#maybe except valerius

[jeannereames]

Do you think alexander considered hephaistion his alter-ego?

"He, too, is Alexander"

Did Alexander think of Hephaistion as his alter-ego? Quite possibly—but not by that term. For one thing, “alter-ego” is Latin, and we find it first used in writing by Cicero, although it may have been (quite possibly was) in common parlance prior.

The concept did appear to exist in Greek, but the tendency to apply it to Alexander and Hephaistion owes chiefly to two attestations. The first is the recorded meeting between Alexander, Hephaistion, and Sisygambus, wherein he supposedly said, of Hephaistion, "He, too, is Alexander." The other concerns a quip attributed to Aristotle, mentioned in Diogenes Laertus that friendship is one soul in two bodies—but this not found Aristotle's surviving works, despite a longish passage on friendship in his Nikomachian Ethics.

Without being unduly cynical, we must always take exact phrasing with a grain of salt. I think there's very little we can be certain Alexander said. Same problem with Aristotle, unless you're reading his actual writings, and even some of those are dubious, such as the infamous Ath Pol, or Constitution of the Athenians. We typically distinguish these as “pseudo-Aristotle.” (So if you see “pseudo-”some-name, that means the work is attributed to that person but almost certainly not actually written by him/her.)

So, as part of my usual ‘Let me ‘splain you why you can’t trust that story/saying…,’ let’s play some dating games here.

First, Cicero is our initial attested use of “alter ego,” in a letter to his friend Atticus, that dates the phrase to somewhere between 68-44, or middle of the first century BCE. Maybe we can push it back a little earlier to the early first century, but I’d be uncomfortable pushing it further without solid evidence. Popular terms change. Anybody call a fashionable (male) person, “That cool cat…” these days—except as a bit of a joke? I didn’t think so. 😉 But “cool” itself is otherwise still in common use. So we have to be careful about when terms are popular.

Now, the story of Alexander before Sysigamgus is best known from Curtius (3.12.16-17), but Diodoros also relates it (17.37.5-6), and so does Arrian (2.12.3-8)—although with a caveat. He says it doesn’t appear in his trusted sources (Aristoboulos or Ptolemy) but he tells it anyway, apparently because he approves of the actions in it.

We don’t know where it comes from. Maybe Kleitarchos? Possibly Kallisthenes? It does not appear in either Plutarch’s bio of Alexander or his Moralia, although normally he loved these sorts of anecdotes. There’s a good reason, however, that Plutarch doesn’t tell it (see below). Justin is just too short. (It also appears in abbreviated form in a couple of later Roman sources, Valerius Maximus and Dio Chrysostom. So it was clearly popular in the rhetorician crowd.)

So, what are the words attributed to Alexander? Diodoros’ Greek is kai gar kai outos Alexandros estin: “and for also this [man] Alexander is” (6). Arrian renders it kai gar ekeinon einai Alexandron: “and for that man is Alexander” (7). Curtius puts it, albeit in Latin, nam et hic Alexander est: “for he also Alexander is” (17). Yes, I rendered those into English pretty exactly, even if it sounds a bit funny. First, it helps show how every translation is an interpretation, but also allows us to watch the parsing itself.

None of them is exactly the same, even if the meaning is the same. That’s a good reminder we don’t have his exact phrasing!

Assuming the event even happened.

Why should we doubt it? Aside from Arrian’s skepticism?

This story feels a LOT like a classic lesson in proper clemency. I’ve talked about the importance of clemency before. The bulk of this tale is meant to show a chivalrous Alexander early in his career, before he fell victim to divine aspirations and the lure of that nasty Oriental Luxury <tm>. See what a good guy he was?! Plutarch, in his take, insists not only did Alexander not rape the royal women, he wouldn’t even look at the women. That’s probably why he doesn’t tell this story, because going to their tent absolutely IS looking at them, donchaknow. It’s even funnier because it’s Plutarch who tells us Statiera died in childbirth well, well after that baby could have been Darius’s. (Consistency? What consistency? Pfff.)

My point here is that the story may very well have been fabricated to make a MORAL point of how to be an honorable victor—whether in the era of the Successors (which grew increasingly bloody and vicious), or in the later Roman period. It would also provide a perfect example for Curtius to contrast with Alexander’s later Asian debauchery.

You may be wondering, But why would they make up an entire story like that? Wouldn’t people know?

Um, to prove my point I give you…Twitter, QAnon, and whatever quote is being attributed (wrongly) to Samuel L. Jackson this week. The more often people hear something, even a lie, the more likely they are to believe it’s true. Arrian’s other stories of after-Issos events has Leonnatos going to talk to the women, not Alexander (and Hephaistion). Of course, it’s entirely possible Leonnatos went the first evening, while Alexander and Hephaistion went the next morning. It even makes a certain amount of sense that he’d visit the royal women. So, the bare-bones of the encounter may be true, but mistaken identities and all those speeches were likely put in people’s mouths later.

Incidentally, there’s a pun in the line, as alex-andros translates to “protector of men.” So Hephaistion is also a protector of men. Romans and Greeks ate up that sort of word-play.

As for the Aristotle titbit…Diogenes Laertus reports a list of “sayings” (aphorisms) attributed to various philosophers. For Aristotle, one is: “To the query, ‘What is a friend?’ his reply was, ‘A single soul dwelling in two bodies’” (5.20). I’ve seen people claim he was referencing Alexander and Hephaistion. There’s absolutely no reason to assume that except romanticism and an Alexander-centric view. In our surviving writings by Aristotle, he barely mentions Alexander.* Shock, I know. 😂 But Alexander wasn’t at the forefront of his mind.

Additionally, as I said above, we have a longish bit on friendship in the Nikomachian Ethics, where that definition doesn’t appear, although nothing he says about true friendship in it contradicts the quote, either. But “Sayings of…” were a popular form of literature in antiquity, and sometimes a clever quip got attributed to more than one person! Maybe Aristotle did say that, but it’s not in actual writings about friendship by Aristotle. Aristotle’s writings on friendship are rather more complex; he lists three types of friendship in Book VIII.

Anyway, this little in-depth study is meant to help folks see how complicated it can be, to get back to what ALEXANDER himself said, thought, or even did.

Yet one thing ALL the sources agree upon: Hephaistion was Alexander’s favorite, not just (or even primarily) as a commander, but as a person. I’ve never read any claim to the contrary, and I have (quite literally) read everything in the ancient sources that concerns Hephaistion (and most everything that concerns Alexander too).

So, while it’s impossible to say that Alexander considered Hephaistion an “alter-ego,” or ever called him “Alexander too,” you can rest assured that every ancient source agrees that Hephaistion was dearer to Alexander than anybody else, maybe even including his own mother.

—————-

* 391a2: his “On the Universe” treatise opens with a reference to “Alexander,” who I think it’s safe to assume is the king. And 1420a5, is “Rhetoric to Alexander”--except that treatise is widely understood (even in the medieval world) to be bogus: e.g., a "pseudo-Aristotle" text. Plus Alexander is mentioned in a couple fragments.

#asks #alter-ego #Alexander the Great #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Cicero #Alexander before the family of Darius #Sisygambus #He is Alexander too #Aristotle #clemency #Classics #Alexander the Great in Roman literature #tagamemnon

[count-lucio]

count-lucio's M6 gender + sexuality headcanons

Asra- they/them, gendered pronouns are fine if they like you enough. AFAB but transitioning; to what? who knows. no hormones and no surgery - they prefer natural testosterone raisers (think nettle root, ginseng, ect). they don’t bind often, they like their chest the way it is. presents completely androgynously, wants their gender to be entirely unreadable and fluid. no real preference in dating, but bonus points if it’s T4T (cough: Julian, Muriel)

Nadia- she/her, MTF transgender. on hrt + has top surgery but has no interest in bottom surgery. (enjoys the fact that her dick is bigger than her husband's too much to ever even consider bottom surgery). mostly prefers women but has a soft spot for flamboyant pathetic men (re: her husband) (and her husband's boyfriend)

Julian- he/him, FTM transman. on HRT (does his T with Nazali), has top surgery but not bottom. just a guy, really, but the gender is definitely queer! would love crossdressing in the name of self expression, and for the art of it. his sexuality is kind of all over the place… preference for men but is definitely fluid and can be roped into just about anything (espesially if there’s ropes involved!)

Lucio- he/him. token cis character. genderqueer in his presentation, very comfortable with his masculinity and would wear a skirt if it made him look good but undeniably identifies as a man. will fuck anything with a pulse- maybe ever so slightly prefers men to women but quite frankly needs both in his life to be content.

Muriel- he/him, FTM, top surgery + on HRT but no bottom surgery. asra explained to him what being trans was when they were younger- gender is fairly straightforward. limited romantic attraction but has... Something going on with Asra.

Portia- she/they! definitely a girl, but perhaps there’s something else going on. very fluid. likes to present both feminine and masculine, depends on the day. butchy femme. that being said… lesbian. most definitely. they love women, espesially women named Nadia Satrinava.

bonus Valerius- they/he but the they is silent (they're embarrassed). definitely some level of genderqueerness going on with them but is too embarrassed to admit it fully- will wear heels and skirts sometimes. their gender expression is mostly indulged privately between them and Lucio (interpret that how you will). not particularly interested in women save for a few exceptions (cough cough Nadia)

please let me know if you'd all be interested in hearing my relationship headcanons to go along with these xx

#the arcana #the arcana game #count lucio #julian devorak #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #muriel the arcana #portia devorak

[byzantine-suggestions]

@suburbanbeatnik OK SO:

As far as the “mixing up different historical eras” problem goes, this actually happens in a lot of different novels. Theodora by Samuel Edwards is the most blatant example I can think of at the moment—near the end of the book, a horde of Huns, inexplicably led by Khosrow, starts marching on Constantinople while Justinian is in his plague coma, and Theodora sells the crown jewels (I don’t believe the narrative specifies the buyer) to fund Belisarius and his troops, who are the city’s last defense. Khosrow is similar to Mehmed II, Theodora takes on the role of Anna of Savoy, and the overall political situation is implied to be very bad for Byzantium, with Constantinople on the brink of total failure and most of the empire's territory gone. (Like, there’s discussion of Justinian and Theodora meeting the invaders at the gates so they can die together, because they think the whole empire is collapsing.) The story does end with the Byzantines winning (using Greek fire, another anachronism), and Theodora gets her jewels back (I do not remember how), but yeah, the author completely blended two very different periods together. Different variants of this exact plot appear in different novels—a *lot* of books treat the 540s as politically similar to the 1200s or 1300s, and a *lot* of books have Theodora sell her crown for some reason or another, usually to fund the defense of the City or one of Justinian’s schemes. (One book–maybe one of the ones by Marié Heese? I can’t think of the title, sorry)—had her sell her jewels to fund the building of the Hagia Sophia. (She gets them back in that book, too—I think Narses literally just discovers an enormous stockpile of gold somewhere, and that fixes the financial problems.) And a lot of different books put Belisarius in a Heraclius or Basil-like role, although I’m less well-versed in Belisarius books than I am in Theodora books. (The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay definitely did this—the character of Leontes is pretty much Heraclius and Belisarius combined, while Valerius and Aliana are straightforward Justinian and Theodora equivalents, except for the fact Aliana is the equivalent of an iconodule rather than a Monophysite. But that gets a pass, imo, because it’s not pretending to be totally accurate.)

Religious inaccuracies and mixups are also really common overall, especially in older books. One Victorian-era book called Blue and Green, or the Gift of God: A Novel of Old Constantinople was very bad with this, presumably because the author was a British Protestant who made no secret of his disdain for the “pagan heathenism” of the Byzantine Empire. (His descriptions of religious ceremonies are very funny, because he describes them as, like, Christian ceremonies, if Christian ceremonies had strippers and drugs. The inciting incident of Theodora’s spiral into prostitution is her doing an erotic dance at a respectable, aristocratic wedding—not a bachelor party, an actual wedding—and this is presented as normal.) Really, you can probably just check out any Byzantine book from before, say, the 1980s on archive.org, and there’ll be weird religious anachronisms all over the place. Lots of authors bring iconoclasm or the East-West Schism (the one that happened in 1054) into the sixth century, I guess because those are more recognizable and dramatic than the Monophysite thing. Authors tend to put Justinian and Theodora on the opposite sides of these conflicts, and Theodora is usually on whatever side they consider “wrong,” which differs significantly from book to book depending on the author’s religious leanings.

Regarding the Theodora/Macedonia thing—Ross Laidlaw’s Justinian: The Sleepless One definitely did this (there were a couple of cringe sex scenes in this book—he always referred to Macedonia as “the other one,” I guess to avoid saying her name a bunch of times? It’d be like “Theodora felt the other one’s lips...” and so on. It sounded so strange.) Macedonia was Theodora’s main love interest—Theodora does marry Justinian, and she likes him well enough as a person, but she’s pretty explicitly gay and uninterested in men, and she has an affair with Macedonia until Macedonia dies in an earthquake. I believe Stella Duffy’s Actress, Empress, Whore duology also had Theodora and Macedonia hook up, but Duffy’s sex scenes were less fetishistic and cringeworthy, and their relationship didn’t last for the entirety of the novel. Theodora having sex (or sexually charged interactions) with Antonina, Macedonia and her other female friends is reasonably common in shitty Theodora novels in general, but it’s never, like, a plot point. It’s just an excuse for the author to write about attractive young women getting it on in the Roman baths, or whatever other fetish-y nonsense piques his interest.

These points aren’t even the weirdest things about most of these books, though. I should just sit down one day and do a full post about all of the absurd things that happen in Justinian and Theodora stories, because shit gets real weird in most of them. Messy historical anachronisms and fetish-y male-gaze lesbian sex scenes are nowhere near the strangest aspects of some of these books—remind me, one day, to talk about all of the Penis Diseases these authors invent to explain away Justinian and Theodora's infertility.

#penis disease segments #sexy Amalasuintha murder scenes #cringe Narses/Belisarius/Justinian/Theodora/Antonina love dodecahedrons #Evil Comito Bullshit #some of them give Theodora a fictional evil stepmother and stepsisters so she can be Cinderella #it's wild out there

[lordmartiya]

Hi. Today is the Ides of March, and I come to you not to defend Caesar but to contestualize his killers. Because I've noticed most people here are directly or indirectly influenced by William Shakespeare's play on the events, play that alters a few facts and presents Marcus Junius Brutus as the most sympathetic character of the entire mess for sake of drama, and forgoes ENTIRELY the historical context. Being Italian I grew up with MOST of said context, so allow me to present you with the series of civil wars that ended the Roman Republic.

The dominoes started being placed at the very start of the Republic, when, according to legend, the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (properly translated as Lucius Tarquinius the Fucking Arrogant - the English language doesn't have the right word to translate "superbus"), got the Romans so furious that they joined forces and chased him and his family out of town under the leadership of Publius Valerius and Lucius Junius Brutus (this name is important, remember it). No matter if the legend has any basis in history, the Roman here started LOATHING the King, and while the office was maintained as the Rex Sacrorum (King of Sacrifices) for its religious significance it lost all its political power, and every year the holder would be ritually chased out of Rome as a reminder of what happened to Tarquinius, a tradition that apparently continued all the way until the office's abolition under EMPEROR TEODOSIUS THE FIRST (the Romans loved tradition and could hold a grudge for a long time). Also, the Romans reformed their government around the Senate, whose families, the Patricians, formed Rome's nobility, so that they could properly rule their city, the villages and towns directly subject to it, and the largish alliance centered around Rome, accounting for any foreseeable future growth of said alliance. Keyword: FORESEEABLE. Because the founders of the Republic apparently anticipated Rome's control to expand at most from the Alps to Apulia, maybe Sicily if the local Greek colonies decided to pick a fight and their friends in Carthage decided to share.

Then the unexpected happened: the antics of the Mamertines, a band of mercenaries turned bandits, dragged Rome and Carthage into war and hatred, and when the second of the three wars ended Rome's hegemony extended from just south the valley of the Po river to Apulia, while the Po valley and the rest of Northern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and a large chunk of the Hiberian peninsula were now the provinces of Sicilia, Sardinia et Corsica, Gallia Cisalpina, and Hispania Citerior - and to top it off they had committments in Greece (as the Macedons had briefly entered the Second Punic War) and Africa (where Rome's new ally of Numidia was itching to go at what remained of Carthage's empire, with Carthage pinching every penny to pay the immense war reparations under the wrong impression that once they were done Rome would leave them alone and let them settle the score with the traitorous Numidians). Rome had grossly overextended its territory beyond the capacity of its institutions and was due a reformation - but much of the political power, and the war loot that came with it, was in the hand of the Patricians, and any workable reform would by necessity dilute said power, for starters by recognizing that many of Rome's Italian allies were now Romans in every way that mattered except the citizenship and its privileges (including a larger share of the war loot), and that the common people of Rome, the Plebeians (that's their literal name), were owed either a larger share of the loot themselves or some state-owned lands that various Patricians and Equites (the wealthy merchant class of former Plebeian extraction) had bought up. Thus the reformations stalled, for almost a century.

Then came Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who, recognizing the problem, used his term as Tribune of the Plebs to start addressing the problem and force a land reform in the Senate's throat, but in the process he broke a number of unwritten rules and was lynched on the orders of the Pontifex Maximus (this being one of the two circumstances where a Tribune of the Plebs could be killed in spite of being under religious protection, and the Pontifex had to explain himself after the fact or be executed himself). Thus the Senate was able to sabotage the reform by not allocating any fund to it. Then, to their dismay, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, Tiberius' younger brother, was elected Tribute and continued his work, even trying to extend citizenship to the Latins and Latin rights to the other allies... And used violence first, eventually leading to the Senate passing an emergency bill to kill him, even bringing weapons inside Rome's Pomerium (the area of Rome where bringing weapons was usually forbidden on pain of being beaten to death on the spot, and where any official's military power was annulled the moment they stepped in) if necessary. Factional violence had started.

Eventually, and with a war against Rome's Italian allies that had grown tired of just waiting to be recognized as proper Romans (plus the irreducible Samnites making one last play at reconquering their independence) that ended when the Consul Lucius Julius Caesar made the Senate cough up that citizenship (and the Samnites being wiped out as a nation for continuing the war even after Rome coughed up the citizenship), the factions coalesced around two well-meaning strongmen: the Populares, serving the interests of the people (including the Plebeians, a number of impoverished Patrician families, and part of the wealthy Equites merchant class) and led by the Plebeian war hero Gaius Marius, and the Optimates, serving the interests of the elites (the Patricians and the majority of the Equites) and led by the Patrician war hero Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Both Marius and Sulla, who had fought together against the new king of Numidia Jugurtha, recognized Rome was speeding toward self-destruction (Jugurtha literally PAYING OFF a number of Roman generals before Marius took over that war and brought Sulla to help whip the demoralized troops back into shape had proved that) and something had to be done, but disagreed on how... And eventually a civil war was fought. Marius initially had the upper hand, seizing Rome while Sulla and his army were away fighting Mithridates, but he died by old age before Sulla's return, and without him the Populares couldn't stop Sulla from winning back Italy. The first round went to the Optimates, with Sulla forcing reforms that stabilized the situation for a time before retiring for fear of becoming a tyrant. Sulla also took the chance to have a number of Marius' allies killed, but was persuaded to spare Marius' nephew - a skilled and brave swordsman named Gaius Julius Caesar. He still left his allies with a warning, that in this young man he saw many Marii - for this guy was THAT Julius Caesar (and a nephew of the now late Lucius Julius Caesar).

After Sulla's retirement and eventual death, things started unraveling again due the one thing he had failed to account for: the Senate was corrupted. So corrupted that eventually control of the state was usurped by three men: Pompey the Great, one of Sulla's old lieutenants and the war hero who destroyed Sertorius' Populares army in Hispania, saved Rome from the existential threat posed by the Illyrian pirates (who had grown strong enough to endanger Rome's grain supply due the Senate's corruption), and finished off Mithridates; Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome, the war hero that defeated Spartacus (and had Pompey promptly steal the glory as he was returning from Hispania), and major asshole who got so rich by buying up the firefighters, come to any house on fire, and telling the owner that if he didn't sell him the house at a much reduced price he'd let it burn (he was also the most hated man in Rome); and Julius Caesar, not yet a war hero in spite of how his own run-in with pirates went (those pirates thought he was joking when he paid up twice the ransom and told them he'd come back and have them all hanged to crosses. They realized he was serious when they discovered who exactly had just led a Roman fleet to storm their base and capture them all) but the apparent leader of the Populares by virtue of who his uncle was. With this arrangement, Crassus went to the east to try and conquer Parthia, Caesar got himself made governor of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gauls and got to work to conquer the rest of the Gauls at the first excuse, and Pompey remained in Rome to hold the fort... But Crassus got himself killed like an idiot, and without him the Senate was able to bring Pompey back into their Optimate fold. And when Caesar came back from the Gauls as a conqueror he knew he had two choices: go back peacefully and get killed, or take Marius' mantle and march on Rome. He choose the latter, and when the dust settled Caesar was the master of Rome and Pompey was dead, assassinated by the courtiers of Ptolemy XIII of Egypt to try and appease Caesar but instead royally pissing him off (that's how Cleopatra became the Queen of Egypt, she knew killing Pompey was a stupid idea and was already an exile, so when Caesar got the news she allied herself with him), with only one remaining Optimate army still resisting in Sicily under Pompey's son, Sextus Pompey.

Caesar was a much different man from Sulla. For starters, his reforms followed the Populares' ideals. Also, he didn't like to have people executed for being political enemies - a honorable death on the battlefield was one thing, but having someone killed in peacetime for having different political opinions was another, and Pompey's surviviving soldiers fell for him when Caesar ordered his men to let them live. And then there's the part that usually gets omitted in Italian school books: he had no intention to relinquish his power once he was done, and even planned to make himself King of Rome, even with the ghost of Tarquinius still looming over Rome. Being a genius, however, he decided to test the water first, most notably by arranging for his trusted lieutenant Mark Antony to publicly offer him a crown while STARK NAKED, so that it could be dismissed as a tasteless joke if needed. The people booed at Antony's action, so Caesar rejected the crown and tried to pass it off as a tasteless joke... But part of the public opinion started wondering about Caesar's true intentions, and a number of Optimates decided it was time to deal with Caesar.

These men, the self-proclaimed Liberators, were a number of lesser Optimates that for various reasons felt personally insulted by Caesar (one even owed him money), and took Caesar's probes toward kingship as excuse. Their leaders were Gaius Cassius Longinus, who Caesar had refused a political appointment in favor of someone else, and Marcus Junius Brutus, direct descendant of the Brutus that led the Romans against Tarquinius and infamous weathervane who joined anyone who seemed to be the strongest, first choosing to side with Pompey, who had his father's killed during Sulla's purges, because his allies had sided with him against Caesar, then siding with Caesar when he got the upper hand, and now realizing that his entire political career was at Caesar's whim (it was in fact him who got the appointment Caesar denied to Cassius) and the master of Rome could change his mind any time, and seemed rather inclined to support his trusted lieutenant Mark Antony and his grand nephew Octavian. The Liberators waited for a Senate session outside the Pomerium (as a number of Senators were also holding military offices), thus in a place where carrying weapons was allowed, and with their knives jumped Caesar on the Ides of March. The tyrant was dead, and they could now take whatever political office they wanted while Cicero, Rome's most honest man who was nonetheless biased toward them as an Optimate, brokered a peace with Caesar's allies... But they had mistaken Antony as a brute. At Caesar's funeral Antony gave a legendary speech and read out Caesar's will, in which he gave lavish gifts to the masses of Rome, thus turning the entire population of Rome against the Liberators to such a point Sextus Pompey didn't want anything to do with them, and igniting the third of the four rounds of civil wars that would destroy the Roman Republic and turn it into the Empire.

In conclusion, was Caesar killed for a good reason? Most certainly yes. But was Brutus a hero? Nope. He was a weathervane ready to switch sides the moment the tide turned, and turned on Caesar out of fear he'd cut his political career off if he opposed him (though Mark Antony turning the entirety of Rome on him apparently restored his coherency, as during the following war he finally fought to his own death). Thus screw Caesar, screw Brutus, and screw Mark Antony for restarting the war. Only Cicero and Octavian can be spared. Wait, wasn't Octavian just Caesar's grandnephew? Well, yes... But he was also Caesar's legal heir, equally ambitious and brave but much smarter and cunning, enough to secure his power first by allowing Antony to screw himself over by thinking with his lower head (Antony cheating on his wife Octavia with Cleopatra in spite of Octavia being the very model of a Roman bride pissed off a LOT of Romans. Especially her brother, who happened to be Octavian himself) and then by actually solving the entire problem of Roman institutions having overextended themselves (you know, what had started the entire mess to begin with), thus creating the Roman Empire while assuming the name of Augustus.

As for the knife block? It's made in Italy. Because we may hold Caesar as a national hero to this day, but with such an obvious joke...

#julius caesar #caesar #brutus #mark antony #gaius julius caesar #ides of march

[angeledeggs]

hellooo, me again, what modern artists/songs do you think the m6/courtiers would like? •3•

OKAY OKAY I LOVE THIS

Asra💜:

Okay I kinda feel like Asra likes like Arabic rap and like some chill lofi.

He definitely listens to like lofi girl comps for sure but like also Wegz and Freek and stuff

Oh also I feel like he kind of likes lots of indie tiktok musicians for some reasons and has a pretty diverse music taste.

Except for country.

He hates country.

Julian🦠:

BLP Kosher DNDUEJEHS NO IM KIDDING

Okay okay but for real though I think he's kind of a jazz and klezmer genre type of guy (im NOT PROJECTING YALL I SWEAR)

Okay so I think some of the main music or artists he would listen to would be like Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, probs the Jewish Starlight Orchestra (NOT PROJECTING I PROMISE), the Klezmatics, just lots of general jazz and klezmer

I feel like he has like, a personal thing against hip hop, though.

Muriel💙:

I don't really know for him 😰😰😰

NDHDSHDB IM SORRY

I just don't know what to do for him I'm sorry y'all 😭 if any of you have ideas in the comments let me go

Nadia💎:

I just feel like she's like a super big musical fan but like she's SO picky with her musicals

Like her favorite type of musical is Indian musicals but she does have her fair share of other fav musicals (Legally Blonde)

Her favorite musical is totally Ram Leela and no guys it's not because that my favorite musical

She always has an earbud in one ear wherever she goes so she has like a million wireless earbuds and also Spotify premium, apple music, and everything lol

Oh but I kind of feel like she kind of likes mitski idk why

Portia🧡:

Oh my god definitely a mitski stan and IC3PEAK just bcuz I said so JSHSJ

I feel like she also likes plenty of like indie artists

Her favorite genre is definitely indie or maybe Russian music specifically Russian pop since she likes to connect with her culture

She also likes listening to Russian pop just so that she can learn Russian a bit more easier I think

Lucio👑:

IDJDNDN I DINT KNOW FOR HIM EITHER YALL TELL ME IF YALL HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR LUCIO IN THE COMMENTS

Valerius🍷:

Oh my god he is such a total music snob

He is totally like oh you like POP?? How unreFINED of you!!

Is only like someone how listens to CLASSICAL and will like totally judge anyone else who dosent listen to classical

Listens to bach, mozart, all of the classic composers.

Vlastomil🐛:

I feel that Vlastomil is kind of like Valerius in the sense that he likes to listen to classical music but I don't really feel that he's a music type of guy.

He is a super old demon, after all.

Vlastomil is totally the type of guy to own a million records and whatever but NEVER listens to them at all and also won't let anyone touch them

Valdemar💉:

JDJDHDHS A KOVACS FAN

Total KOVACS FAN YALL

Okay I'll admit it I AM projecting right now but I KNOW that in my heart of hearts they would LOVE nandVIBE with Sharon's beautiful music I mean come on JDJSHSB

Just like LISTEN to Child of Sin and TELL ME they wouldn't have a little existential crisis at it like odjdndndbdJDJSJSJSJSHS that song is SO them!!

Volta🍰:

Okay okay hear me out a blue kid fan and a mitski fan

Like you kind of wouldn't expect it with the way she acts but she loves both of them

I also feel like she doesn't HATE country but,, she doesn't LOVE it either? She's kind of in the middle.

But she just HATES Jazz and classical it's not the thing at ALL.

Vulgora⚔️:

Oh my god I just know that they deny listening to music because they don't want to seem weak 😭😭😭

BUT THEY TOTALLY LISTEN TO POST MALONE

I just feel like they do even though it's not like them it all

I kind of also feel like they'd listen to a five hour compilation of workout music when they sleep to help them relax idk why 😭

❀

#the arcana fanfic #the arcana game #the arcana #the arcana apprentice #reqs open #requests are welcome #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #nadia the arcana #countess nadia #portia devorak #julian devorak #muriel the hermit #muriel the arcana #muriel #lucio morgasson #the arcana valerius #praetor vlastomil #vulgora #valdemar the arcana #quaestor valdemar #valdemar #volta

[fuckincrow]

Courtiers reaction to their S/O's ball gown (or suit!) and maybe dancing with them to some very sweet music 👉🏻👈🏻 Also, since Valdemar is AroAce™ and if you don't mind you can write reader as their lab rat friend who basically drags them out of the dungeons because they need to get out and touch some grass <3

yes of course! i’ll do the valdemar one in another post

warnings: alcohol ment, gender neutral reader, valerius being kind of an ass but we love him for it

━───────⊹⊱✙⊰⊹───────━

Masquerade with the courtiers

volta

Volta absolutely loves the Masquerade! Specially all the delicious food, but enjoying it with her special someone sounds even more fun. She is pretty nervous to go with you, so she spends the week prior asking questions and trying to figure out what you’re both going to do.

When you walk in with your outfit, it takes her a moment to react. Then she starts bawling because you look so beautiful, now you have to help her do her makeup again. The whole night she’s holding your hand, she’s pretty small and can get lost easily, but even if it weren’t for that she’s dragging you to eat all of the food. You both enjoy a degustation of various colourful dishes that she barely takes time to actually enjoy, they’re all just so good! Just remind her not to chew with her mouth open.

“Hmph! S/O, you haff to try thiff!”

vlastomil

Oh my worm, Vlastomil is so excited for the Masquerade. He is a bit disappointed his ideas for a worm room were turned down, but you’re sure you can help him be a bit less upset about it, you two can have plenty of wormless fun. Though he is a bit better at hiding it than Volta, he is a bit worried about what you may think of him at your first masquerade together.

Those worries all leave when he sees you walk into the room, however. He is grinning a lot, and doesn’t hesitate to shower you in compliments, and of course cover you in kisses. You have to remind him both of your makeup looks need to last the whole night. The rest of the evening goes smoothly, although he won’t stop showing you off to everyone he talks to. He’s just so proud of his partner.

“Have you SEEN how delightful my darlingest S/O looks tonight?? Oh, my little wormling don’t give me that look, it’s true!”

vulgora

Out of everyone in this list, Vulgora is probably the most excited for the Masquerade. They’re like a big puppy, except it’s a puppy that yells at people because everything needs to be perfect. They usually don’t care too much for organising the event, but it’s their first masquerade with THEIR partner, of course it has to be the best masquerade ever!

When you walk in with your outfit they just stare at you. They’re watching you with wide eyes, a blush spread across their face. It’s not often that Vulgora is soft, but they kind of forget about being angry when they see how gorgeous you look.

Once that initial gawking is out of the way, they make sure to compliment you. While avoiding eye contact and blushing a lot, that is, but still. When you compliment them back, they melt.

The rest of the night is spent with you wandering around and being the life of the party, Vulgora manages to set one of the tables on fire, but it wouldn’t be your partner without breaking anything.

“You uh- AHEHM. You look very pretty. H- HEY, DON’T LAUGH! OR I’M NOT DANCING WITH YOU!”

valerius

Although he may not admit it, Valerius loves the Masquerade. He’s usually a refined person, and although he hates having to mingle with the commoners, the masquerade is his opportunity to get absolutely wasted and have no consequences. Usually that’s about it for him, but because it’s his first masquerade with you, he actually wants to remember it.

He always spends a lot of time getting himself ready beforehand, which means you’re ready before he is, this man takes forever. When he finally walks out to see you waiting outside, he’s not able to hide his flustered reaction. Though internally he is very giddy, he simply rolls his eyes and tells you to hurry up. He does spare you a few compliments once you’re alone, though.

Valerius isn’t much of a dancer, he rather keep watch, but when a slow song starts to play he can’t resist to dance with you. Mainly to make sure no one else does, you’re his after all, and these peasants need to know.

“You look okay, I guess… Come on, let’s get going. …Fine, you look perfect. Shut up.”

━───────⊹⊱✙⊰⊹───────━

may or may not have gotten a bit carried away with valerius and vulgora, i love them so much

#the arcana courtiers #the arcana x reader #consul valerius #pontifex vulgora #praetor vlastomil #procurator volta

[pandemoniclucio]

How do you think the courtiers would react to an MC who they’ve known for ages, like they grew up together and married young so they know almost everything about each other?

MC has known them before the devil came into the photo and they are very understanding of the courtiers more ‘questionable’ habits, hobbies and personalities.

(Sorry for the long ask but I saw a similar ask and thought it was intriguing, you don’t have to do vasimol if you don’t want too idm xxx)

The Arcana Courtier HC's #1

For this I'm just gonig with the assumption that the MC doesn't have a demon form or any implications to their immortality.

Valdemar

Don't ask me what you saw in them but let me just say they weren't as creepy as they are now. Maybe that's what drew you to them & caused your marriage to them.

You always knew that your partner had a taste for the more medical & somewhat morbid so you decided that you'd help them by using there skills to make a profit.

You were unsurprised that they eventually made a deal with the Devil, it made sense since they were hunugry to figure out all sorts of diseases.

When you reach Vesuvia after they get hired, you have to keep them & their experiments in check and make sure the doctors working under them don't see anything they shouldn't.

You both ended up in the realm of the Arcana after the Devil was defeated, but were contempt.

Valerius

You two knew from a young age that you were in an arraged marriage, but that just made everything more convientient, cause you fell hard for this beatiful drunkard.

You both were happy that he got the job of Consul but you knew the moment Nadia went asleep that he was aiming higher than expected.

Politics was a tricky game, so knowing that Val is a bit of a selfish prick, you made sure that he & the other courtiers didn't completely fuck up Vesuvia.

He did consult you on his upcoming business venture with the Devil, you did warm him about the consequences but supproted him even if you were opposed.

When he was released from the Devil's magic, you've never been more relieved and happy but before you could admit any of that you did give him a scolding.

Vlastomil

Somehow, centuries ago, you managed to snag the man's attention away from worms and marry him. Despite his love of worms, he has a deeper love for you.

Although he was a reknowned wormoligist, you were the one making sure that you had the coin to continue a life of some luxury. You were both happy either way.

You were sceptic when he told you about making a deal with the Devil. You supported him regardless, since it ment you no longer had to worry about other things anymore.

When the M7 saved the day and beat the Devil, he returned to his human form you were happy, since it ment the worm problem would die down.

Volta

Despite the fact that you were both poverty stricken and starved, you both managed to find some light in the darkness with each other and eloped.

The deal with the Devil was a double edged sword, you both got immortality and power but at the cost of Volta never being satisfied, but it got you both out of your terrible situation.

When you both reached Vesuvia, you actually convinved her to take thr job of sniffing out the foods for the plagye, this landed in her getting hired & you living a relatively good lifestyle.

When she was finallly released from the Devil's magic, you two finally enjoyed your dream wedding without any interuptions.

Vulgura

You must be either just as bad if not more war hungry than this crabby gremlin, or had some form of bloodlust in you that they admired enough to marry you let alone befriend. You two were like Ares & Aphrodite except human, and not causing any wars.

It was, honestly, a matter of time before your spouse decided to make a deal with the Devil. You were surprised that it did not happend sooner.

When you reached Vesuvia, you managed to convince Lucio & Nadia to hire your spouse as Ponifex.

As soon as the Devil was defeated you had to deal with a sad Vulgora since the violence has absolved whch was gine since they finally calmed the fuck down.

Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday & Marry Christmas. Enjoy your holidays.

#the arcana mc #the arcana #the arcana courtiers #the courtiers #pontifex vulgora #volta x mc #valerius x mc #the arcana valerius #consul valerius #volta the arcana #vlastomil

[rubinaitoart]

Having thoughts about an AU for Auric and Muriel’s story. Been drawing something for it too, maybe I’ll write a one-shot.

(Putting the ramble below the cut so I don’t clog up the tags with a long-ass post. Also: Spoilers for Muriel’s route + my fanfic. Not that I’ve published anything yet, it’s all sitting in drafts.)

But like… what if they never made their respective decisions to leave the environment that they were trapped in? For Muriel, that would be being Lucio’s gladiator and fighting in the colosseum. For Auric, it would be being in the palace and continuing following in his brother (Valerius)’s footsteps.

In this hypothetical scenario, Muriel would’ve never had to face Inanna in the colosseum. Which never would’ve spurred him to leave. And glancing at my timeline, this would roughly mean he’s been in the colosseum for about 6-8 years, by the time of the one-shot I would write for this.

Auric would probably become one of the Courtiers—or, rather, Courtier-adjacent. Like a Consul in training or something, filling in for Valerius when needed. He would’ve never run away and met Asra, and his own journey on figuring out his gender identity would’ve been almost entirely on his own.

I think the first time they would even see each other would be during a colosseum fight. Auric would be in the grandstand, in the area reserved for the courtiers, not really wanting to be there. I don’t think they would talk, but I do know Lucio would notice right away that Auric seems curious about Muriel and would set up a meeting between them. (Lucio kinda played the role of an annoying older brother/frenemy for Auric during his life in the palace, and there’s no reason as to why that wouldn’t continue in this AU.)

Romance between them would be… slow, given Muriel’s circumstances and headspace. And when I say slow I mean even slower than the slowburn fic I’m writing. The man isn’t in a good spot for any kind of relationship beyond maybe a tentative friendship. But when it does happen, it gives Muriel that final little push to say ‘fuck it, I’m running away’ just like he did with Inanna. He just happens to bring Auric with him so they can both escape their respective prisons and be somewhere nobody can find them. (Except Asra.)

Interestingly enough, this is also about the time Auric caught the plague in their canon storyline. I’m sure there’s something angsty I could do with that, I’m just too tired to think about it right now.

#the arcana #the arcana game #auric the apprentice #the arcana muriel #muriel of the kokhuri #muriel the hermit #the arcana apprentice #the arcana mc #the arcana oc #auric x muriel #muriel x auric #muriel x apprentice #muriel x mc #muriel x oc

[inkyquince]

Would love to know more about your Arcana/DoL thoughts when the mood strikes, by the way! (Also, I think I had a dream where Julian was isekai’d into Wren and the PC looked and acted exactly like the Arcana MC, but had no memory of the world of Arcana? Like Julian warped into Wren when he was hanged and had all his memories up til that point? But then he wakes up working for Remy and his MC is being treated like livestock? Something like that. I have a migraine so details are fuzzy)

real quick, that last bit? Sad Julian, very sad, he'd be so distraught.

Anyway.

Asra!

Rents a room in Gwylan's shop to sell... Mysterious lil bottles of who knows what and gives you tarot readings! Gwylan likes him to an extend, they're basically roommates and Asra forgets rent and to do the dishes at times.

Later down the line, if you've endeared yourself enough, then Asra will hire you just to clean up after him.

He has a special meter, which is Care. How much he cares for you reflects in your tarot readings, how much he pays you, and the extra speech lines you get. Low Care, Low Love, kinda ignores you. If he sees the Ivory Wraith in your cards, he keeps it to himself how bad it will get. High Care and Low Love, its more that he takes pity on you as a helpless orphan. Pays you more, tries to cheer you up with good cards of the future and makes gives you a freebie. Low Care and High love? You're an independent little thing, aren't you? Worries about you far less, pays you depending on how much you got done instead of the flat rate he would have kept for high care. High Care, High Love, wants to look after you. Worried about ya man.

His cards are impacted by your stats and which events you've done/ coming up. High trauma, always the tower and the hanged man on the horizon, maybe the 10 of swords when a dismissal event is lined up. When you're awareness is low/ you have innocence, its always more perky cards. It does all depend.

Nadia

Well, Quinn has an enemy in office, and its everyone's favourite Nadia!

Well.

She married Lucio, who just kinda suddenly popped up as the most important and rich guy in town, and ran for mayor, for shits and giggles at this point. Thing is, he's hot. Rich. Rich people like him. So he and Quinn have been battling it out for a while. Then... Lucio died? And Nadia felt like she was pressured into finishing his last campaign. Except she won. She doesn't want this fucking job. But goddammit she's so beloved. The time the game takes place, Quinn is running for mayor once more and she's trying to inch out of the picture but its pretty hard.

She is not aware of the dark side of the town at all and its up to the player to let her know, except if she makes changes to the town then her popularity drops and Quinn gets the job. Like, she would have been happy earlier in her life but now she's aware that shits bad, so she tries to do charity drives and shit but it never seems to make a dent.

Her meter is respect. Its different for everyone. For example, she has low respect for Quinn and Valerius (surprise, local wine bitch is in this because I love his shady ass). Also for Lucio.

The more competent you prove, the higher her respect for you is and she doesn't treat you with an icy outer façade like she does for her court council. She becomes warmer and more loving and basically becomes Avery, minus the rage. Likes to gift you stuff and inviting you to stay around hers. The only way to raise her respect is to be thorough in whatever evidence of the perverted side of the town you bring her. Anything faulty or missing, she's either suspicious or thinks you're an idiot. For example, if you want to keep your good relationship with Landry, you have to leave their name out of your findings about the criminal underworld, but she'll be able to tell that somethings missing, and her respect drops. She lives on Danube streets, in the largest house, so another way to meet her outside of bringing your concerns to her in office hours, is to break in. Unless you have high skullduggery, you will be caught and unless you have high English and seduction ahem mommy then she will keep you in the basement till the morning and hand you over to the police to be put in the pillory and trying to raise you respect from that point will be incredibly hard.

Muriel

So this was hard. Because there's already two big bitches out in that forest. A third bitch = overcrowding and it fucks with the ecosystem. C'mon guys.

So...

Muriel is stuck in prison :D

When Lucio's shady dealings make their way to the public, one of the people he used to shut up his detractors was Muriel. So, Lucio decided to dump a huge amount of his misdeeds on the poor lad and Muriel was sent straight to prison.

He doesn't ever want to talk about it. His main meter is safety. How safe he feels with you. Its extremely slow to build, and you have to gift him things like items to use to escape, food, maybe get Wren to smuggle in a small wolf sculpture or something for him to smile at. The safer he feels with you, the safer you will be in prison. He sticks to himself and weirdly the guards never ever bother him, in fact they avoid him and seem to forget about him in general.

You get far more interactions with him outside of the prison. If you escape with Wren, then you have to take him with you or the meter will fall to zero. Won't forget you left him behind.

If you get out by just waiting out your sentence, you can actually arrange visits at the prison for you to talk through the glass and that will maintain your relationship, the fact you don't forget him. To get him out with that is to go to Asra and ask him to insist on Muriel's character to Nadia and that will get him a faster release.

Then, when he enters the rest of the world, he hides out on the edges of the Wood, closer to the lake that Eden but also closer to the wolves. The wolves who love him and he plays with them like they're all puppies.

Lucio

Renowned dead husband of Nadia. What ever happened to him?

Well, hope you aren't trotting along on a dark night, because a figure might catch your eye. Large, hulking, pure white fur with his beady eyes staring straight at you. Yeah, you guessed it. You're getting kidnapped by the Goatman.

It's somewhat easy to kick him and get away but it doesn't mean he'll give up and one of these tries will finally have you carried off.

Of course, this only happens after you've done some of the Asra and Nadia events.

Now you expect the worst, because of course, its this town but he mainly starts bleating at you to use your contacts to fucking FIX HIM, right this second! His main meter is... uh... Love/ Lust.

You have a chance to fix this man. On the quest to restore him, which includes getting Gwylan, reading up on History in the library and trudging out to the Moors, you can raise his love and his lust. Only through his Love being high, will he not return to Nadia and insists on reentering the marriage and returning as Mayor. The town will get much worse, Nadia will not forgive you and Quinn shall have it out for you but on the bright side, there's a handsome New-Jersey accented hottie who likes you and owes you one.

With a high love stat, he moves back into his old house but just kinda hangs out and bugs Nadia but doesn't go back into the marriage. In fact, he's mainly mooning over you, saying terrible one liners and kicking his feet.

His lust mainly impacts on how many times you're getting railed by the goat man/ human goat man.

The Rest are either minor characters or romances that I didn't really wanna play though:

Portia: Depends on if Nadia is in office or not. Either she's her lil personal assistant or a barmaid. She always gets Landry for you or is snarking back and forth with Julian.

Valerius: Bitchy Wine Guy. Comes into the Spa almost every week, and unless you've got a High Hand Skill, then he pays the £10 every time. Later can be seen ragging on Nadia and sitting with Lucio as they drink. Yes, you can suck him off, but he has to like you a WHOLE bunch.

Valdemar: The Night Nurse. Don't go into the hospital at night. She won't help with any affliction and will instead stick things into you.

Morga: Yes, you can go fuck Lucio's mom if you two don't get along. He will scream and kick his feet and throw a tantrum and Morga will be idly rubbing your tongue with her fingers while you perch on her thigh.

#HOO #long one #FINALLY DID IT THOUGH #THIS WAS FUN #also i legit never got around to playing portia's route i was so burned out by the arcana by the time i got to her #AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH IM SO SORRY #dol #quincewrites #the arcana #julian devorak #the arcana asra #the arcana nadia #muriel the arcana #lucio montag #consul valerius #quaestor valdemar #morga the arcana #portia devorak #degrees of lewdity

[magioffire]

@livelynumbskull

The ruins rose up out of the tangled muck of the jungle like a beast desperately trying to escape the vying claws of hooks and chains, in the form of thorned vines. Reaching roots twisted and calmly, deliberately tore at the very foundation of the cobblestone steps, cracked at the carefully carved columns & mosiacs, leaving only the willful advance of the forest.

    In that regard, it was like any other relic he encountered deep in the wilds; doomed by the forward advance of consumption, the unfortunate tendency of all things reduced to food for moss and roots. The only signs of civilization Valeriu found were, of course, buried under centuries of detritus and exposure to the elements, but he was sure he would eventually uncover something useful here. Eventually, this place would give up its secrets to the Archmage.

   Vali scouted this location once before, and found no one to stop him from exploring except the crumbling architecture. He pushed his way inside, careful not to upset the delicate balancing act much of the one great estate balanced precariously upon. At least he figured it once was some sort of estate, the gratuitous home of someone who was once very rich and powerful. No longer now, as their little personal empire as now a shambling catacomb, full of potential knowledge ripe for the taking. Valeriu’s taking, of course. After a few hours of mostly fruitless digging, the fae found himself something quite interesting -- and deeply disturbing. Tucked away underneath some overturned rubble, he discovered the entrance way deep into the earth -- a black pit that descended into the unknown.

    He allowed his eyes to adjust to the pitch blackness, steeled himself, and went down into it’s depths. He knew entirely what to expect, he knew a cell when he saw it --knew the dank, desperate scent of a place meant for misery and restraint. Even under all the dust and dirt, the purpose of this place was clear as day to the fae. His stomach churned the deeper he went. The hair on the back of his neck stood up at the slightest brush against chains, the clinking sound of metal on metal ringing feverishly in his ears.

   Inside one of the cells, Vali spotted a familiar humanoid shape, slumped over unceremoniously against a wall. He pushed the cell door open, finding the lock broken in several places, like something ferocious smashed through the rusted metal. Upon closer inspection, Vali was only minimally surprised to find the body was long decayed, stripped of any and all flesh - the skeletal remains of whatever unfortunate soul was the last to call this place their home, and their tomb.

“Well, that’s a shame,” He whispered, to no one in particular. The air, maybe. He didn’t expect anyone to listen - his words were mostly to comfort himself in the face of an unfolding past travesty.  “Sorry you had to die here, like this, but I suppose it can’t be helped now.” He knelt down, squinting his eyes hard  through the darkness. He could make out the detailed engraved in the skeleton’s facial bones -- only to realize it was actually a mask.

   To Valeriu, it crafted to be the natural meeting point between a living face, and a dead face, and he quite liked it. The lacquer finish and painted details reminded him of the sort of masks Dokkalfar wore back home in Amorium.. This skeleton also wore clothes, or rather, hung clothes over their boney body. They too looked tended to -- worn, but obviously cared for. The mask also looked much newer, or at least better polished, than the surrounding dilapidation.

    “Who the hell plays dress up with a skele--” He reached out, only to witness the skeleton jerk to life like a m. Vali shrieked bloody murder, stumbling backwards out of the cell. Only to fall ass first on the cold stone ground. He frantically kicked the rusty cell door in... only for the door to slowly creeaak back open,- ready to fall right off  its rusted hinges.

   “What the fuck!?” Vali scuttled to his feet in a panic. His legs screamed at him to run. Whatever logical centers still firing in Vali’s panicked brain said ‘whatever interesting things this place has, it’s not worth dealing with undead’, but his curiosity, as always,got the better of him. He stood his ground, staring down the skeleton, who also remained still, making seemingly no move to attack the fae. “Uhmh....hello?” Valeriu finally said, with a little awkward wave.

#ic. #livelynumbskull #main verse alt. #heya! i hope this is okay <3 #lemme know if anything needs to be changed! #aslo dont feel pressured to match length im just setting the scene

[star-strand]

speedrunning all of apprenticember in one post even though it's january

it's called showing up fashionably late (thanks ghoulfriendfangs for all the fun questions) (also i'm reposting this because the first time i tried it didn't show up in any tags)

Introduce your apprentice! Just their name, personality, appearance, and likes/dislikes for now! If you have pictures of them, post them today!

i've made an introduction post for my mc, gale! it's my pinned post, you can also find it in the galeposting tag on this blog

2. Who is their LI? What’s their relationship like?

his main li is julian! things with the two of them get chaotic, but they've got a lot of love for each other. the main reason i'm not saying much here is because i'll probably post about them way too much in the future if given an opportunity

3. Give a short summary of their relationship to the other main characters!

asra: best friend! though neither of them have romantic feelings for the other anymore by the main game, they're still very close

nadia: he decided to befriend her during his stay at the palace; they both respect each other a ton

muriel: pre-death they were friends, post-resurrection is more complicated. in the three years between his resurrection and the start of the game, asra sent him to check on gale while he was busy traveling, and eventually muriel gave him some myrrh to avoid the whole "what the fuck are you doing in my house" song and dance each time he came over

portia: similar to nadia, they became fast friends when he came to the palace. they like to exchange gardening tips

lucio: he'd rather not be around him after everything

4. What about the courtiers? Have they met them? What do they think of them?

when he meets them in the prologue, they give him the creeps. that feeling mostly stays the same. he's alright with volta, and he tolerates valerius to an extent

5. Do they have any other friends outside of canon? What about the minor characters?

not really. gale's not really good at putting himself out there, so it's hard for him to meet people. he's friends with selasi though

6. Now, do they have any rivals? Maybe even a WORST ENEMY!? Spill the deets now!

nah, he generally tries to avoid making enemies. doesn't mean he can't get angry at people or hold the occasional petty grudge, though

7. Let’s go back to their physical description, but go even deeper! Do they have tattoos, piercings, scars, etc? What sort of clothes do they like?

he's got a few scars, the most noticeable of which being his top surgery scars. he usually hides his other scars with magic. despite not remembering how he got them, they make him uncomfortable (his top surgery scars being an exception)

with clothing, he generally prefers stuff that's simple and comfortable

8. Now let’s give their familiar the spotlight! Tell us all about them!

gale's familiar is a chameleon named nymph. he found him before his death, and though nymph died during the plague era, he came back along with gale

9. Do they have a patron arcana? Who is it? What’s their relationship like?

pre-death, he had a strong connection to the empress. she occasionally visited him in dreams, and took on a very nurturing, motherly role towards him. since his resurrection, he's been mostly connected to the fool for... obvious reasons

10. What is their relationship to the other arcana like?

he doesn't communicate with them much outside of tarot readings. of the ones he interacts with along the route, he finds them somewhat frustrating

11. Do they have a gateway? What does it look like?

he does! it's a loosely packed forest in a constant state of early evening, with plenty of fireflies hanging around

12. What does their home look like? Their room?

gale keeps a sort of organized chaos in his living space. it’s a bit cluttered and messy, but it’s part of his system. he also keeps a ton of houseplants

same goes for his room. he likes to keep things in there cozy, lots of blankets and cushions. there’s a desk for writing, as well as a bookshelf (and a stack of books he’s been meaning to read next to the bed)

13. Can they cook? What’s their favorite meal?

he’s an alright cook. simple meals, nothing super fancy

his favorite food is babka, a sweet braided bread with some sort of filling (he likes chocolate and cinnamon fillings!)

14. What does their magic look/feel like?

he primarily uses green magic, so a lot of plants and plant-themed magic! he’s attuned to flora and the life energy of plants. one ability he has is transferring that energy between plants and other living beings. using plants whose meanings/symbolism correspond to whatever spell he’s using amplifies the spell’s power

his magic can respond to his emotions— if he gets into a particularly heightened emotional state, you might see tiny vines and flowers popping up out of nowhere

he has minor healing abilities, but unfortunately, they don’t work on himself

15. What are they proudest of?

he’s proud of his houseplants. it’s not much, but he’s keeping something alive. that’s something to be proud of

16. What’s their deepest insecurity?

gale, deep down, worries that he is an unloveable person, or at least that he’s hard to love. that he’s unimportant, uninteresting, annoying, and an overall difficult person to care about/be around

17. Do they have any family, living or non living? List their family tree!

mother: shoshana blumen. she was controlling. her and gale had a messy relationship, with her often being angry at him and saying hurtful things to him. she was like the captain of the house, and nobody stood up to her. she had expectations for gale that he just couldn’t live up to

father: ansel blumen. he wasn’t like shoshana, but he wasn’t supportive either

older brother: natan blumen. gale found some support in him, and they were close. natan left to study technology when gale was young, but he visited from time to time

when he was around 16/17, the pressure of his home and parents got to be too much. he cut his hair, ran away, stowed away on a ship, and ended up in vesuvia. there, he met his adoptive aunt, joyce, who became sort of a mother figure to him. she took him in, taught him magic, and eventually he and asra took over her shop. when they did, she left to go on some travels. unfortunately, she decided to come back and visit as the plague began to ravage the city, and ended up on the lazaret

he hasn’t contacted his biological family since he ran away. even if he had his memories back, he wouldn’t be interested in talking to his parents. maybe he’d like to see natan, though, if he managed to track him down

18. What were they like as a child?

because of the situation with his mother and his own tendency to be alone, he was often withdrawn. he did a lot of reading and daydreaming. he was the kind of kid who waited to be adopted by a friend group instead of approaching people

he was a pretty bright kid— started learning to read very early on, loved (and still loves tbh) picking up random fun facts. though his mother wasn’t very keen on him learning magic, he had a natural aptitude for it

19. If your mc fights, what is their fighting style? If they don’t, why not?

gale doesn’t mean to get into fights, but it happens sometimes. because of his lack of any actual knowledge or training on combat, his fighting is not always effective. but he tries to take advantage of his small size and magical abilities to make up for his lack of physical strength

20. Remember the Valentines Day event where you could pick between 3 gifts to give the LI? What 3 gifts would you write for your mc?

-a thrilling mystery novel

-a decorated flowerpot

-a jigsaw puzzle

21. Now what kind of gifts are they most likely to give?

he likes giving people small gifts when there’s no special occasion. “here’s a cool rock/flower/seashell/etc that reminded me of you” kind of thing

for holidays and special occasions, it depends on the person he’s giving to! probably related to one of their hobbies or interests

22. What does your mc do to show their love?

it’s surprising how much he opens up to people he loves. he gets physically affectionate, and he feels more comfortable receiving touch. he also talks more! a big sign of him being comfortable around someone is freely infodumping to them

also, the small gifts from the last question! he’s a lot like a crow in that way. if he’s taken a liking to you, expect an ever-growing collection of trinkets

23. What parts of Vesuvia is your mc most likely to be at?

if he’s not at the shop, he’s probably in the woods doing some foraging or just taking a walk

24. Does your mc like parties, festivals, and masquerades? What do they do at them?

gale, like myself, is autistic and has adhd. which means that parties can be a bad time for him. not only are they full of social conventions, they're usually overstimulating. he prefers small gatherings with people he already knows

if he does go to a party/festival, he's likely to stick to the less populated areas or find a friend to follow around

25. What’s your favorite thing about your mc?

i made him very similar to me, so i find a lot of comfort and catharsis in writing about him (or, more often, just creating little scenarios about him in my head)

26. How has your mc changed since you first made them?

relating to the last question: originally, he wasn't supposed to be like me, and then it kinda happened. and pretty soon i started intentionally leaning into it. i've also tweaked his outfit a bit, but that new outfit exists only in my brain because i've been in such a slump when it comes to art

27. Has your mc ever KILLED anybody? What are their thoughts on MURDER?

depends on how you define kill. but that's a part of his backstory i'll get to later :)

he thinks murder is generally bad, but he doesn't think murder automatically makes someone a bad person. things are complicated. sometimes there are good reasons, sometimes people get forced into awful situations

28. Are they afraid to die?

less than most. he's learned to accept death as a natural part of life

29. What is a fact about your mc others would never guess?

you’d probably guess that julian would be the one who gets injured more often. it ends up being the other way around. gale is incredibly accident prone. murphy’s law said fuck this guy in particular

30. Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

fun fact i first made him in 2019. holy shit he's been around for a while

31. Name another mc you read about and enjoyed! Shout out your favorite mc!

i'm not super familiar with everyone's mcs since i'm kinda reintroducing myself to the fandom. haven't really been active in a while, and even then i stuck to instagram. but here's a few i've seen and enjoyed while scouring arcana-related tags!

-khailan (made-me-deep-blue)

-alnair (lonely--shine)

-alastor (nabesthetics)

-velle (rainyfey)

#not tagging people because i am a coward #apprenticember #galeposting #fan apprentice #the arcana mc #the arcana apprentice #the arcana #the arcana game #starstrand

[ofglacialswords]

Prompt: Jealous + possessive Jillian

with @queikyui​ ‘s MC ft. Jillku

                       Jillian Valerius was not the type of person to get jealous easily. Or so he thought... He had thought of these things prior to meeting his beloved, Riku. He’s naturally a very understanding and patient man when it comes to him, he will go lengths to understand Riku while also minding his own space and such. He thought he was capable. 

                     Until Riku introduced him to one of his board members, whom he going to tutor for a few days. 

                      The man in question was decent. He always kept a smile on his face, polite and actually smart. However, Jillian doesn’t know why he needs Riku’s help since this guy seems like an honour student and at some point, he’d seen him somewhere being one of the top students in Devildom. Surely this guy got some brains, so why need Riku’s help? 

                      Besides, Riku never accepted anyone to tutor except for Jillian, but this guy seems like an exception for some odd reason and for what? These kind of thoughts keep running through the prince’s mind while walking with the older male next to him, heading towards to the lab to meet this certain board member. Maybe he should ask Riku...but then again, he doesn’t want to appear intrusive of his business.

                 “ What’s wrong Jill? ” Riku asked, his sharp eyes looking at him. Perhaps he noticed his unusual silence, but the prince shook his head and offered a small smile at his dearest. 

                 “ It’s nothing. This might be sudden, but why don’t you go ahead while I buy you some of your favourite cream breads? ”

                     The mention of his favourite bread cause his cat ears to twitch and his gleamless eyes gleamed with excitement. Jillian can’t get enough of this side of him. He’s so cute!

                       “...Okay. I’ll see you then. ”

The prince released all his frustrations through his club activities. Kendo was a great way to let out those bottled up feelings by shouting, hitting his opponents with great strength but also keeping his mind focused on the task. His club members seemed to noticed his unusual aggressiveness, but didn’t dare to ask the prince -- too scared that they might aggravate the prince more if they do. Their Captain definitely noticed it too, but he brushed it off, thinking that it’s not their business to add more fuel to what he’s going through.

In truth, he was frustrated by the fact that this board member guy keeps following Riku wherever he goes. These recent days, Riku couldn’t meet up with Jillian at lunch anymore because he had some work together with that board member. Not only at lunch, but even after school hours, Riku remained inside the faculty or with the board member the whole day before going home. Heck, they also have that tutor sessions too so Jillian could barely see him at school. This wasn’t the first time Riku got caught up with the student council’s duties even though he’s not one of them, but the thought of that board member hogging him all up makes him so frustrated.

He recalled that one day when Jillian was walking with Diavolo, he saw them walking down the hallway while discussing something -- until he saw the prince approaching their way. This damned board member smirked before leaning in close to the blackhaired male, whispering something which almost caused him to stop his tracks. This damned guy knows. And Jillian knows he’s doing this intentionally to pull Riku by his side.

He grips on his shinai, trying to suppress his frustration before making a stance. 

-- 

Jillian decided to surprise his beloved to their tutor session with his favourite sweets and a black coffee. Even though he was exhausted from club practice, he wanted to see Riku for a short while and wait for him so they can go home together. It was until he saw them by the window, leaning too close to each other. Perhaps Riku was too oblivious by the guy’s gestures, but he is clearly invading Riku’s personal space. He was again whispering something to the black haired male, and they both laughed together. 

Oh, archons, this sight made his blood boil. His patience is wearing thin.

The prince announced his presence by tapping his sword against the door a little too loud, causing them both to flinch visibly and the board guy made his distance from Riku. 

“ Greetings, Your Highness ” The man greeted him but Jillian deliberately ignored him. He saw Riku stealing glances towards him but he didn’t mind, and just dump the sweets before him. 

“ Move back. He could barely lift his arm if you’re sticking too close to him. ” Jillian said, his voice was stern. He used his unsheathed sword to point out the distance between them but the board member looked at him with a confused look.

“ But then I won’t be able to see Fujisaki’s writi-- ”

“ I said move back. Don’t make me repeat myself. ”

The man hesitantly moved back way further from Riku, they’re two and a half meters away from each other as per Jillian’s instructions. 

Satisfied, Jillian took a seat infront of them and crossed his arms and legs, glaring daggers at the board member who seems to be taking his challenge. But of course, the prince won’t let him assert his dominance over his own lover.

Hmph, what a troublesome man.

“ Don’t mind me here, just carry on with your so-called tutor session. I decided to wait Riku-san here so we can go home together. ”

“ Oh, but didn’t we decided that we’re going home together? ” The board member looked at Riku, but the blackhaired male roused an eyebrow at him. 

“ No. I didn’t say anything about that? ” Riku replied.

The prince chuckled, “ The audacity to see you dragging Riku-san to your shamelessness makes me laugh. Spare the thought, he’s not into you. ” 

The board member shot him a glare, “ You’re not him to say that. Who’s to say he’s not into me than him? ”

“ Me of course, because he’s into me. ”

“ I, what? ”

To be continued in part 2.

#jillian rigel ✦ 2nd prince #writings ✦ #jillku ✦ #ayo i wrote too much than i expected but LESGOOO

[maya-tl]

Without spoiling anything:

I'm currently playing Nadia's route, and I gotta say... I can see why everyone wants a Valerius route so badly.

#i say things #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana nadia #the arcana valerius #I've learned things i didn't think I would be learning. new favourite route?? maybe so. #I have such different feelings about every route #asra's route feels the most natural #muriel's route is the most wholesome #portia's route is the most fun #julian's route feels the most right for me #lucio's route is the most satisfactory (it's the villain redemption) #and so far nadia's route has been the most fascinating. I'm constantly intrigued by what's going to happen next. #I love all these characters but irl I would only be open to romancing like two... maybe three. asra's on thin ice even though I love him. #the idea of romancing nadia puts me off so much but her story is so good and honestly?? #if you go through without spending any money there's barely any romance at all. I've spent coins on every single route except nadia's. #it's so weird. the romance feels so rushed and off. some dialogue is clearly a follow-up to something that happened in a paid scene that— #—I just never witnessed because I didn't pay for it. I can see why people despise the coin system so much. #when you're not willing to spend money on coins it's actually absurd #anyway I got off track. valerius you're my favourite courtier!!

[bestial4ngel]

K but literally what’s the difference

#valerius #the arcana #valerius the arcana #damien dream daddy #arcana fandom #arcana memes #I see no difference #same man different universe #except Damien isnt a dick. but I mean Val’s working on it... maybe one day he’ll be as wholesome as Damien ... one day .... 😔✊🏼 #me realizing the similarities: ohhh so that’s why I hc Val as trans lmao

[metazensae]

idk what’s going on in the TAZ fandom this week, but that taakitz meetcute comic i did is getting a LOT of sudden traction today and i’m like ooooooof pls don’t subscribe bc i am not really about that life anymore tho i’m still a huge fan

This is an Arcana zone - i’m sorry to all my followers who are still hanging on and hoping for that sweet TAZ content, but the show is over and I haven’t drawn anything for it since May last year;;;;;;;;;;;;;plsdon’tfollowthinkingyou’llgetmoreTAZcontent;;;;;;;

Taako is still my boy tho i luv him so i do reblog a sprinkle of TAZ when it comes on my dash. you never really stop loving things you onced loved and that podcast was a very good one

#AJKSGKLAJGJSKAA PLEASE DONT FOLLOW ME JUST BC OF THE TAZ COMICS THERE ARE ONLY 2 ITS NOT SUFFICIENT TO FOLLOW ME #if you like valerius tho - i'm the bonch to follow for that lmao except i just self indulgently draw him with Izzy muse over and over so #maybe don't follow me if you have feelings for him bc i do'nt have room to think about you

[adelar-ward]

Hey guys, look, our consul now reads, not just drinks!

Also, i've learned a thing that i need to talk about.

We've been talking about Val's age with friends two years ago, i always comfortably considered him to be 42 years old. Nadia said he was quite young for a consul, but she's the oldest of the cast anyway, so we were like "maybe she means that he's a little younger than her". And today, while reading about consuls and praetors and quaestors, i found out that the minimum age for becoming a consul was 41 years old, with only three known exceptions. So, since there is an age requirement, possibly what Nadia meant was not that Valerius is young as a person, but that he was young as a consul, younger than the required age (which makes sense, he was the consul 3 years ago and some unknown amount of time before that).

Just something to consider.

#let's not talk about his choice of books #it's either court-martial laws or steamy gay novel #no in-between for light bedtime reading #consul valerius #the arcana edit