celestial beings respectively, or at least... Vesuvian translations/variations? Of the names for the sun and moon. If itâs a different language they speak there (and probably is), there is a definite accent Maia had that has passed to her two kids, though Artemis and Apollo both are much more fluent in Vesuvian, as theyâve lived most all their lives there.
The twins themselves aren't as receptive/religious? As their mother was abt all this, but they'll still curse "by the stars!" or similar in place of "oh my god(s)". They still observe some of the major holidays, to a degree, but donât like... go to any form of church/mass? If there is one in the religion and one such place in Vesuvia... there probably is a small community of folks who also are from that far-off country and ran to now live in Vesuvia, within which Art and Apollo have friends and/or folks who remember them as cheery and stubborn children and saw them grow up... Mourned the loss of their mother, sent condolences and sorrows.Â
The twins also have a telescope, a delicate and well-made thing Maia either brought with her, or saved up and bought once they got there, for the three of them to stargaze. It's... been some time since either twin has used the telescope because it brings on nostalgia and sadness, reminding them of their mother. It sits in a corner of their room in the shop (whichever becomes Asraâs apprentice)Â
Aside from the community of refugees and runners worshiping the stars, both twins found their own places in the world, before taking the store on their motherâs contraction of the Red Plague.Â
Apollo loved to see street performers, and also snuck into fine bars even when he was too young to be among the crowds of the drunk, to see well-known musicians and dancers. He so badly wanted to be a source of joy to the masses. He took to playing flute, and then lute, and looked to play more string instruments, practiced enough he thought he was good. But... when he was young, he was also very sensitive and naive, and when he first tried to perform publicly, he found they werenât... very kind. Not that he was heckled by a crowd, some liked him fine, but other performers were found this young and starry-eyed newbie a novelty.Â
Took some tears, time, and rough lessons from a little worse sides of town, but Apollo gradually fit in. Learned many groups of musicians were also thieves and liars, using charm as distraction to cut purses and the like. Apollo ended up picking up these skills of his own to make his own way when he was older. Heâs become exceptionally good at smiling and charming and not telling what he actually thinks of anything despite how much he talks, unless he wants to tell you. A lethal combination to his natural inclination to empathy.Â
If Apolloâs the one to take the shop, he misses the life, but gave most of it up to maintain his motherâs shop and its (and consequently, her) reputation. He does good to promote the shop sometimes though with his music and singing and poetry.Â
Artemis never quite fit in with the city, the hustle and bustle overwhelming, even on good days. Instead, they found peace among books, learning of nature and plants and far off nature. When old enough, they wandered away through the city and found more comfort and peace in the outskirts, with farmers and forests and many of the things they read about. There were hunters, hunters of wild game and providers for the city beyond the farms, and Art took to all of this. To survival, to hunting, to battle. They took up bow and arrow and knife throwing and took work as a farmhand and learned more about herbology than their mother had already taught them, and then found a group to hunt with.Â
It was a rough life, for a long while, and it wasnât always a beast they hunted-- Artemis was a mercenary with a dangerously accurate intuition. They spoke little about this, even to their mother and brother, but gained enough of a reputation to those who noticed such things. Should they take the shop, itâs not an unwelcome change per se, it can be quiet enough most days and brewing potions and similar with their learned skills is fine, but the hum of the city is still... disorienting at times. But peaceful enough considering what mercenary ghosts could follow them.Â
Extra details abt my apprentices bc I canât sum up actual writings and I donât rly wanna draw
Apollo has simple earlobe piercings in both his ears, a labret lip piercing (er, yâknow, the center of his bottom lip) and Iâm thinking he has a tongue piercing. ...Iâve considered he has a septum, but idk. He fiddles w/the lip ring when nervous, even though he perhaps shouldnât. Not even touch it, he like sucks at it, an variation of biting his lip.
And Apollo has a tattoo of some kind on the right of his neck and sorta down his shoulder blade, maybe some others on his sides. I donât have specific ideas, but golden inks and spirals are the general idea. Maybe flowers. Maybe flowers after talking to Artemis and they recommended flowers, pulled out their pressed flora journal and gave examples.
Artemis might also have earlobe piercings, but rather than the loops like Apollo wears, Art has like studs and a nostril piercing ring. Theyâre less fidgety than their brother and donât often mess w/their piercings, except maybe to make sure theyâre still in. Theyâll touch their left earring if really bothered, or deep enough in thought at times.
Art has some of their own tattoos, forearm and up their elbows to bicep, or at least bicep on the left...? And one on their thigh maybe. Up their hip a bit. Definitely flowers and feathers, even if itâs stylistically simpler.Â
thinking abt Julian and Asra respectively discovering these tats is fun. same with say Apolloâs tongue piercing.
me: Iâve been getting into new fandoms, I should really try doing some fanart
me: [draws my MCs for The Arcana] uhhhh, close enough???Â
Iâve made two because Artemis on the right was/is my first playthrough, Apollo is the second and covers most of the choices Art doesnât make (including having a different romantic interest, heh) and theyâve formed different personalities in tandem w/that
Dunno if Iâll make it Canon⢠that theyâre twins no matter which is (or if both are?) Asraâs apprentice, but... Iâll try later at making Proper chara sheets and explain more abt âem?? maybe???
