#Vesuvia the arcana

[macabremayhem]

Ahem. How can I start the conversation? OK, I'll try. How do you do, fellow humans?

Tonight I would like to talk about the setting of the Arcana game. Or, more specifically, its atmosphere, about background illustrations that people usually don't notice and/or don't usually talk about.

I love the Arcana background CGs so much. To be honest, those CGs are what got me into the game.

A little story: 4 or 5 years ago I saw an advertisement of the Arcana for the first time. And when I saw those ads on Instagram, it was so horrible and tasteless, imho. These cringe ads rather repelled me instead of attracting me. I saw it and forgot about it, but then…

Some time later, I started looking for background references for my text-based roleplay and found some beautiful illustrations. I didn't use these illustrations for my text roleplay. Besides, I soon forgot about my roleplay. :D and, in Google, I looked at the descriptions under the illustrations I found: "the Arcana game". I was intrigued. Then I downloaded the game. A few moments later I remembered those stupid ads, but I decided to take a chance.

And then, after the Prologue, I was absolutely fascinated. It had nothing in common with those commercials. The game itself was more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. And here I am :D and here we are.

Back to the background graphics. I am personally humbled and grateful to the original artists for these backgrounds. We love the characters – there's no doubt about that. But this setting and atmosphere wouldn’t be what it is without these illustrations.

I usually refer to photos that I think have "the same vibe" or "this place fits the world of Arcana" when I want to expand the world of the game on my own. Like headcanons, fanfiction, et cetera, you know.

Next I would like to show my selection of such photos. All photos from Instagram, not the Pinterest, as this is the most convenient method of attribution.

And all of these images, you know, I am NOT using for any commercial purposes. Crediting is in the order of the images.

⏬

Okay, let's go. It's not that I'm HCing any specific locations. I can only give a very rough idea of the "location area". You'll see the notes, I hope. Credits and links below. Credits are clickable.

graciousopulence (the main source)

1. clivenichols

2. nationaltrust*

3. bonvoyagecleo

4. gamma_f

5. rcmccloskey

6. designboom*

7. amarosanchezdemoya

8. curly.beard

There are some images that conjure up more specific associations for me.

© devonchurchland*

To be honest, this photo became the indirect reason for this post.

I saw this today and the theme song from the game immediately started playing in my head (can you guess which one?). At the same time, I remembered some of the scenes that take place in our storyline. A lot of the action takes place in the Temple District. Just because… why not? especially when you and your co-author are historians obsessed with religion, lol.

I imagined this picture very vividly:

One of the churches in the Temple District. Silence. Julian sitting in an empty church, deep in thought. Watching how the strip of light from the stained glass window slowly creeping across the floor and the benches, then how the flames of the candles flickering.

He reflects and looks away, shyly, from the instruments of passions and the images of martyrs.

No, he is not religious at all. Just... impressionable. He is only impressionable in that he probably thinks most of the time that he has not yet been struck by lightning because of his impure intentions. Poor boy… 🫀

Ahem. Sorry. I think I got carried away. :D Just look at this last item.

© dumbartonoaks*

Leave your comments and share your thoughts, requests, etc. Ask is open.

[soullessseraphim]

hhhh

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

The Arcana Mini-HCs: M6's curse word alternatives

~ written for the @vesuviaweekly prompt "Creative Curses" ~

Julian: generally prefers to just switch to a different language and let out his big feelings that way. however, for his younger patients, he will use silly phrases if he thinks it'll make them laugh. (e.g. "well gast my flabbers, I think you just chickened the pluck out of me!")

Asra: likes to come up with the cringiest alternatives and use them relentlessly, purely for the joy of watching their conversation partner eventually snap and practically beg him to just say "fuck" already. (e.g. "what the frick/you duckhead/I don't give a fork" etc)

Nadia: she keeps her feelings under tight wraps and has only been known to use a calm, well placed "damn" to put a point across. that said, when she's relaxed, she might accidentally use phrases from her childhood (e.g. "shut the front door/I don't give a rodent's rectum")

Muriel: generally not the type to express himself verbally in any capacity, you only hear the occasional muttered "damn it" if he accidentally messes up a carving. if you ask him to repeat himself, though, he'll claim he said "can it". to the chickens. his carving is fine.

Portia: loves to make full creative use of her curse vocabulary and would never go for a substitute unless absolutely necessary. will end up resorting to pirate-y lingo or threats if she's around children. (e.g. "ooh, that scallywag!/Sweetcheeks? I'll sweeten your cheeks" etc)

Lucio: uses both curse words and alternatives frequently, because he can't be bothered to distinguish between the two and it's satisfying either way. often uses phrases he heard Morga say as a child. (e.g. "go skin a live bear/burn it!/you foul midden heap" etc)

[luciosfanpage]

[bill-y]

Is the arcana fandom still alive? I'm practically quaking in my boots wanting to publish a story about my half baked oc 😔☝️

[greyspirehollow]

Vesuvia weekly ; First kiss with the courtiers 🎉

Pairing : The courtiers x reader

Fandom : The Arcana visual novel

Warnings : none. Just fluff.

Valdemar:

You're the one who initiated the idea of a kiss. You had noticed how affectionate gestures didn't come out naturally or often on their part (at least not in the conventional way) ; and so you wanted to try and gently suggest it.

Confused at first ; They had forgotten what a kiss felt like, or how to do it properly.

They will need to practice by just kissing your cheek from time to time, just to get used to the way they need to purse their lips and the feeling of something against them.

A week or two later, they will gently grab you by the arm and drag you somewhere quiet ; they will slightly push you against the wall, their eyes never leaving yours as they paused, and eventually, they lean in carefully to meet your lips with their own

it's pretty calculated and thought out to begin with, almost mechanical. You didn't blame them ; it must have been a while. As they part away, you gently whisper : "try not to think about it. Go with the feeling..."

And you both go in for another one. This time, they manage to make their lips dance with yours softly for a while, before parting away. You could swear their cheeks had tinted in a warmer hue than usual.

Vulgora:

uhm... Force.

Prepare to have your breath taken away.

They are the one who brought up the idea. Ever since you've been together, you've had your fair share of energetic and violent displays of affection. Whether it was carrying you around while chuckling like a madman or threatening anyone that made you upset ; or having your cheeks pampered with tons of kisses when no one was looking.

They are all jumpy when you agree to come with them in a less crowded corner. They look at you with a wide excited toothy grin as you rest your hands onto their shoulders and start to lean in. You barely have time to process it ; their lips crash into yours with passion.

It's heated and full of energy, yet you can sense they're afraid that it might be a bit too much for you. That doesn't stop them from kissing you so agressively ; but not aggressive in the painful sense, more the overwhelming way. They are so excited, have so much love to give you that they can't think of any other way to convey it all.

Once your lips part, you gasp for air, looking at them, baffled. You know they were a handful, but damn. Not that you minded. "Phew, that was... That was something else." you breathe out, their contagious grin spreading across your own face. Before you know it, your face is getting attacked with kisses again.

Will brag about it in an argument ; "AND I KISS MY PARTNER SO WELL THEY'RE ALWAYS BREATHLESS AFTERWARDS, TWAT!!" or something similar.

Vlastomil:

He has kissed before, he's just not exceptional at it. He's not bad at it, don't make me say what I didn't say ; he's simply good.

You nearly brought up the idea at the same time ; and yet none of you said it out loud. One night, sitting next to each other, you just looked at one another and leaned in at the same time, closing your eyes and meeting your lips with surprising harmony in your timing. This was the moment. This was right. It's as if things had fallen into place : nothing pushed you or held you back.

His lips are surprisingly soft. You'd expected them to at least tingle because of their little beard, but not even. They were a tad moist, but that was to be expected.

Once your lips part you can't help but look fondly into each other's eyes, your hands intertwined, as you just let the moment sink in.

Volta:

The idea had been swirling around in her head for a while now. But she never brought it up. She was much too shy. Holding hands was already making a stuttering mess out of her, so a kiss?? It doesn't mean she doesn't want to, it just flusters her beyond what's reasonable.

When you bring it up to her, the sweet potato will go bright red, nod, and look at you with big expectant eyes.

You have to lean down to bring yourself to her level and she has to be on her tippy toes to reach you. She'll close her eyes tightly, purse her lips and go in for a smooch. It doesn't last too long, maybe half a second, but it seems to be enough for her.

She'll never dare to do anything too involved in terms of kisses, so take it slow with her. But after that, she will tug at your sleeve and timidly ask for a kiss more often (and how the hell could you even think about denying her?).

Valerius:

The most skilled out of everyone. And believe it or not, you didn't even have to think about introducing him to the idea. Ever since you've confessed to him, he knew he would kiss you. And that didn't seem to be negociable. But when would be the right time...?

It was during a party. Just a small annual gathering. But he'd noticed how the nobles seemed to gravitate around you. He didn't like that one bit. He frowned, walking towards your little group, before swiftly snatching you away with a defty hand to your waist and a kiss to your lips

Oh. Gods. You had not expected that at all. His lips linger on yours, the warm taste of wine sweeping across your mouth as he moves his against yours. You can't help but hold onto his shoulders, closing your eyes and savoring the moment. The other nobles, after a while, seemingly uncomfortable, leave you and the Consul alone.

After your lips part, you look at him with a cheeky grin "Did Lucio teach you?", you ask. He groaned, rolled his eyes and swirled his wine before taking a sip out of it "I taught Lucio" he replies, avoiding looking at your eyes.

[blu-raes]

Vesuvia Weekly: Cooking Class, or in this case, a Masterclass in how Not to Cook

I had bigger ideas for this piece, but life and mento iwwness got in the way and I ended up sticking to the original idea

Based on an...unfortunately true story of me trying to cook soup solo

He had a recipe, alright. A recipe for disaster.

[valdemarfuckers]

when valdemar says something very valdemarish and the only dialog options are to either be scared or be confused

[darlingzelda]

Julian: so hey Asra I wanna try to do a tarot reading for you Asra: okay? Julian: *flips first card* okay so this one says you’re a bitch- Asra: That’s not??? How it works??? MC: *trying to cover up laughter*

[vodyaniks]

Don't want to clean this up but still want to participate! :)) so here are some sketches of my mc - Maya and Julian existing together

Her familiar is a giant black dog who is always glad to pin Julian to the bed so he is forced to sleep

Ask stupid questions get stupid answers))))

Maya is very cute and sweet with her loved ones/friends but anyone else won't get any mercy

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: Eggies

Baby fever doesn't only apply to humans!

So have a Faust and her eggs!

[e1i-neverrests]

Vesuvia Weekly: You Know Me Too Well

Little headcanon/drabble for Vesuvia Weekly prompt “What Nobody Else Knows” featuring my MC and his dears! (Featuring a little doodle at the end)

Asra discovered a wonderful little secret early-on in their relationship pre-plague

How to make Lys fall asleep

It doesn’t matter what he’s doing or where he is, all Asra has to do is gently drag their finger down Lys’ nose bridge, and he’s out.

They take full advantage of this, of course

Lys is stressing out after a particularly rude customer? It’s nap time

Post-revival Lys going through those pesky memory headaches? Can’t remember things if you’re sleeping!

Lys wakes up in the middle of the night because Asra’s midnight snack experiment went wrong?

Nuh uh no he didn’t

Lys doesn’t mind it (he could really use the rest) unless Asra is actively trying to get away with mischief

The first time this happened in front of Muriel though…

“He’s been going on for half an hour…” “You’re right, we should do something about it.” “Yeah but what?” “Trust me, I got this”

Asra walks over to where Lys is pacing back and forth, catching his hands in their own. Lys startles, taken out of his angry ranting to look up at Asra, confused. “You worry too much, silly. It’s nap time.” Asra’s hands trail up his arms, one now gently cupping his cheek. The other pushes Lys’ glasses up to sit at the top of his head before carefully dragging their thumb down his forehead and nose a few times.

“Wh- what was that? What did you do???” Muriel looks on in confusion and a bit of concern as Lys goes quiet, dead asleep while standing. Asra just turns to him with a smile. “My secret weapon! Works every time, and he always wakes up calm." "…Let’s make some tea just in case.”

POV: You're Muriel

[soullessseraphim]

Magical necrosis problems 😔

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Vesuvia Weekly: M6's secret insecurities

Julian: his hands. he likes to keep his gloves on for a reason, and it's because as a boy the other kids would call him "skelly fingers" from how bony they were and he never learned to like them as a result

Asra: their teeth. not because he thinks they're in bad shape (though his dental hygiene wasn't always great) but because of how many times he's gone a whole day without realizing there's food in them

Nadia: her speaking. years of speech classes have practically erased it, but she had a speech impediment as a kid that slips out when she's tired and it's the bane of her existence. never mention it please

Muriel: his knees. it was always where his quickly outgrown clothes would tear first and the kids on the street would point when they could see them. the years of scarring on them don't help either

Portia: her hair. the grandmas were loving, but they had their hands full with all the village's children and thick curly locks like hers were deemed "unmanageable". years of self-care are helping that though

Lucio: his slim build. his mother always commented on him being a "frail, weak child" and he's never felt quite bulky enough since. it's why his gauntlet is so big and formed some of his jealousy of Muriel

[paperstarwriters]

Ah, the greed of a siren. He doesn’t want to ever let you go.

I was kinda hoping I'd be able to complete a part two to my MerMay fic within the may range, but as my summer semester begins to kick into gear and several tasks are pulling me every which way, and the mermaid section of my writer brain seems to be clogged so have this doodle I did instead lol

Siren Muriel loosely inspired off of my Abyssmal fic

[skybluelixie]

i started playing The Arcana (7+ years late i know 😖) and i’m fucking OBSESSED!! i’ve been playing for 2 weeks straight

is this fandom still alive?? do people still make fanart and write fics?

i made my MC in picrew (link in comments) and i love her. i made picrews for a few different emotions/situations she would experience in the game/pre-memory loss.

1. everyday look

2. as julian’s apprentice

3. during the masquerade

4. feeling sad

5. doing magic