#sometimes i wonder if my piss poor sense of self expression has played a bigger role in this whole fiasco than i want to admit.

[myownprivatcidaho]

him looking back over his shoulder after saying goodbye to the whole room to personally look me in the eye and softly say "see ya" with an even softer smile

me, internally:

[apprentice-nylah]

The Arcana - Book 19 - The Sun

Another update is here! Read under the cut for first reactions and some further discussion and maybe some theorycrafting. I only read through Nadia’s route. 

A non-spoiler review if you want one. I think this book gives probably the most answers about Nadia and Lucio’s past together and the exact reason why she married a worm like him. It also gives a lot of mechanics for exactly how the Devil turns people into demons and what is required. I think as far as information is concerned, there isn’t like... a huge revelation, but there is a lot of little interesting bits of backstory/information that’s worth reading. 

- Ah yes, Valerius. 

- “Play along”

- So does he not realize we’re in the Hierophant's realm?

- So he was pissed about Nadia being an “outsider” and trying to run Vesuvia probably more like Prakra is/was. I can understand that. I think, like in the real world, that institutions sometimes needs to change, but I understand his thought process, though I disagree with it. 

- So did the Devil take advantage of him in his “weakened” state and forcibly bind him? We know from Volta that she was somewhat tricked into it, but she did agree to his deal.

- Yeah, he was fully unaware. Interesting. 

- Three years ago???

- So he’s been doing this “slippery slope” thing of sorts. Making little deals here and there, likely for the Devil to condition him to make bigger ones in the future. 

- Orderly vs Chaotic. Sounds like a certain Templar vs Assassin storyline I know of. 

- Oh no he didn’t. “They should have thought of that before they became poor.” Okay, any sympathy I had for him is just gone. I absolutely hate that thought process. 

- “Look at what you’ve become.”

- He’s still an ass, even though he’s “humbly” admitting his fear and asking for help.

- Ooo the Hierophant. I wonder what exactly fixing Valerius did in regards to restoring the Hierophant. 

- Good, we’re getting something of an explanation. 

- Merging the worlds together...

- It seems like the timeline of three years pops up a lot. 

- So in turning humans into demons, does he siphon/steal power from an Arcana in order to do so?

- Valarius’ embarrassed face is the best thing ever. He’s just like fuk. 

- So Volta and Vlastomil were Temperance and Justice. 

- THAT LITTLE POTATO CREATURE. OH VOLTA HONEY

- “What about the tarot deck” (Though I will play through again and ask “Who else is missing”

- Nadia lol. If he wasn’t such a dick, I’d almost feel sorry for Valerius over the Spanish Inquisition she’s giving him.

- Alone with Nadia in a vineyard... 

- Abandoned tower... You’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, are you?????

- “Let’s get... Historical~”

- Ahhhh Nadia’s smirk is literally my favorite of her facial expressions. Please you’re going to kill me queen. 

- I still am over the moon when she says she loves the apprentice. 

- “Is she... biting her?”

- I’m thinking “Nadia leans down, lips brushing lightly against the back of my teeth. I can just barely feel the hint of teeth.” was a typo. Probably it’s meant to be the back of my neck. 

- Nadia is fucking marking the apprentice.

- Ugh, it’s always back at the palace. That’s okay, I’ll wait. 

- Lucio what the fuck.

- “Don’t talk to me.” I hate you, but get him Valerius,

- Lucio... 

- Breaking a deal with the Devil now that he has what he wants seems... ill-advised. But who am I.

- “Are you kidding me?”

- “Stronger than me.” That’s a cute idea Lucio.

- I can just hear Nadia’s exasperated “shut up.”

- You better fucking tell us what that deal was Lucio

- MAKE HIM BEG. 

- Also, there’s my favorite music again. 

- “Apologize to Nadia. Right now.” FuCkeR

- Airing out their marital problems here is probably not the best idea, but I want to hear more of what went on to be honest. 

- Good point, she’s a princess and he’s a count. She was technically marrying down. 

- If all he gave her was a headache, I’m still interested to know why exactly she married him. She doesn’t seem like the type of person (nor does Prakra seem like the type of place) for an arranged marriage. 

- Oh, never mind, we’re getting an answer. 

- He was a whim LOL. He begged her to save Vesuvia. And she thought it would be her moment to prove herself. 

- Okay so basically this is telling me I need to tweak my apprentice’s backstory a bit, because she was supposed to assassinate Lucio and get Nadia put in charge, but she was doubtful about it. But now we know she basically married Lucio to be in charge and run the city... Okay. 

- So Lucio is just a bitter, jealous man. About literally everything. Can’t stand to see anyone succeeding without him. 

- At least he’s fucking admitting she’s better off without him. 

- And he’s admitting the apprentice is better than him. 

- She’s really making him squirm over this lmfao. 

- So basically this is a reality check for a serial narcissist. 

- To be honest, I wonder if Lucio is supposed to be a metaphor for Donald Trump... Nadia says he has no shame. He’ll do anything to get what he wants. Thinks he matters more than everyone in the world. Gets jealous and angry when he’s not the center of attention. Don’t @ me. 

- Ugh.. I really don’t want to help him, but I’m sure he’ll be helpful in some way later. Plus one less person as an underling to the Devil is probably worth it. So “I’ll help him. For you.” 

- Valerius and the Hierophant are legitimately the same person when they’re both normal. 

- Did we finally get our body back???

- Oo, no more red eye’d Lucio. 

- IS SHE GOING TO FUCKING MURDER HIM???

That was a wild ride. So basically the Devil’s goal is to merge the two worlds, which is a bad idea. What a surprise. I think the information about some of the particulars about demons was interesting. It seems like it’s not one deal of “I want power, make me a demon.” Or at least, not for Valerius. Whereas Volta made it sound like her deal was like a single thing, though perhaps she was making deals with the Devil and that’s what caused her to be starving. Weaken her resolve so that when the Devil wanted to turn her, she was so desperate that she accepted. Sounds like that’s what happened to Valerius at least. And that the Devil basically weakens an Arcana to grant the demon powers. Or something. I do wonder since Valerius and the Hierophant seem really similar, like human and Arcana counterparts, if Temperance and Justice are going to be like the Arcana versions of Volta and Vlastomil. 

As far as the Lucio thing goes, I’ve always been a believer that Lucio was an abusive spouse. Not physically, but he was emotionally and/or mentally. I think this chapter gave a little more light that the devs were “technically” right that their relationships wasn’t necessarily abusive in the conventional sense, but more that he was just jealous and selfish, he held her back. And as a result, started down a path of self-doubt and complacency. I don’t know if I’d consider that “abuse” but it’s certainly not healthy for Nadia and their relationship, regardless of what you label it as, was 100% toxic. He begged her to help him save Vesuvia and when she was competent at it, even more than he was, he was angry/jealous about her success. I’d think a normal ruler (like Nadia) would be supportive of the person they begged for help being successful and would know what to stay out of the way. But of course, Lucio isn’t a good ruler. 

I am going to go through and play it a couple of times to try different options, but I thought the book was generally pretty good. It seems like we’re starting to reach endgame. The apprentice has their body back, fully realized their power as the Fool, freed Lucio and we’ll find out his fate next book probably, and are starting to gather Arcana allies to fight the Devil. 

Judgment is next. Part of that will probably be the judgment of Lucio. But beyond that, I’m not 100% sure what to expect. Perhaps some storylines in Julian and Asra’s routes will have some indirect clues of the next step.