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Asra
His heart is torn in two, but Asra refuses to show it.
He understands that people mean well, but one of his pet peeves is the sympathy that people show when they hear about his upbringing. Sure, it wasn’t a lifestyle by choice, but he made the best of it. He doesn’t appreciate people treating his experience like blemishes on his public record.
“I had a different life, but my life was no lesser than anyone else’s.”
Asra hopes you do the same. They want you to understand that nothing and no one defines you in life except yourself. You make you. Their emotional detachment isn’t a lack of sympathy, rather it’s to provide you a space to grow without the shadow of the docks. Nonetheless, when you need to talk about it, they’ll listen. The magician has really mastered the balance of healing from trauma without feeding into it.
Besides Asra, you also have two loving parents, as well as a gaggle of snakes to call family now. I don’t know if Salim and Aisha could ever fully stop feeling like they failed Asra. In some ways, helping you is a surrogate for helping the child they left behind.
Julian
Julian knows what it’s like to grow up without a house or a home. However, he was blessed enough to have a village of grandmothers rescue him from the mire. Yes, he wants to be that for you, because truly, he doesn’t know where he would be without them.
Nonetheless, Julian also knows that there is power in the blood (hence the leech obsession…). No matter how many good people have come into his life, no matter how many good things they’ve done for him… Julian always senses a tinge of loneliness.
“Everyone means the world to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my parents.”
With that said, he never expects to replace the family that you should have had, nor does he confuse your mourning as a lack of appreciation for him.
Meanwhile, Mazelinka has made it her personal mission to chase away the sadness with a sailor’s tongue, wooden spoon, and a pot of something good. Sure, she’s tough, but not tough enough to erase the image of that red-head boy holding his sister next to the wreckage every time she looks at you.
Nadia
Nadia takes personal responsibility for anyone in her care, but it’s more than an obligation to care for you. It’s a privilege.
I’m sure many have warned her about taking in “someone like you.” They questioned your intentions, swearing up and down that you’ll use her, but Nadia cannot forget the little face staring starry-eyed beneath the docks when her carriage passed through.
“It’s shameful that you admired me when I allowed you to live like that beneath my ruling.”
Within reason, anything you need or want is yours - that goes for her, as well as her family. You have a host of people at your disposal, and none of them question your place among them. They love you intuitively, and they trust that you love them just the same. You are their equal.
Muriel
Like Asra, Muriel doesn’t show much emotion towards your living situation. While the past hurts, you can still heal. He doesn’t want to linger on the trauma so much that it becomes a crutch.
“You can’t move forward unless you turn away from it.”
But, trust me, he understands your pain, your hunger, your fatigue, and your loneliness. He wants you to succeed, but success doesn’t always justify the journey you’ve had to traverse.
He wants to alleviate some of the burden for you, so that you don’t get desperate and people don’t take advantage. He’s certainly honored to support you until you can support yourself. Even then, I don’t think Muriel could ever really let go of your company. You’d always be welcome in his home, and that’s a pretty rare feat.
Portia
Come here. Get under her arm. Time to tuck you in.
Empty bellies are outlawed in the Devorak cottage. Nighttime is meant for soft pillows and sweet dreams, while mornings hold no better promise than fresh pastries.
If Portia could open her home to the whole port of Vesuvia, she would.
“But one will have to do, and you’re a very special one!”
She fully believes that this is only a minor setback in your lifelong journey, and she makes sure that you know it. Portia knows she doesn’t have much, but she’s really willing to give all she has. She’ll get you a job at the palace if you want, or she’ll help fund whatever future you desire to chase. In a way, she sees herself in you. She remembers first arriving in Vesuvia with nothing to her name, desperate to piece her past together and build a future.
Lucio
Ah, feeling the heat now, aren’t we, Lucio?
The guilt trip is strong. Looking at you is like looking into the flames of hell. He knows that Vesuvia would be in a much better state if he didn’t act like a fool during his reign. That little worm in his brain floods him with “what if’s”. Would your life have been different if it wasn’t for him?
“Well, it could certainly be different if you did something now.”
He doesn’t remember which one of his reluctant companions offered the snippy quip, but they weren’t wrong. Late is better than never.
Lucio does his best. He’s fantastic at providing material goods, but the emotional support takes a while to come through. The guilt trip doesn’t help. He doesn’t want to seem like he’s trying to win your favor, but he knows deep down that he is.
“Perhaps if I do right by them, I’ll be forgiven after all…”