The Arcana Headcanons | SFW & platonic | Mostly Courtiers

Main6 with MC who has abusive parents (comfort hcs)

TW: emotional abuse, mentioned/implied physical abuse

Seriously consider trigger warnings. They aren't just tags. Proceed only if you know it's safe for you.

If you experience abuse, please call the crisis hotline of your country or any equivalent of it that you have access to.

For headcanons sake, we'll asume MC's parents didn't die from plague.

Asra💜
• i mean. he is your family now. that's it
• "blood is thicker than water"?? the two of you literally share the same heart. your parents gave you life, but so did he
• even without that, you share an emotional and spiritual bond
• he surely notices how energy-draining communication with your parents is to you
• suggests you limit interactions with them, but understands if you choose to stay in touch. it will make him sad though.
• will give you protection spell jars and crystals (amethyst, tiger eye or black tourmaline would do) when you're leaving to meet your family
• if you come back home exhausted, irritated, confused and just hurt, and burst into tears, whispering about how you hate your parents but still love them, but they are toxic, but they didn't choose to be like this, but...
• he simply won't let you keep these people in your life
• at some point considers leaving the city with you, but running away all the time won't help
• so you stay. and learn to live with it. though the very fact that you were hurt makes him so, so angry
• but there's nothing he can do. it's in the past now. you aren't your parents scared kid anymore. they have no power over you
• each time you see them out in the city, he protectively pulls you closer and looks at them with anger and contempt.
-----

Nadia💚
• when she first met your parents, they seemed very nice, supportive and loving. so at first she doesn't understand why you don't like them
• one evening you're sitting at the veranda and drinking tea with her, she's telling you about her renewed relationships with her siblings. it seems she's glad to have them in her life
• "it's so wholesome. i'm happy for you." but she notices that you look upset. and she asks why
• "i never had such relationships with my family. we... we aren't home for each other. i've never felt safe with them."
• and as you talk, and talk, and talk, she begins to understand why you ask if she's mad at you whenever she sighs, why you apologize so much, why you are so afraid to say what you really think
• she genuinely feels sorry that you had to experience abuse at such an early age
• she herself has faced toxic people in her life, she knows the struggle
• also suggests you limit the time you spend with your family, but understands that it's socially unacceptable to leave them completely
• lets you know that not everyone is going to gaslight and guilt trip you. "i am not mad at you, mc. if i ever am, i will communicate it clearly."
• will absolutely respect your boundaries as you're learning to set them
• and really her respect for herself and others is contagious. you slowly start feeling this intrinsic self-worth and it's so freeing and just awesome.
-----

Julian❤️
• you're venting to each other one night, sitting at the roof, trying not to fall off and look up at the starry sky at the same time
• you talk without thinking, and somehow the words slip from your lips: "my family, i wish they were dead"
• he's startled at first. but he isn't afraid of you. he's worried about you. that you might have given in to corruptive hatred and let it take over you
• you're just as worried. "i- im so sorry. i won't do my family any harm. of course. i just want them far away. i.. i don't want them to be able to touch me ever again!!!"
• "it's unfair", he thinks, slowly putting a hand on your forearm. "why do some have healthy families, and others..? why are things like that happening?"
• as you continue to whisper through tears, short unfinished sentences about how you hate your relatives, he stays silent. each word he can think of seems inappropriate, lame, offensive, so he just holds your hand and (intentionally or not) feels your pain with you
• he's here. you aren't screaming into void. your voice is heard even if you feel unbearably numb. he's just here
• after a while, you make a sharp inhale and exhale much slower. no tears left to cry, and you feel a bit better. just a bit
• that is when he speaks to you. "i.. i know it hurts. mc, you never deserved it. you have the full right to hate them. but.. violence is only going to create more violence"
• you nod weakly. "im not like them. not like my family. i.. i am angry. but im not going to follow in their steps and hurt more people. this ends with me."
• in his eyes admiration and pride are mixed with the echo of your pain
• "really, thank you, mc. for staying kind even though people close to you weren't. you are... so strong. went through hell and stayed human."
• he smiles at nothing in particular, you stare in front of you, both of you are silent for a couple minutes
• "this shouldn't have happened."
• "it never should have."
-----

Muriel🧡
• he knows
• what's it like to be abused, to have someone break you, to have someone convince you that you deserved it, etch that shame into the ripped core of your being
• you can come to his hut anytime you need to escape, because it's about your safety, and because you are a friend
• will never say or do anything that might trigger you
• still, if you get triggered, he understands. at first he might not know how to approach you, so he will hesistantly stand/sit near you and tell you, "it's okay. it's over. you are safe."
• "you aren't there again, it's not happening again." he talks from experience. it's comforting to know that you're not the only person in the whole world who feels these things
• and he always holds space for you and doesn't intrude or judge or demand explanation
• it feels so bizzare. you have privacy. you don't have to report how you spend your time. you can keep secrets. he doesn't make you feel like you owe him anything
• and you slowly come to realization that it's normal. it's how it's supposed to be. that personal space isn't a weird idea in a spoiled kid's head. it's a basic human right that both of you are reclaiming
• if you choose to talk about your abusive family, he will listen, remembering his abusers, then conclude,
• "they are all weak. unworthy. of your time and of you."
• you two are stronger than you think.
-----

Portia💙
• you tried not to bring up the topic of family, supposing it would be painful for both of you
• but she notices how differently you act around your parents. how quiet you become, agreeing with them all the time, anything to keep yourself safe
• she simply has to ask you what is wrong
• "um- nothing? my parents are.. difficult sometimes, but they really love me, everything is okay..."
• that look in her eyes. she knows how to make people stop pretending. you give up.
• and tell her about how your parents criticize you, how you are never enough, how you have to die trying to earn their love and...
• "it's.. it's terrible! why haven't you told me before? i mean, some parents are strict, but what you're talking about definetly isn't healthy!"
• all you can mutter is "but you have it much worse, i shouldn't complain..."
•she doesn't even want to hear that nonsense. she hugs you angrily. "it's not a damn competition, mc!!"
• tells you that even though she's lost her parents, and it hurt, she's still got family. and you are now a part of it. she adopts you no matter your age (figuratively ofc)
• it turns into a joke and the heavy self-loathing vibes get lighter
• from now on, she absolutely will twist your ear if she hears another "people have it worse"
• and yes she lifts, your self-esteem and confidence
• one day, you are no longer afraid to disagree with your parents, say what you really think, make awful decisions and just live.
-----

Lucio💛
• when you try to vent to him, he instantly starts talking about his own mother, how unbearable life with her was
• concluding with a "well, parents are just like this" and a shrug
• "this isn't okay lucio", you whisper, feeling tears well up in your eyes. "my parents never made me sleep on bare snow but they made me feel unworthy and used. they made me hate myself. i can't look in mirrors anymore"
• he offers to set a huge mirror in your room so that you can practice
• but jokes don't work. he sees you breaking up and it hurts him just as much, but how can he help? pushing emotions aside is the only way he knows
• "please just listen?.. i... just need to... to talk?"
• he hugs you and when you shiver from the touch, it breaks his heart a little
• he might not listen attentively. his focus drifts away. but he tries his best and does not interrupt
• his mother treated him worse than your parents treat you, he thinks. but you seem way more affected. you seem way more broken and hurt
• finally, you lift your head. "sorry, your clothes- the furs are wet now because of my tears"
• "it's okay, you can cry on any of my clothes if you wish!" he chuckles and looks at you more seriously now. "but i'd prefer not to see you crying. i don't want you to be sad."
• for a few weeks, he is extra caring towards you, taking you to shows and gifting you expensive custom-made things.. but it won't help
• neither of you know how to fix it, so you decide to look for a healthcare professional to help you with your issues
• you go to therapy together now
• lucio still instals a huge mirror in your room bc you are gorgeous and why not. one day, you notice yourself looking in it without repulsion.

***
thank you for reading. i hope you are safe and well🌼