#the arcana game meta

[macabremayhem]

The old sketch of human (or not?) Valdemar.

Because of their antiquity, I came up a headcanon about their origin. So, what about a country near the great river and with the great pyramids? Many lands of the Arcana world have references from India, Arabic region or Mongolia – so, Ancient Egypt? Why not? I can't decide, maybe this is ancient Zadith? There is nothing about Zadith in the canon, just a note in the ArcanaWiki:

"The homeland of Asra's parents, Zadith lies across the Malvent Strait from Vesuvia. This is a country where both science and magic are highly respected. Those who combine both disciplines are known as alchemists."

I think this short description is suitable for the heritage of such civilization as Egyptian.

I’m sad that the history of the world is so poorly developed, but I still love the lore so much. And I’d be happy to read (only from the original writers), say, a brief history of the world. But since there's no any history, I'm taking the liberty (and, a bit, my history degree) to assume: Zadith is the inheritor of some ancient civilization like the Ancient Egypt.

I'm not good at naming, so I will provisionally call it "Deshret" – Egyptian word for "red land, desert". Valdemar spoke about "millennia of existence", describing their antiquity, so I'm pretty sure: they have been born as a human in the ancient kingdom, like the Ancient Egypt. Also, note that red beetle brooch at the neck: similar motives were common in the Ancient Egypt. And, I think, Valdemar had this beetle brooch long before the Plague.

Okay, maybe developers in Portia's route (flashback scene with Prospero and foundation of Vesuvia) just showed Valdemar to us as we know them, because of developing another (kinda "more ancient") sprite and costume for the short scene is not viable. But anyway: we have what we have. What if we imagine that "red beetle brooch" of the Courtiers is rooted not only in the Red Plague? What about a, merely my headcanon, the Egyptian "scarab" motif?

So, there's the old traditional sketch I have. When I drew this pic, I imagined Valdemar just after their first deals with the Devil. Just look at their eyes.🫀

And – of course, they are in the tomb. Maybe as a priest? Who knows, fellow humans.

[mapofredemption]

@arsenicxarcana YES I LOVE THAT THEY'RE FOILS

I was gonna make a meta post about how the characters’ corresponding patron arcana are in the same sprite pose as them but then actually looked and realized that’s only true for Julian lmao so I guess just have these comparisons

+ Valerius & The Hierophant whose poses are kinda just inverted versions of each other

[vintagerpg]

My first encounter with Into the Odd was on a bookmark — the entirety of the rules system was crammed onto one included with my copy of Silent Titans. I’ve still yet to find a copy of the original 2014 edition from Lost Pages.

This is the revised edition from 2022, featuring gorgeous illustrative collage work by Johan Nohr throughout. I appreciate the use of orange on the cover (an under-appreciated color) and the book feels unusually good in the hand, like a book from an earlier era. The rules take up a bit more than a bookmark’s worth of space here, but not by much, honestly. I’ve no proof that the “Odd” of the title is a sly reference to Original D&D, but I’ve also got no proof to the contrary, and it seems appropriate: the system is recognizably D&D, but stripped utterly to the bone. Three attributes instead of six, doubling as saves. D20. Damage deplete hit points, then Strength, then death becomes a real risk. That’s basically it. This minimal framework is the basis for a whole sub-genre of light weight, short run D&D-ish engines, like Knave and Cairn.

Odd has its peculiarities. It is designed for a specific setting (that doubles as a meta commentary on settings, wildernesses, cities and dungeons) in which adventurers explore the underground in search of Arcana, which are powerful, largely uncontrollable magic items (there are no spellcaster classes, so Arcanum are the only option for magic). So, in some ways, it seems like there is only one way to play the game. On the other hand, Chris McDowall has hacked his own system to make Electric Bastionland, which uses the same basic framework without the magic and plays…completely differently. So maybe it really is all in the dressing…

[mimir-anoshe]

I love that ARCANE is using the MAJOR ARCANA for symbolism.

Chefs kiss.

These are Sevika's tarot cards from season 1.

The Magician (upright) overlapping Death (upright).

Foreshadowing? Oh hell yeah. But its only now after S2 Episode 6 do I understand what they might actually be foreshadowing. People may have talked about this before, so I apologise if this is similar to anyone else's meta. These are all my own thoughts, I usually just watch arcane and don't dabble into the meta but this season has me feral and I just rewatched season 1.

SPOILERS for Arcane S1/S2 below.

I just want to prologue this post with a note about how I've noticed even from season 1 there are thematic parallels and linear symbolism being afforded between Jinx and Viktor. Others in the community have too I'm sure. Its strange. I thought it was interesting in S1 but didn't deep dive into it, but S2 has driven headfirst into it and its making me go "oh... oh ok." Even Viktor in S1 noted Jinx's genius, and in another timeline perhaps Powder would've been a student of Viktors had fate not set them on parallel paths. Two children of Zaun, both mechanical/scientific geniuses. One physically disabled whilst the other mentally disabled. One who "escaped" and was given a chance, rising to the top only to create something that would be used for harm. Fighting that fate at every step. Whilst the other trapped at the bottom of the barrel, forced to use her gifts to become a weapon herself. Such GOOD story writing.

So now let's think about the art of the cards, because in tarot, even the symbolism of the specific art is important. Its why an artists interpretation of a major/minor can be so crucial to a reading.

Here's a figure map I made earlier.

Lets begin with Death.

Thirteenth of the Major Arcana, a "significant transformation and the end of a phase in life." There is death and rebirth symbolism all over arcane, but let's take a closer look at the symbolism mirroring the art.

Figure 7&8 - The one who has "died" a skeleton/skull laid down and being "imbued" with something as something else is taken away.

See that the imbuing focuses on the "chest" area.

It's quick, but it flashes briefly when Viktor is being imbued with the Hexcore. He canonically dies "the skull" and is reborn with the Hexcore on an "altar"/table.

Same with Jinx. Canonically "dies" and is reborn laying on an "altar"/table using shimmer. Purple being used as the visual thread between shimmer and the arcane of the hex; a colour imagery representation of "magical" alchemical/arcane power turning them into something beyond human.

Singed and Jayce. Two hands of death, giving and taking life as if they were a God. One using shimmer, the other Hextech thats imbued with shimmer. Messing with the balance of life and death.

With Viktor, the energy is transferred straight into his chest, just like on the card.

So now we've established the parallels to the death tarot, lets look at The Magician.

The First of the Major Arcana, "the connection between the physical and spiritual worlds, and the ability to manifest one's desires."

Viktor is the Magician. No doubt. He connects the physical and spiritual world of the arcane, he brings people back from the brink of death, as he was. He manifests his desires through the use of the hex, the arcane. And the dude just looks like a mecha wizard.

Though if you want it to be even more obvious.

Figure 3 - The Third Arm/Third Hand.

The image below is "The Machine Herald" Hero from League of Legends. This is the hero Viktor is based upon.

He canonically has three arms, same as the Magician in the card. The Magician is Viktor, Viktor is the Magician. The Magician is the Machine Herald.

The Magician overtakes/overlaps death. But Viktor by episode 6 still doesn't quite resemble the machine herald from the games. There's no third arm... Yet. So the Magician in the card isn't Viktor from episodes 1-6, this is the machine herald who comes after the one killed in episode 6. Another Rebirth is set to happen for Viktor.

Figures 1 &2 - White mask. Red/pinkish eyes.

Hmmm... Red/pinkish eyes are associated with shimmer. And a white mask, of the machine herald? The mask of a messiah. That the hextech Viktor will most likely also be imbued with shimmer like Jinx, to become the true "machine herald." Messiahs of the hex, monsters of the shimmer.

Its also worth noting that both Jinx and Viktor are framed as messianic figures of Zaun in this season. One the fighter who will rally together the undercity and free Zaun from its oppression. The other a healer and a saint like figure who will free the Zaunites of their suffering and lead them into a better future.

Jinx wanting peace - represented by Isha - and Viktor's dream of peace and healing for Zaun - represented by a lot of things including healing Vander - are metaphorically and literally killed in episode 6. Funnily enough, one symbol of peace killing the other (Isha and Vander - Child and Father). After all, peace and violence are two sides of the same coin, as are Viktor and Jinx. Or should I say, two sides of the same cog...

Figure 4&6 - The Cog shaped Hole in the Magicians chest/The Cog Coin and Jinx's cog.

"I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right. Its inescapable. Humanity. Our very essence. Our emotions... Rage. Compassion. Hate. Two sides of the same coin. Inextricably bound."

In episode 6, whilst Viktor is explaining to Vi about what it will take to heal Vander, Jinx is sceptical. She doesn't even believe in herself as a messiah, so this "hero"? This "saviour" coming along to solve their problems? To fix things? When all she can do is break everything around her, jinx her own family, destroy? She's scoffing at Viktor sure, but she's also scoffing at herself. Mirroring. People treat her like they treat him, so to believe in him as a saviour means she would have to look into the water of that well and face her own reflection. And Viktor sees right through it, the pretence, and he sees her potential.

Knowledge is a paradox. Jinx wants to stick with what she knows, to destroy instead of to build, to "Watch it all burn." Or ignore the plight of Zaun, so she can live peacefully with Isha. Jinx - Powder - is choosing to remain ignorant to what's right in front of her. Right up until the moment Isha dies.

In the scene earlier in the episode, Jinx accidently destroys a bit of the well, releasing a cog that falls into water. Cogs have been symbolic of Viktor healing people throughout this season, using cogs to "Build."

Powder was thrown into water just like that cog by Silco, and reborn as Jinx. But its not Silco that picks up this cog. Its Viktor. He holds the potential of his creation in his hand, and in paradox, holds Jinx's destruction. Viktor holds Jinx's potential. He's literally holding the two sides of Jinx/Powder in his hand, her - their - fate. Just like Jinx, Viktor has the equal capacity to destroy, and if he is reborn as a weapon later on, perhaps that cog represents Jinx being reborn too. As a creator. A builder.

He holds onto Jinx's cog all the way through the rest of the episode, balancing that potential, that fate, of creation and destruction in his hand. Right up until the moment he dies, and the coin/the cog falls, sealing their fate. His death causing the deaths of Isha and Vander too.

So we've established that the story is viewing cogs/coins in a similar light. We've also established the show is linking Viktor and Jinx through the symbology of the cog.

This is reiterated in the symbolism surrounding the Tarot cards. Around the cards are coins that take the shape of cogs, the currency of Zaun. Fate - coin flips - and cogs, gods and machines. Deus Ex Machina, that is what Viktor is to become, and Jinx creates destruction using machines. She's an inventor, just like Viktor and Jayce. A creator and a destroyer. A god of the machine.

So how does Figure 6 - the coin cogs - relate to Figure 4? The hole in the Magician's chest.

On the Tarot Card, the Magician has a circle in the middle of his chest. A hole. Just like the hole Jayce puts through Viktors chest at the end of Episode 6. The one that kills him.

But if you look closely at the image above, it might be a stretch, but to me, the striations on the inner ring look very similar to those of a cog. The hole is what kills Viktor. Cogs have been given visual symbolism for healing, and are also associated with Jinx's potential for creation. Its a stretch, but it could potentially be foreshadowing Jinx using her abilities to heal Viktor; to build instead of destroy. We've already seen Jinx do it once with Sevika, by "building" her a new arm.

I also find it interesting that we're shown Jinx using her talents to build someone a new arm, and Viktor - the machine herald - still has yet to acquire his third arm. Perhaps he doesn't make it. Perhaps Jinx does?

Maybe, just maybe, Jinx - Powder - is the one to fix Viktor, and flip the cog of fate once again.

Now in Episode 6 we already get foreshadowing that it'll be singe - not Jinx - who saves Viktor by imbuing him with the ultimate shimmer from Warwick/Vander - stabilising him. He says it in the episode, but Viktor refuses to sacrifice Vander in the name of creating the ultimate weapon of destruction.

"It would destroy him."

Viktor's potential for destruction goes hand in hand with Jinx's.

Its even foreshadowed in both the cards. The red/pink eyes of the machine herald foreshadowing shimmer. And the shadow being imbued into the chest of the dead skeleton (Viktor) looks an awful lot like Warwick; the beast that traps Vander.

So why am I talking about Jinx saving Viktor if I'm so certain its Singe? Well I'm certain Singe will bring Viktor back to life, to be used as a weapon. That seems like the most likely outcome.

But like Viktor was saying about Vander "He's not a specimen, he's a man." Viktor was doing everything in his power to save Vander's humanity. So yes Singe will bring the machine herald back most likely - even if I think it'd be thematically cool for it to be Jinx - but I think Jinx will save Viktor. Save the man, the humanity. Be the big fat hero.

Jinx was a girl imbued with Shimmer, and despite having monstrous abilities and doing monstrous things, her humanity has still survived.

I could be wrong, I most likely am, but the the thing that's getting to me is this...

Figure 5 - The Broken Infinity.

At the centre of Viktor's chest, in the middle of Jayce's death blow and Jinx's cog of creation & destruction, is a symbol.

Now a diagonal infinity symbol is associated with the Firelights. Ekko. The boy who shattered time.

Broken Infinity? Shattered time? Seems to go hand in hand.

Though Ekko's symbol is a whole infinity, more akin to a Z than an ongoing X.

There are plenty of theories Ekko will play a role in Viktor's fate and the fate of everyone by rewinding time somehow. And the multiple shots of the coin rolling support that to an extend. Rewind time, change fate, change the flip of the cog. And I agree, I think Ekko is going to have a role to play. But there's also another character who fits with this symbol, who uses shimmer to move faster than humanly possible and defy fate time and time again. Who is the fulcrum of fate in the eyes of the story, the catalyst of everything. And only one character who has solely been associated with a broken infinity symbol before.

Jinx. That's Jinx's symbol. Her champion tag.

Jinx's symbol, right at the centre of Viktors chest. And this line to Jinx from Viktor...

"You have much to offer this commune, Powder. Your talents could be used to build instead of destroy."

And the line from Singe, about Viktor's fate being tied to the commune. Viktor IS the commune, he's the centre of it all. The one who can make the dream of Zaun - Vander's dream - a reality. And that line foreshadowed Jinx using her talents to help the commune. To help Viktor.

Hell, she was technically the reason he "died" in the first place. She fired the rocket that nearly killed him. Wouldn't it be poetic story telling if she was the one who saved him in the end?

I can't wait for Saturday.

I believe whatever happens, Viktor and Jinx's fates are inextricably bound.

[felassan]

ancient meta from the dawn of time and by that I mean pre-DA:I's release in 2014 [edited for brevity] [the Hermit card].

"The Inquisitor’s Edition of DA: Inquisition comes with a deck of 72 tarot cards, both major and minor arcana, with custom artwork Solas - The Hermit The Hermit, set against a barren landscape, leans on his staff and holds a lamp in front of him to light the way in the darkness. Let’s start with the obvious: Solas is literally a hermit. The card speaks of retreat, wandering, distance, reclusion, solitude and (when reversed) loneliness. In the story of the Tarot, the Hermit heads out at night, peering at and examining whatever takes his fancy. In the same way, Solas walks the Fade while asleep, finding brilliant unimaginable lights, only to smile in delight and move in for a closer look. The Hermit’s lantern illuminates animals that only come out at night, flowers that only open in moonlight or starlight - Solas sees things in the Fade that can only be found if you go in without fear, without preconceptions, your way illuminated by the knowledge. The Hermit wants the truth at all costs - Solas values freedom of thought above all else. In readings, the Hermit can symbolize a wise person with a philosophical attitude. The person may also be someone older, like the old man the Hermit is usually portrayed as. The person may be someone the querent meets who will give them the insight, tools or training needed to overcome an obstacle - someone who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious or confusing. This comes from an interpretation of the Hermit: he has internalized the lessons of life to the point that he is the lesson. Now he returns from isolation to bestow boons on his fellow man and share the knowledge he has gained. Now he is like his lantern, illuminated from within by all that he is, capable of penetrating the darkness. He helps, acts as a mentor and offers wise counsel. In the knowledge he offers the Inquisitor, Solas embodies one of the meanings of the card - guidance. The Hermit is ruled by Virgo. if anyone is going to take a lantern into a dark place to see what’s going on, it’s a Virgo. Solas reflects key themes of the card such as going on a personal, solitary quest." </end 2014 rambling>

[emphasis added rn]

Light is a super common metaphor for knowledge, wisdom, insight and guidance. Cole says "He wants to give wisdom, not orders". The riddles in Lateral Thinker, in which we have to light a series of braziers with Veilfire torches, go:

"The Dread Wolf keeps its gaze on the one light that illuminates the way forward. // Where the Dread Wolf's gaze blazes, paths are brought to light. // When the Dread Wolf's gaze is bright, light burns in a ring of the dead. // One sees the hunter, one flees from it, one hunts it in turn, one outwits them all."

A lighthouse is a tower-like structure designed to emit light and act as a beacon. The Game Informer article calls Solas' Lighthouse a "towering" structure. this magical realm in the Fade is his lair, his inner sanctum, his home base; it reflects him (and his hermitty isolation). the article kind of likens it to visiting your friend's bedroom, it's not a showy place like Skyhold or a fortress, it's something realer and more intimate than that. you could read it as, Solas' personal home in the magical Fade is called a lighthouse because Solas, like the Hermit with his lantern or little flame in his hand, is like a lighthouse, a beacon in the dark - as if the "flaming Rook" emblem on the front of the 'red book' isn't just a fiery rook as in the chess piece or Tower card with Fen'Harel above it, but a tower-like structure, a lighthouse, and at its top blazes a bright fire, a beacon of light like those atop a lighthouse, where Solas himself resides, lighting the way.

[mapofredemption]

beautiful post and additions

idk something about the way lucio clearly just loves animals and how he hated training and how morga said he was never a good hunter and how he ran away from a lame bear even she thought he would be able to fight off. something about caring for animals everyone else seems to disparage, mercedes and melchior were hated and feared by everyone in the palace, camio was seen as an irritating nuisance, the eels, the stove salamander, even. something about a little boy with so much love to give and no humans willing to take it.

[bowenoke]

I'm microwaving the mechanics of stress tokens rn. because as per Siobhan's comment about animal handling and nature checks... they get to pick which skills they'll take disadvantage on.

The solution everyone here on tumblr is talking about for ALL their other problems, to just rely on each other, would genuinely work here. All they have to do is pick one person to maintain a given skill, and everyone else can not bother with it. forget arcana checks; Adaine can do arcana checks. Everyone else stops giving a singular shit about magic. Sneaking?? Who cares about being stealthy! Everyone else rocks comfy pajamas at school, and lets Riz take care of that. (Not even in a meta-gaming way, but in the genuine sense that they cam rely on their friends in-world to handle specific types of problems.)

More than forcing them to exhaustion, the stress mechanic seems like a really great opportunity to let individual party members shine at Their Thing, their Expertise, in a party where skill bleed is huge, and everyone has taken feats and multiclasses to become a jack of all trades bc of the modern setting often splitting the party

[adachimoe]

Not-so-masterpost list because tumblr's tagging and search sucks ass

As the title says lol

Opinion, Theory, Meta, Interpretations, Whatever about Adachi

What the bad endings teach us about Adachi

Adachi's fixation on Mayumi Yamano

Adachi is the person in the fog who shows up in the shopping district

Adachi's imaginary dick waving contest with Namatame

In which I try to deduce if Adachi watched the Midnight Channel based on whether Dojima was home or not

Adachi's relationship with the Dojima family and why Adachi sent the 2nd threat letter

The contrast between Adachi and Namatame (And a follow-up)

Adachi as the Investigation Team's Shadow

Adachi and School

Adachi and the Japanese Economy (lol)

Remember that part in April where Adachi tries to frame Yukiko?

Adachi was not actually assigned to guard Mayumi Yamano, was he?

Adachi's Characterization in the 3rd P4 Audio Drama

"Tiger mom"

Why did Sho use Adachi in Arena Ultimax?

Was that actually Adachi in Persona 5?

?? Adachi went to a NYE party ??

How Bayside Shakedown inspired Adachi's character

Adachi's overseas transfer

Was Adachi's first choice even police officer?

What was Adachi's mistake?

Wake up babes Adachi got a shoutout in Metaphor

Golden Anime Adachi Cafe

Rambling about Adachi's Arcana

Golden anime Adachi anthology manga summaries

CAN ADACHI EVEN AFFORD A FUCKING TV?

Funny Golden anime easter egg related to Bayside Shakedown

Things About Adachi That You Can Miss In-Game

Adachi and Cabbage

Adachi did not facilitate Rise's kidnapping

Nanako reveals Adachi hates bugs lol

Yu Narukami's (Canonical) Obsession with Adachi

Dude wants to be Adachi's girlfriend

Dumbass

Waxing poetic about the color of Adachi's eyes

Arena Ultimax Arcade Mode

This shit even happens in BBTag

Localization Related

Yuka Someya Loved the Stage Play

Izanami saying that Adachi's power was tainted by "magatsu"

Clarifying what Adachi says in P4U2 about his sentencing

Adachi calling Izanami a bitch and how this relates to Sho

Adachi was not trying to remind you of Yosuke

This World Has Gone to Shit

That time Adachi pretended to be Dojima's wife

"Putting It In" and "That Settles It"

Adachy-baby

Yukiko's funniest line

THE ENGLISH VERSION CENSORED TEDDIE SAYING THAT KANJI HAS A FAT ASS

Is Namatame from Inaba?

Why is Witch Detective a parody of Twilight?

Donuts and Milk

Kanji's Animal Crackers

Topsicles (Also: Why is there a milk company in the credits?)

Morooka, Mitsuo, and Rotten Oranges

SMT Reference in Mitsuo's dungeon

Random translation stuff (Queen Tut, Hosoi, Philemon)

Regarding Teddie's Localization: Part 1, Part 2, Teddie and Nanako's Pronouns

Worldbuilding / Lore / Setting

Adachi's Persona Club P4 profile (sorry but he's been 176cm since 2009... It was the anime that got it wrong when they made him 173cm...)

All of the Persona Club P4 profiles

Random stuff in Persona Club P4

Inaba setting guide / worldbuilding from Atlus's P4/P4G lore books

Staff / Word of God

No, Atlus did not say that the culprit was originally Dojima

Yes, Atlus did consider Yukiko and Yosuke to be the culprit

About Adachi's Social Link

Arcsys and Atlus on the development behind Episode Adachi

Arcsys made Adachi easy to play because his fans are girls

Full translation of Katsura Hashino's Persona Club P4 Interview

It's the Adachi Ending, not the Accomplice Ending

The P4 Anime Staff on Adachi's Cabbage and Ai Bullying Adachi

Adachi fans on staff

P4 Anime and Golden Anime Staff: Adachi's Popularity Among the Staff

Tetsuya Kobayashi's comments on Ying Yang from the Golden anime

Was JYB really intentionally cast as both the protag and Adachi? (According to him, it rly doesn't sound like it)

The Golden anime's portrayal of Adachi is the staff's own interpretation; if you want to know what his deal is, ask the original creators

Posts About Not Adachi

Yu Narukami's catchphrase is "Calm down"

Yukiko, before and after the TV World

Yukiko as a vehicle for slapstick humor

The Mudoon Curry

MAN, A WATERMELON

Context for Yukiko and... Cooking

Teddie is Bugs Bunny

The Time I Signed Up to Play Persona 4 Pachinko

Summary of the 1st Golden anime audio drama, A Sense of Gratitude

Summary of the 2nd P4 Anime audio drama, Perfect Delivery

The "Ah-ha! I S.E.E.S. it!" segments on Persona Stalker Club

Explanation + Episode 1

Episodes 2 and 4

Episode 5

Episodes 6 and 7 (no q&a)

Eps 8 + 9

Eps 10 + 11 (plus PSC Cafe)

Eps 12/13/18/19

Eps 20/23/24

Eps 25/26

V Ep 10

Bonus: Adachi's voice actor getting hazed into trying "Meat Gum" on Stalker Club

[writing-for-life]

Sandman Meta-Analysis

Literary/Conceptual/Psychological

About Black Mirrors (an exploration of the relationship between Dream and The Corinthian, both as a literary concept and in Jungian terms)

The Mother Wound (or what if one of your major arcana was possibly created in the image of the parent who emotionally abandoned you over and over)

“Tales in the Sand” in Context of “The Doll’s House”: About Patriarchy, the Madness of Pure Dream and Nada & Morpheus as mirrors of each other

Where the Blood Fell, Red Flowers Grew”: Red Flowers as a Symbol for the Loss of Innocence & Guilt in Tales in the Sand & Brief Lives

Hob Gadling’s Involvement In The Slave Trade Between The Late 16th And Early 19th Century (This is a new, revised and expanded version of this addendum to someone else’s post)

Perspective Requires Being Anchored in Reality—About Holding the Entire Collective Unconscious and Dream’s Struggle with Connection

The Importance of the Dreamstones—The Ruby as Dream’s Essence (and the consequences of locking it away and then receiving it all back)

He Hears the Sound of Her Wings—When Death Equals Solace

“But He Loved, He Should Have Been Forgiven”—About Free Will, Responsibility and Agency: Lucifer and Dream as Foils

When Destiny is Inescapable or: He Truly Is the Worst Older Brother (Based on a fun ask prompt that turned into a serious meta)

The Portrayal of Womanhood in A Game of You

The Sandman Overture and Exiles: Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit—Everything Changes, Nothing Is Truly Lost (Not Even Hope)

The Ultimate Character Tag Library

The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known (Or: Does Morpheus Really Have Commitment Issues?)

Death’s Wedjat Eye: Deeper Symbolism or Random? (Based on an ask)

The Women of the Sandman: A Collection of Meta-Analyses, Fics and Art

Spun Stories And Hard-Hitting Realities As Bookends To Brief Lives

The Thing About Daniel (is that he is not a palette-swapped Morpheus)

The Sandman Timeline As Published In The Annotated Sandman (timeline with a few meta thoughts)

The Truth Of Mankind Is Also Dream’s (short comics panel/show quote comparison)

The Endless Are Not Their Opposite—They Only Define It

Only Hope (!) Calls You Out Like That (Dream, Desire, Hope And Loneliness),

The Difference Between Daydreams And Desires Or: How Dream And Desire Wouldn’t Have Saved The Universe Without Hope (Based on an ask)

Dream's Relationship To His Emotions & The Differences Between Show!Dream and Comics!Dream (Based on an ask)

About Love As The Catalyst For Change

Morpheus and Calliope: About Inspiration, Personhood and Change (Based on an ask)

What Does Morpheus Like in Women? (Based on an ask)

Dream’s Loss of White Hair as the Loss of Innocence: The Killalla-Situation

Touching Death or: Why Dream is Not Simply Touch-Starved in The Sound of Her Wings (Addendum to someone else’s post)

Keeping Them In Character: Could Morpheus Be Saved? (An exploration of fanfic, but lots of good meta thoughts, so I included it here)

Did Morpheus Want to Die? (Addendum to someone else’s post)

When Desire Stops Being the Villain

When a Story About Stories Can Be Read in More Than One Way, and Why a Story About Change Changes With Us

If It Is Implied Lucien Is Adam, What Does That Make Lucienne?

Sunday Mourning—About Dream Entities and Stars (Why Head-Canons Are Wonderful, But Forcing Them On Creators Isn’t)

Who Is at Fault for Dream’s Death? The Endless as Concepts (Based on an ask—I accidentally deleted the OP 😩, but thankfully, I still had reblogs to link to)

Dream and How He Experiences Love (Or: When the Unreal is at War with the Real, and Finally Understanding Unconditional Love Tightens the Noose Around Your Neck That Has Been There All Along)

Tales In The Sand—Did We Find the Women’s Story? Or: The Rejection Of Dream/Hope As A Concept

How Do You Solve The Orpheus Problem? (an exploration of ideas for fanfics, but too many good meta thoughts not to include it here)

Nuance in (The Sandman) Fandom

To Be Human Means To Die (Even For Morpheus)

Let’s Talk About Thessaly (In The Context of Second and Third Wave Feminism)

The Blood on Morpheus’ Hands (more a processing attempt than a meta)

Why The Order of the Last Three Issues of The Sandman Matters

The Facet is Not The Jewel (old post about the ubiquity of Dreamling)

#sandman meta: Even more metas of all kinds, like those of others I (sometimes quite extensively) participated in.

Sandman Comics Reread & Netflix Sandman Rewatch: All my Sandman Book Club contributions, ordered by issue/episode (we are currently discussing on a weekly schedule, join us!)

Next: Sandman Meta-Analysis Music >

Link to full pinned post

[angstandhappiness]

NEAT

Do you have any tips on designing arcana masquerade outfit? I really need ur help >_<

Masquerade outfits are first of all, formalwear: suits, gowns, and other elaborate outfits. What would your character wear to a fancy once-a-year ball? It’s an opportunity for the character to dress their best and flashiest (Lucio might be less bright, but the gold filagree is more detailed than his other outfits) Despite hiding their faces, they’re designed to show off the character and their style.

One crucial aspect of masquerade outfits is theming. Each one represents a character and the symbols they surround themselves with. This is most obvious with the masks, which is what I’d recommend starting with. They come in a variety of styles, from only covering the eyes to hiding the entire head with draping veils, but they’re all animal-themed.

Lucio’s is a good example of how much they can tell about a character. It’s white and gold, showing off his classic colours and love of flashy wealth, it’s a dog to show his connection to Mercedes and Melchior and that, as well as covering half his face, shows how he’s half the Fool. It also draws inspiration from the Phantom of the Opera, alluding to his more dramatic nature and even how he spent years haunting the Palace.

Portia’s is one of the best for how it connects to the rest of the outfit (despite never being worn in her route). They share colour schemes, bow details, and floral patterns, making them feel like a cohesive costume. Similarly, Muriel’s shares the blue and white colour scheme, as well as the patterns, though in gold rather than white to distinguish it.

The devs are open about drawing inspiration from all sorts of cultures and times to design the characters. Nadia’s resembles modern runway fashions while Portia and Lucio are definitely traditional outfits, though tweaked to be more unique. When designing an outfit, think about what inspirations you’ve used to design them originally. Also, while modern fashions are good inspiration, it’s helpful to look at classic ballgowns and suits to get something which feels like it belongs at a masquerade ball.

The devs haven’t shown off much concept art for masquerade outfits so I can’t say much about their process, but it’s good to explore different concepts and colours to see which you prefer. For example, Portia’s was going to be more classically formal with a different hairstyle and Nadia almost had an opposite colour scheme.

tl;dr: Get a distinct theme (usually an animal and tarot card), colour palette, and pattern to design a mask, then create the outfit from that, drawing on different cultural/historical formalwear for inspiration

[blind-alchemists]

sorry, Zagreus, I've had your sister for five hours and I already like her more than you.

anyway! I did treat myself and bought the game early and. it's just very good!

in somewhat chronological order, my thoughts after yesterday's session

the music! the music is even more amazing than in the first game and if I'm done, I need to listen to the whole OST on loop

the art!! also even better than in the first game!!

Melinoë is a great protagonist

it's incredibly funny the first god we encounter is Apollo, because Apollo is the guy people modded into the first game years ago

... boy, I wonder what the speedrunning meta will look like for this game (I have very obscure knowledge about Hades I speedrunning meta)

I love the little backgrounds that pop out with the art

oh, right, I jumped into the Hades I EA late, so I never saw the place holder graphics in-game before

the environments!! beautiful.

I shouldn't have played the first game last week. It's fucking with me. where's my second dash??? Why do we start with 30 HP??? where are my death defiances??? weapon mechanics???

of course there's a fishing mechanic again.

I like Hecate's design.

saluting??? what's the lore behind that?

OH. this tone of the story isn't ... quite what I expected. A lot more serious. a lot more severe.

Melinoë doesn't remember her family??? Hello??? what the fuck???

and she keeps talking about her task with such a dutiful determination ... no, I'm not crying. But. That's such an interesting conflict.

NEMESIS!! She's holding her sword aspect!! her design!! her resentment!! her vengeance!! her rivalry with Mel. how Mel calls her Nem. please. tell me she's a romance option. PLEASE.

oh, hi odysseus.

hey, there's hypnos! ... why's he sleeping??? (funny thing is, I got the Charon dialogue that implies he's more useful this way lol)

I cannot. Take. Skelly serious. It's worse because Mel does.

I like Moros' design. The long hair going over the horns? Yeah, that's good.

Mel gets an AXE??? a heavy, double-bladed axe??? (I love women wielding heavy weapons, and as long as the rail doesn't make a return, I'm good with anything after enough time)

I like the new art sprites for reoccurring characters!

ahhh, the good old "we don't trust Olympus so we're not telling them everything" line. understandable, but I figure that's going to blow up sooner or later.

I love Mel's bond with Artemis and Selene and the implication that both helped raise her.

... and I like the predominantly female cast so far

Nemesis can show up in Erebus???

BABY MELINOË omg

why does every chthonic goddess / titaness sound like they have a thing for Persephone. Nyx already had a few lines like that in the first game. Why does Hecate also have these kinds of lines.

the Hecate fight frustrates me to no end, because I'm very used to more dashes, more health, and more death defiances, and very different weapons :( (I have bet her twice in total so far)

unrelated, but I didn't know I needed a sheep in the Hades art style but it's so damn cute and I want a large art print of it

Archane!! I love how her silks change Mel's avatar

Oceanus is beautiful

... except for the traps. Really not digging the traps. or the maps.

CHAOS??? why are you holding your old form's head??? and why is there an embryo coming out of it??? why do you have wings??? why do you wear a suit??? the new design unfortunately checks all the boxes but upon reflection that is because it fits into that very niche character design trope I've seen in manwha recently and I couldn't put a name on it if I tried

on that note, I also adore Aphrodite's new design!!

not quite sure what I think of the gathering / farming mechanic yet

I do like the incantations, magic, hexes, and arcana though!

HERMES! I also adore his design.

wait, what? Mel's going to Olympus? You're telling me one part of the game is descending into the House of Hades and the other is climbing to Mount Olympus?? (that's my speculation, at least.)

god, I hope the cast of the first game is alright/alive. :(

I hope we also get to see Athena, Ares, and Dionysus at some point :(

on that note, I can't wait for Mel to meet her brother and realize he's the opposite of her lol. I love siblings and mirrors.

[1eos]

i just finished the game.................my brain is wired completely differently now i am not the same as i was 3 hrs ago....

the person u become after finishing persona 3:

NO BUT LETS TALK ABT IT (spoilers under the cut)

thee fucking bittersweet excellence of the persona 3 ending my god. you've passed december you've made your choice ryoji is fucking GONE and there's this feeling of doom bc you know he's gone and you know the world is on the path to be gone no matter what you do.. and then nyx shows up and she comes FROM THE MOON the celestial body that has been the centerpiece of all of your day to day week to week goings on. AND SHE'S WEARING RYOJIS FACE. ALMOST LIKE A MASK. when i tell u i gagged.............................like who comes up w this shit i need to kiss them.

and the final battle is so good 'the arcana are the means by which all is revealed' i could quote nyx in my DREAMSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. and in the final final battle the protag stands alone facing like a cocoon of human misery and with 1 hp 1 sp will not die, emboldened by the power of bonds raises one finger and gives his all to push back the end of the world? and then u realize this is what it was all heading towards. the moment the protag came back to iwatodai the events were set in motion bc death was in him! for him to live meant he would have had to continue on in ignorance. persona 3 is truly a shakespearan tragedy esp if u factor in the meta of it being a video game so theyre all in this tragic timeloop and characters dying but being unable to die and are reborn constantly to play out their roles. like wowwwwww rest in peace shakespeare :( you wouldve loved the doomed yaoi btwn minato and ryoji :(((((

[utilitycaster]

hi yes hello im the lowish int wizard anon! no offence was taken! ive never actually played dnd so i dont know the ins and outs very well at all, and it was an entirely hypothetical question as i have no plans to play either. that said, i do have ocs i made with dnd mechanics (ie classes and such), one of them being a wizard! his name is Vi :3. and yes. hes not the smartest man around. the largest reason i asked is because, he keeps his components in colour coded pouches - with matching bracelets (blue on the left and red on the right) - so he knows where his peices are because hes a little bit of a scatterbrain and i love him. it wouldnt do any good in a fight to go "ah shit give me a sec where did i put my amber" you know? i didnt think that would classify as low wisdom. i have 0 idea if he would work at all the way he currently is. lmao.

again, my man will more then likely never be used in a real game so this is all just food for thought and fun to mess around with. thanks for awnsering and offering to give ideas! i really value your metas and such. you appear very well spoken.

Hey anon! Thank you! Anyway good news. That is CLASSIC low wisdom. Absent-minded academic who is brilliant in a very narrow field of study and can't remember where he put a single spell component or his keys or literally anything? That is practically the definition of high intelligence, low wisdom. Give your wizard high intelligence and super low wisdom (and no proficiency in investigation - stick it all in arcana and history and nature and such) and go forth to your heart's content. (But also...at this point I would say that if you are using D&D mechanics to help create an OC but don't intend to play, you can kind of do whatever; just know that if you do get an opportunity and want to play this guy in a D&D game you should re-do the stats to fit with gameplay, ie, high intelligence)

[waffleweirdo]

I will forever be in awe of Arcana Arcadia. Starira is a game with so many issues, but the fact that it’s story was able to come to a conclusion that intricately interweaves every single character’s story into a grand epic is spectacular.

It has all of revue starlight’s meta narrative and symbolism in spades with Play A

Every single character ties into the narrative in an important way, both in the play, and in the production of the play

Aruru Otsuki. Do I need to say more?

The intermissions all give insanely good characterization

They actually wrote a play that spans eras and genres and worlds and it works??? I am always floored by the revue starlight writers what the heck

Plus the way it ties up the story with Elle and adds a new perspective than what we just see from the main cast.

It’s actually incredible, and in my opinion revue starlight at one of its best points. And it’s from a shitty mobile game and locked behind hours of other content! Why!!!

This was just an excuse for me to gush about Arcana Arcadia.

Anyways, if you haven’t you should read all the stories on the wiki. It’s worth it!! Some of them aren’t great, but Arcana Arcadia is so good that it’s worth it!

[fipindustries]

you can tell balatro really succeeded on me because it made me actually google for the precise meaning of certain cards and the meta of how they are used, which i never do for a game ever.

but is just perfect, such a tantalizing neat system, that is anotther way in which the game triumphed with me, the game doesnt go out of its way to explain the deeper intricacies of the planet cards or the arcana cards or the spirit cards, these are all things i had to figure out as i played and i did! i go into the mental effort of charting this system in my head on my own! and i had fun doing it! i tried other games that want you to do this like tunic or whatever and it just did not click for me but this game did it

[stariisoda]

Not me watching The Amazing Digital Circus and then thinking about how since the Arcana is a game, what if there was an AU where our character (The Apprentice) was just playing it on their phone when they got transferred to it.

And then all of the main 6 were once people too before they got trapped in the game. And they are all stuck and trying to figure out how to escape the game. And since it's a romance game you could still follow a route/routes....

Lol, then there would be a meta reason for the Apprentice's amnesia...