The Arcana Julian - Tumblr Posts

There once was a doctor…

Have you ever tried to write Arcana-inspired limericks?

Join us, it's fun!

Art: original Nix Hydra team concept art Limericks: ApostleJay *** There was a vesuvian questor Who liked to torement and to fester With ironical smile They dissect with a style That creepy vesuvian questor

*** There once was a priest called Vulgora Who questioned the law and the moral They raged and they killed And were pleasently thrilled That priest in the robes of blood coral *** There once was a doctor delirious Who was kinda self-deleterious He was strangely pleased To be bound and teased That silly young doctor delirious ***

I should post more often, but I am depressive slop. :D

But yesterday I saw such a beautiful tweet, and couldn’t handle it.

You can consider the screen from PSL Tale as an Easter egg, if you know what I mean. ;}

/Lunatic Sun/

/up: The Arcana game (PSL Tale)

below: art by Lunatic Sun

Text by: mars_adler on Twitter (now known as X)/

Such an old piece. Something 'bout mortido.

Sorry not sorry. :D

🔻🔻🔻

🔻TW: slight gore & decapitation

/© Lunatic Sun. 2022/

"The night – tho' clear – shall frown –

And the stars shall look not down,

From their high trones in the heaven,

With light like Hope to mortals given –

But their red orbs, without beam,

To thy weariness shall seem

As a burning and a fever

Which would cling to thee for ever."

© E. A. Poe

Has Death paid you enough attention, young man?

/© Lunatic Sun/

reference 🔻🔻🔻

The Kiss of Death is a marble sculpture created in 1930, located in Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona.

Artist: Jaume Barba

"Words, words… It's in human nature – to talk less, hide the details. This is usually quite annoying, but now is rather confusing. "You're so beautiful…" – what could they think he mean in these words? It seems Valdemar haven't ever heard them this way before. Could a hanged man tell it to his gallows? Could he feel love to the rope, which ties around his neck? Could he whisper with his bloodless lips "thank you for all", while he take the last breath of air?

Valdemar could swear on their longstanding bonds with Devil: there was no man like him. It doesn't matter what faith any other person has. There's no martyr in history who is able to match such experience, no matter how strong religious exaltation they sensed in their agony.

Doctor №069 - Julian Devorak, isn't it? - the man was perfectly insane, but so much beauty was held in this insanity."

De profundis clamavi ad te domine,

Exaudi vocem meam,

Quia ventus est vita mea,

Nec aspiciat me visus hominis.

/art/text (except Psalm 129): Lunatic Sun/

"– People are obsessed with love, looking for it and not getting what they really need. Fragile, stupid creatures. You consider love as a magical tool that can change the world and then you go around in circles. But your eyes are clouded with illusions. You think: if this love didn’t give me what I need, it is not "real". You are fascinated by the myth of true love. You think it would last for the rest of your life, understanding and healing everything. But love is just a myth.

Ilya looked up, his lips trembling.

– What am I looking for? I don’t really know, Quaestor Valdemar. But I know that you are... incapable of love. I know this and I have come to you willingly.

Quaestor is answered:

– You came to the sacrificial fire. Frankly, I’m impressed by your deep, desperate masochism. It’s attractive – how can predator be attracted to the easy prey. You came to me because you can no longer look for something in people – something they want too and can’t give you. A kind of the truth. However, perhaps you intuitively tried to give it to them.

You understand what I am. You’re not making any illusions about my personality. You’ve seen what I can do. Others have deceived you. But you still hope. Dum spiro, spero is your unfailing credo.

Valdemar went quiet for a while and then added, looking into Julian’s eyes:

– And like all men, you still worship love as a god. Funny. But… Nec deus intersit."

Text: Lunatic Sun

Art:

Sketch: chilledoutbeast

Colouring: wasteofplace

previous fragment:

Tumblr

Let there be †Mayhem†

"Ilya lowered his eyes. He felt stupid and ridiculous, looking at the flowers in his hands. All determination seemed to dissipate, his heart

"Quaestor Valdemar wasn’t interested in people in general. But suddenly a young man came into their dungeons, barehanded, with an armful of deadly aconites and a desperate look in his eyes. They couldn’t resist. Doctor № 069 became their favorite – object of studies, of course – and, oh, he was so willing to assist them."

Art: Lunatic Sun

Text: Apostle Jay

(Part 1 of 3)

"Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,

As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;

For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart

Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.

Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold

Thy face hath not the power to make love groan:

To say they err, I dare not be so bold,

Although I swear it to myself alone.

And, to be sure that is not false I swear,

A thousand groans but thinking on thy face

One on another's neck do witness bear

Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place.

In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,

And thence this slander as I think proceeds".

Sonnet 131, William Shakespeare

Part two (2/3):

Previous part:

Part 1 of 3

Doctor №069 was napping on the couch in his room in the Dungeons. Hearing Quaestor's footsteps nearby, he sleepily responded:

– Behold, my Death cometh…

(based on a true story, sorry not sorry. Thank Apostle Jay for inspiration)

P. S. Beware: I'm (not only me) the uncompromising shipper Valdemar/Julian from the first time:

And because of this:

You've been warned. The right of appeal is eliminated.

Julian likes to call Valdemar "my personal 11th plague", that's all. Period.

/according to canonical information about Jewish references to Devorak family and my headcanon about kinda Egyptian origins of Valdemar*. Yes, this is Biblical allusion, if you want to know./

P. S. I would like to add: Valdemar usually responds "Surely, doctor №069, Egypt fights back", but there's no "Egypt" as it is in the Arcana world. But if there is a Temple district in Vesuvia and if there are many confessions similar to existing IRL, events in "the Book" definitely can have similar lines.

P. P. S. Valdemar is well familiar with "the Book" contents. Indeed.

*P. P. P. S. Here are some considerations in this regard, with more details.

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.

Clearly, it's not easy to hide your relationship in Vesuvia. Especially when it looks questionable. Problematic. But only for the people around, of course. And none of these two cared about it. Valdemar despised the opinion of the crowd (and people in general) — and this is a huge understatement. And Doctor №069… Oh, he was too passionate and devoted to think about it. He couldn't hide his feelings.

Surely, one would notice, that Julian Devorak spends too much time in the Dungeons. That he blushes every time someone mentiones his mentor's name. That Valdemar walked with this young man down the streets of Vesuvia side by side — and usually they showed no love, interest or even mercy for the humankind.

- Are they lovers?

- No, they're worse.

/© Apostle Jay /

"The worst was this; my love was my decay"

© W. Shakespeare

Part 3/3 ⏬

/© Art; text – Lunatic Sun/

part 2/3

part 1/3

Maybe… some WIP? :D

somebody take the Aubrey Beardsley artbook away from me

I feel like I've been using the tablet for so long that I've forgotten how to draw in a sketchbook. But drawing patterns is new to me. I am pleased with the results of my experiment.

Something wicked this way comes~

/L.S./

Here's my birthday /L.S./, and here's... some kind of gift for me, because I love my artists and I love this picture.

Sketch/line: ChilleOutBeast

Coloring: WasteOfPlace

"Is that score for vielle? Such a good transcription."

"Did you..?"

"I can read music. Nothing more, if you want to ask."

I got into WIPs, but there are finished drawings, so in this case my conscience is clear. :D

So, how it started:

How it's going:

(The "Sketch>Finished Art" team, I'm with you guys. Seriously, I really think that coloring is not my strong suit. However, I myself love the dark palette more than the bright one, but I just appreciate the contrasts that WasteOfPlace usually adds.

Like here.

Or here.

However, this is no reason to stop drawing on my own. I don't like to bother my team with my own petty whims. :D /L. S./)

And I hope Anon with the "Valdemar x Julian playlist" request is still here. Someday I will drop the whole playlist, I promise.🫀

(I am synaesthete and I love the dark-blue palette of early Apocalyptica so much. "Not strong enough" is not "the early Apocalyptica™ era", but indeed the Julian POV.)

I came and brought some headcanons.

Since I don't like making headcanons about MCs, and the whole concept is not for me, I'm doing... a side character based on my favorite musicians instead. Who, in my opinion, fit into the Arcana world.

And I'm sure: "Blackmore's Night" is one of them (my beg pardon, I'm an old fan). Since I feel the same aesthetic and the same atmosphere, let's go.

1. This is where I feel the STRONGEST "Girl Power" vibes. What about, say, the "Nadia/MC" route? Portia can be here too (I mean, girl party in a storm on a cliff overlooking the ocean? YEAAH!).

2. I don't know why, but here I feel "Asra/MC" (suddenly!) vibes more than anything else. So, why not?

2.1. "Asra/MC" (or just Azra themselve), so-why-not-2:

So: "The Rowdy Raven". It's easy to imagine R. Blackmore and K. Night as musicians playing in the tavern. Maybe their patron arcana in the Arcana world are also "The Lovers", like Aisha and Salim. I don't think the patron arcana can choose the only person (or couple like "the Lovers" do). I guess "being chosen by the Arcana personification" is not an exclusive offer. It's rare? Well, yes. But I think it's much rarer to be exclusive. It depends, I guess.

Anyway, this is my own headcanon about side characters, which is just giving me a special ambiance as I see it. I like such non-binding vignettes, say:

1. Dancing in the "Rowdy Raven" to this song. Maybe this is a bit of an anachronism ("Lorelei" is a poem by Heinrich Heine, 1824 or even Clemens Brentano's poem "Lore Lay" on 1801) for the "Renaissance" setting of the game, but as long as there is tango (as the most obvious anachronism) in the game itself, this is allowed too.

(Imagine all those old sailors dancing under Mazelinka's leadership. She's sure to have many stories to tell about beautiful sea maidens: she was married to one of them. But with a happy ending. 🖤)

2. Oh, well, it's pretty simple. I think it was one of Julian's favorite songs. Especially for the "sentimental mood" ('cause he is a sweet sentimental boy, you know).

3. This is so obvious that I won't say any more.

I've been listening to them for over 15 years. It's kind of a "band of my youth" and maybe someone will discover "Blackmore's Night" for themselves, idk. Just say something if you want. I always appreciate little vignettes about the whole world (not the "MC with /put your LI here/…" type), but such content is rarely seen here.

Finally, my favorite:

/Lunatic Sun/

(I was just waiting for the song that would fit perfectly with the whole atmosphere that I had in mind. So I found it.)

/art ©Lunatic Sun/

Sorry, but. ApostleJay on the line.

As a masochist, I would say that this thing works quite the opposite.

Yes, masochist can assotiate pleasure with pain - and it could be a coping mechanism. But it forms right into your brain and couldn't be turned back. Actually, it could be the other way - masochist may open up in healthy relationship and finally be themselves) There are different forms of masochism: some people enjoy degradation, some of them don't, some prefer the sensation of pain, others like to obey - it's not always about sex.

So I would insist that Julian is definitely a masochist and submissive as fuck :))

(UPD: Also short addition, because I, Lunatic Sun, have my own description in the quote.

BDSM is like a snake. Can you dislike snakes? Yes, you can. But don't say things like "all snakes are venomous" and kill poor reptiles. Not all snakes are venomous, and most likely the snake on your path wants to go away, not attack you. But if you killed every snake you saw and spread your opinion, you'd be harming the environment.

You can have your own opinion, but not your own fact. It's not enough: "a few articles from the first page of Google" for having your own opinion. But "BDSM is not my cup of tea and I exclude this line from my description of the relationship between my MC and Julian" would be more than enough. I may not like Asrian, but I don't scream "this is not canon because I don't like it and I think their relationships are kinda abusive". Asrian is a fact of the Arcana canon. "Julian is a masochist" is another such fact. That's all.)

/Lunatic Sun on the line, as you might guess/

Okay. Not the first time I have seen such an opinion in the fandom, but the first time it looks like a full consideration. Well.

As someone who knows a little more than a few articles on the first page of Google, perhaps I'll take the liberty of... clarifying the issue. I probably won't be kind enough because I'm so annoyed by these hot takes.

To be clear, this isn't much about the canon or Julian himself. My speech is about the whole image of BDSM on this "Opinion.jpg".

I can understand that you don't know much about BDSM and this is not your cup of tea. I understand that it is not for everyone.

But please. Please, tell me, someone, any of those people with such hot take.

Why do you think that if you are into BDSM you have no alternative? If you are a masochist, you can only be horny because of pain? Thank you for not EVERY pain, I have heard such… opinion.

Okay, can you explain to me, sadistic/dominant person, who am I? Maybe I want to torture everyone I have a relationship with? I have no alternatives? Perhaps I have more macabre intentions? Come on! "The "Sadist" sounds terrible! Maybe he/she/them will kill someone one day, they definitely can't live without torturing someone!" Welcome to the "As Vanilla Says..." TV Show!

The description of masochism as a disease (DSM-V, I mean) includes distress, "psychosocial difficulties" because of their masochistic sexual attractions.

And there's no "healthy relationships" in the clinical recommendations for rehab, iykwim. (✨Oh, love, the most beautiful miracle, heals all!✨ Sorry not sorry. Bruh.)

As I said above about sadistic affections, "sexual sadism disorder" as a disorder has this description:

"The individual has acted on these sexual urges with a nonconsenting person, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning."

I sincerely hope you got that.

As a sadist and dominant, I don't want to kill your grandma, humiliate my partners 24/7 without their consent/for my own pleasure or whatever. Masochists can be horny without pain (If a masochist can only be aroused by pain, it's a disorder). Also, masochists can dislike some kinds of pain (even the "safe" kind, not the taboo or something extremely hard), and if I, as their sadist, ignore their ban/request, this behaviour will automatically make me an abuser and rapist. This is not my goal as a sadist.

BDSM is not a judgement.

There are many practices and the same person, whoever they are, can have many behaviours. Even in the area of "kinks and sexual attractions". And the devs surprisingly correctly described Julian Devorak as a masochist, okay? Not in the "disease way", but in the "kink way".

In conclusion, if you claim the golden standard of healthy relationships beyond "dialogue", "support" and "freedom to be yourself in a mutually respectful way", you seem to have no idea about healthy relationships (I mean, indeed, if you exclude BDSM as something harmful or sick from your "Golden Standard ™"). And yes, BDSM relationships must have the "mutual respect". Because the other way is pure violence. Or silly fantasies about such violence like the-film-that-shall-not-be-named.

Sorry, but. ApostleJay on the line.

As a masochist, I would say that this thing works quite the opposite.

Yes, masochist can assotiate pleasure with pain - and it could be a coping mechanism. But it forms right into your brain and couldn't be turned back. Actually, it could be the other way - masochist may open up in healthy relationship and finally be themselves) There are different forms of masochism: some people enjoy degradation, some of them don't, some prefer the sensation of pain, others like to obey - it's not always about sex.

So I would insist that Julian is definitely a masochist and submissive as fuck :))