#the arcana game theories

[soullessseraphim]

cat behavior

have this old sketch I was too lazy to update but not lazy enough to leave black and white

[thehangedman69]

The Arcana Theory I

The Lazaret is visible from Vesuvia, which means...

It was mentioned several times throughout different routes that the Lazaret could clearly be seen in the distance from the docks (and possibly other places, I'm not sure without doing another playthrough).

But... if the Lazaret is visible from Vesuvia, that means Vesuvia is visible from the Lazaret.

What actually happened at the Lazaret isn't entirely clear, but we do know that it was where the plague victims were sent to die and get cremated. But it didn't seem that particular care was taken in the crematorium to be sure that all patients were dead.

Assuming that they weren't deliberately sent to the incinerator alive (unless maybe Valdemar visited at times?), then it was only those who were nearly dead. Beds were mentioned in the ruins in at least two routes if not three or more. So most likely the rest waited to die or get close enough to be mistaken as such. Which proves what one would expect, that the patients were in all different stages of the plague.

Which brings us to the theory. Those who were sent to the Lazaret in the early stages where they didn't feel particularly sick yet, but were showing signs enough to be sent (red scleras, etc.), might have wanted to escape the horrors for a little while to walk around for a bit. Whether it would be allowed or not is up for debate, but they couldn't go far. It was an island, after all. But those who did feel up to walking around the island and either were allowed to or went unnoticed found a different horror that no one talks about.

A moment of silence for the plague victims who could see Vesuvia from the Lazaret, knowing that they would never go home... 🥺

[macabremayhem]

The Arcana (head)canon.

I have a strong opinion: Valdemar, because of their antiquity, was born in the land that has a lot in common with ancient Egypt. Not only because of their antiquity: the developers (NH, of course) said themselves about their inspiration for the Tarot history.

Okay, Renaissance, Arabic, but... Egypt? I have never seen any specific Egyptian motifs in the visuals of the game. But what if...

Okay, okay, Valdemar is an ancient being born as a human. Somewhere in the ancient kingdom like the Ancient Egypt in the Arcana world. I'm absolutely sure!

Please don't tell me who they are: AMAB or AFAB, I really HATE THAT subject. And I really hate any kind of "AMAB Valdemar" or "AFAB Valdemar". They are NON-BINARY. They were non-binary as a human, they are non-binary as a demon and eldritch horror. That's it. Also, I love the fact that Vulgora and Valdemar are demons and have never considered that a "bad representation". Sorry, but as a non-binary person, I really want to have the ability to fully transition as an option. I want nothing to do with any option of human genitalia. And I have the strongest gender envy for the Vulgora and Valdemar. They're not human anymore, they can turn their bodies into anything they fucking want and they can live as they feel. Not AFAB. Definitely not AMAB. But Ȩ̵̙̟̬͚̊̿̉͌͜͠l̷̶̡͙̼̗̳̃̑̄͒͡d̶͒̍ͤ̓͏̴̦̮̲͓͝ŗ̛̯̪̠̤ͬͯ͂ͫ̕͠i̴̵ͪͥ̄̎͜͏̭͎͕̗ẗ̵̨̹̻̥̹ͥ̂̆͜͡ç̝͚̗̗̃̍̔ͬ͘͠͝h̆̌͛̔҉̴̧̦̲̘̪͢ ̵͚̤̲̮ͫ́̀̔̀͘͜H̴̡͙̥̩͔ͩ͛͐͛͟͞o̢̢̖̳͉͕͛͂ͫ͌͟͞r̵̞̮̮̮̄͑ͭ̃̕͢͟r̒͗̒̒͏̢͏҉̯̠̝͚o̯͔̭̝ͦ̔ͣͬ́̀͞͡r̍ͫ̔̄͝҉̛̺̺̗͔́ ̏͊̃ͮ҉̸̷̢͈̲͍̝.

Okay, let's go back to the Ancient Egypt theme. I'm sure - the developers should have had that reference, and maybe when they were building the Arcana world they had that thing in mind.

Also. I love learning something (or use my knowledge) and turning it into the Arcana reference. Ancient history is the best thing for that entertainment. So...

Meet the goddess Sekhmet. She's beautiful, she's angry. According to the myths, she wanted to destroy humans because they had humiliated her father, the Supreme God Ra.

And the goddess Sekhmet was a... patron goddess of medicine. She was a patron goddess of medicine, and the same time she had the power to command the diseases and especially the plague.

Plague!

That was her, shall we say, "crown curse sign". Medicine in ancient Egypt was also extremely advanced (for the ancient world, of course). The first time, I swear, I headcanoned Valdemar as a priest of Thoth (for the reasons). But the connection between medicine, plague and the goddess Sekhmet is amazing.

Thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk. :D With all my love for the world of Arcana, Lunatic Sun.

[aaliillustrate]

TOUCHSTARVED AND THE MAJOR ARCANA

this is something that I just noticed but please educate me if I got something wrong or the way I formatted things is incorrect. Those will be noted in the future.

So the Major Arcana right?

I think that the Senobium is the Tower card. Not only because the Academia is literally the long tower in Eridia, it's probably because the tower is a disaster card.

"A lightning bolt strikes the tower which sets it ablaze. Flames are bursting in the windows and people are jumping out of the windows as an act of desperation."

"They want to escape the turmoil and destruction within." This probably theory at Vere wanting to escape the Senobium.

"The Tower is a symbol for the ambition that is constructed on faulty premises." There's a theory about Kuras giving knowledge to the Senobium and the Senobium used at some point?..

I could already guess that Leander is The Magician Card. It sort of fits his description and could also predict what kind of person he is.

"This is a rather complicated phrase, but its summarization is that earth reflects heaven, the outer world reflects within, the microcosm reflects the macrocosm, earth reflects God. It can also be interpreted here that the magician symbolizes the ability to act as a go-between between the world above and the contemporary, human world."

"..he takes the potential innate in the fool and molds it into being with the power of desire. He is the connecting force between heaven and earth, for he understands the meaning behind the words "as above so below" - that mind and world are only reflections of one another. Remember that you are powerful, create your inner world, and the outer will follow." AS ABOVE SO BELOW where did we hear that from?

"... reversed Magician is a master of illusion. The magic that he performs is one of deception and trickery. You may be lured in by the showmanship of his arts, but behind that there may be an intention to manipulate for selfish gain. It might mean that there is someone who pretends to have your best interests at hand when the opposite is true." Remember when Leander's magic flower is just an illusion?

But yeah, that's all.

(note: all quotations made was from LABYRINTHOS https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-list)

[alpacahat67]

actually one of these days ill make a big post abt it but if we assume julian was taught humorism he isnt a COMPLETE nutjob about his use of leeches

[bittersweetcanary]

Artw Sirius the Monster Theory

Spoilers for floor 12!! Read at your own peril O-O lol

Floor 8 Stage 17/20 - Funny Play

Sirius not so subtly drops a theater ticket in front of the Summoner, whether or not you hand it to him he ticket or bring attention to it Sirius asks you to attend it with him.

I believe this was staged, I think he wrote the play. A hit to who he is and who the summoner was. Foretelling of the story to come on floor 12.

The Great Sorcerer is Polaris who falls in love with the Star, Sirius, who becomes a Sorcerer and Monster in his attempt to save Polaris after they made a deal with every door, their magic drained to the point of freezing over.

Sirius refuses to tell everyone his wish when Pollux remembers a fable, a tale that

In the game I read that people born of stars have eyes like rainbows, like Sirius, I think Arcturus said that. Arcturus knows a lot but it's always spoken as fables and tales children would be told.

Sirius, the Monster, sees Polaris as his hero. Craved Polaris. Refuses to let Polaris die, willing to destroy himself, and the world, to save his hero, the one he desires.

I believe Sirius looks to destroy all the towers in an attempt to break the contract Polaris made with the void that drained them of their mana, leaving Polaris vulnerable enough for the void to attempt to kill them to remove a key individual in what is keeping it from destroying the world, Boundarlyn.

In the chat locked behind keys with Sirius, the Summoner is stuck in a labyrinth controlled by an unknown Sorcerer's Familiar's spirit that acts by the will of its Sorcerer. Sirius had been following the Summoner when this happened.

Sirius begins to tell the Summoner a story, "Through the Labyrinth".

He goes on to state "It is about a hero who kills a trapped monster in a labyrinth and escapes following the thread."

The Summoner has an option to reply with "Are you the monster?"

He mentions later "What do you think the monster thought of the whole time it was trapped in the labyrinth?" "It might have tried to hide its true identity and become good friends with the hero to get out."

Ending the Chat with "Your monster is here to show you gratitude."

The call "A Guides Pick-up", I believe is related to this. Sirius mentions "Something could disguise itself as someone you know and approach you... Or trap you in a maze of terrible memories.

I think Polaris, the Hero, saved Sirius, the Star-Stuck Monster from a labyrinth of terrible memories, though that may not be so literal. It could mean Sirius was at an all-time mental low, simply putting it. Polaris found him, and took him in, someone who looked innocent and alone. But Sirius sees himself as a monster in disguise.

Sirius tells the Summoner not to trust himself, or the others quite frequently.

The Monster grew to love the Hero, wanting all of their attention and love. To the point the Monster would destroy everything just to keep his beloved alive, even himself. Sirius, the Monster couldn't accept that someone so lovely, the Hero Polaris, would love someone so dark.

The Monster both wanted and desired the Hero but could never let himself truly be theirs as he doesn't believe he is worthy? Even when the Hero reciprocated those feelings he couldn't allow himself to trust or be trusted,

I think Sirius wanted the Summoner to remember, to know, to say something but sadly for him the Summoner isn't Polaris anymore...

Also, at the end of the call that is related to the labyrinth, Sirius asks where the Summoner is and then says "This Sirius will meet you there". It seems he is insinuating that there are others, of himself. Do others hide as Sirius or does he fear the Dark Sorcerers may use his or the other's image to take the Summoner away? For example, Castor. Though I haven't read anything that would suggest he has masqueraded as Pollux that could happen. As we learn later in the story it seems Castor thinks he and the Summoner have some sort of relationship that Pollux is in getting in-between, has he hidden at Pollux before? Did he do something with the Summoner as Pollux? Maybe.

[snowleopardsarecool]

Okay guys I'm literally having SO many thoughts going through my head right now, I just read a theory about how lucio Parton arcana isn't the devil, but the fool, and Lucio's father Parton is actually the devil, here is the link to the theory

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SL1NZJXjWnaJDuVuUEkA6xL56kodaQqOEykVyOGil0w/edit?usp=drivesdk

So basically the theory suggests MC is actually the fool arcana, like WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, does this mean this MC is just the fool in disguise and the real MC is still dead??? I'm like I FEEL BAD cause if this MC is just the fool in disguise, then that means the main 6 basically fell in love with someone they can't be with in the afterlife, they just fell for a version of a dead person, tbh I think MC is part of the fool arcana but just have the body, like their soul is the same, and they are intact the real MC just with the body of the fool, but I need to hear yall because I'm panicking over this.

[venzars-the-virtuoso]

yeah scout either uses mirror pronouns or just. the apprentice's pronouns. because they're intertwined. ig the other characters wouldn't refer to scout with their own pronouns cuz they're not intertwined with scout

[ancient-day]

While I'm already reaching into game mechanics for significance, I'll also go ahead and point out that the fusion of the Fool + Justice arcanas creates Star, which is the primary symbol of the game.

[herdecisions]

The arcana flashbacks… 🥹😫😭😭😭

[eelsinatub]

The Arcana- magic headcannon

(small spoiler for Julian's route) I was thinking about one scene in Julian's route, where MC is teaching Julian how to do magic. While drawing out a symbol to make fire, MC mentions how there are marks that make the whole thing work, and without it, it's just a decoration. So what if you could get tattoos of different symbols. Spells that hide your appearance, putting fire runes on your hands, things like that.

[soullessseraphim]

I'll have the audacity to tell you I don’t like the color green but then my brain will start fixating on these two

"But Valdemar is actually a desaturated orange-"

✋️💥

Desaturating orange requires blue

Orange is a mix of yellow and red

Yellow and blue make green

There is green in there

You will not take it from me I will defend it tooth and claw fight me,, fight me come on 🤺🤺

[thehangedman69]

Theory II

The mark given by The Hanged Man could heal, but...

Julian was given the mark from The Hanged Man the night that Lucio "died," along with the answer that Lucio was the source of the plague, so he had it shortly before the alleged murder.

Although he was going to kill Lucio, he found that Lucio was already on fire when he arrived to do it, then was arrested upon leaving. The murder mark must have been branded on his hand that night since he escaped before he could be hanged, which I think was set for the next morning (but I'm not completely sure).

The theory is that he has (or had, depending on the route) control over when to use The Hanged Man's gift (curse?). Otherwise, it should have started to heal his hand as soon as the murder mark was burned onto it.

And with that, choosing not to heal it proves how much he thought he deserved it.

[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.

[snowleopardsarecool]

Nah but like imagine if the fool specifically created MC to give MC their body and stop the devil?👀

[starfirexuchiha]

My P5 Royal Tumblr Posts Directory

I made so many P5R related posts in the past so I decided to organize them and put the links to them in a post so that people, as well as myself, can easily find them!

Since I am a Shuake enthusiast, most of these links are Shuake-related posts which is not surprising lol. I will update this as I find more of my old posts.

Links to my Translation posts

P5R Guidebook Interview Translation - The Royal Trio is a “Love Triangle”

P5R Guidebook Interview Translation - Akechi is the Deuteragonist

P5R Guidebook Interview Translation - About Akechi’s silly Navi Line 

Navi Akechi Status Ailment Translations

Joker’s gay dream about going to the beach with Akechi Translation

Joker’s gay dream about going on a movie date with Akechi Translation

P5R Keychain Merch Translations

New P5R Goro keychain merch & ShuAke Flower Language Translations 

P5 Tactica Crow Trailer scene Translation (Contains Shuake rivalmance)

P5R Artbook Translation - Creator’s Comment on the Shuake “Bad Ending” artworks

P5R Artbook Interview Translation - Regarding the “Bad Ending” (Maruki Ending) and devs being aware of Shuake fans

P5R Magazine Translation for Rokuro Saito's comment on the Royal Trio

P5 Maniacus Magazine Translation - Confirmation that Akechi has the Wildcard ability

P5R Magazine - Translation for the Shuake Profiles

P5R Magazine - Translation about meeting Akechi in 3rd semester

Links to my Guides (including Translated Guides) posts

P5R: Akechi Confidant Dialogue Choices guide

How to make Akechi obtain his 3rd Tier Persona (Hereward) in P5R [Concise]

P5R Guidebook Translation on how to make Akechi obtain his 3rd Tier Persona (Hereward)

P5R Guidebook Translation for Akechi’s Confidant Guide

List of Gifts that each Male Confidant Likes

P5R: Complete Akechi Gift Guide

P5R: List of ♪♪♪ gifts for Akechi (With picture references)

Confidant Deadlines for Akechi, Maruki, and Sumi

How to get the Royal Trio PS4 theme

Links to my Theories/Meta posts

The Flower Meanings behind each P5R Flower Keychain Merch

Ryuji and Sunflowers

“Acedia” - Akechi’s deadly sin

Side Effect of using Call of Chaos

Black Mask Goro also represents a Harlequin

The meaning behind Paradise Lost (Joker’s strongest melee weapon)

The Symbolism behind Akechi’s Tie and Badge

Hereward is the First Robin Hood who is also unhinged

Faith, Hope, and Charity Arcanas and how it will foreshadow a future P5 Spinoff game

Akechi being undetectable

Shuake connection to Adam and Steve

P5 - “He made HIMSELF go psychotic!”

The events in P3 took place near Maruki’s palace

The Real reason why Akechi is unaffected by the dream world

Goro’s surname may be fake

“Night on the Galactic Railroad” references in Persona 5 Royal (ShuAke-related meta)

Links to Unused Content posts

3 Unused Farewell Gifts in P5R for 3/19

Some Unused Akechi Lines in Mementos

Unused Akechi Thieves Den conversations

Unused Shuake dialogue in Darts Game

Goro thinks shirtless Joker is distracting

P5R Unused Showtime Stickers

Prince Akechi has Unused Navi lines

Some Unused Akechi Costume Conversations

Unused Goro Texture File

More info about the Unused Goro Texture file

Unused scene where Goro is still alive after Maruki's Reality got destroyed

Unused Content - Goro’s Unused Mementos Request (Not my post but this is so interesting that I wanna bookmark this here)

Links to Misc and Trivia posts

Tsundere Akechi moments in P5R

Persona 5: Mementos Reports - Some Akechi Trivia

Akechi is also an artist

P5 Tactica Translation of Goro’s special dialogue to Joker 

Goro scaring Ryuji

Akechi wanting Joker to be his true self (independent of the player’s will)

Akechi’s Arcana card is mysteriously missing in the official P5 and P5R websites

List of times where Goro thinks Joker is attractive

Goro’s ENTJ quotes by cognitive functions

The Answer to whether or not Akechi is alive in P5R + Shuake moments

Goro has a warm tingly feeling

Goro being a jealous bitch in the Royal Trio Love Triangle (Not my post but I love bitchy Goro)