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Once again, I'll be talking about how MUCH I love the book "Arc de Triomphe," and rereading it over and over again. I also love the character of Ravic so much. This art has long been in my head as a signature piece, demonstrating why Ravic's call sign is "Reflection."

I also love the description I gave of my Ravic:

Tbh, I wasn't planning smth serious with him, since he was just a fun character for funzies, but I don't mind going a little deeper with him!

I don't know how obvious it is, but his roots go back to the Backstreets of District 23, where he obviously didn't live well. Like everyone else, he tried to claw his way up, but despite his considerable abilities, he kept hitting a glass ceiling. He also had a difficult relationship with his family, where he was the eldest, least-loved son of two. His family considered him a burden, not trying hard enough, no matter how hard he tried to prove them wrong.

And at some point, after yet another heated argument with his family, where he was drowned in his brother's shadow, he heard a familiar voice telling him that perhaps the life of a "little man" wasn't so bad; he just needed to blend in with the city and never bother anyone. But Isaac didn't give in. He decided he had to be as loud and insufferable as possible, an eyesore to those around him, so that it would be impossible not to notice him. For only then, shining with his true colors, could he be happy.

And so it turned out, and the Hana had already decided that it would be better for such an individual to be under the Association's thumb than simply wandering around the City. Isaac remains true to his word to this day; he truly is insufferable at times! He also overcompensates by buying up any trinket he sees, even if the number of them weighs down his bag or takes over his home.

It’s surprising why he wasn’t the first, even though he became my signature character, and also was the first overall.

Ravic. I love the original with all my heart; it made me fall in love with it from the very first lines. I’ve reread the book countless times, and I’ve listened to the audio version even more. That’s why it amazes me how many people make Paul from "All Quiet on the Western Front" into a less well-known and popular Remarque book, but no one before me made Ravic, even though he fits the role of a sinner INFINITELY more (not that I’m complaining; it’s nice to be first, but it’s still strange).

Born and lived in an ordinary, middle-income family in Nest, District 11. Thanks to his skills and passion for surgery, he managed to get into the prestigious K Corps medical institute, which he graduated with honors, representing a great future that, alas, was not meant to be because of the Smoke War. One of the key events of that period in his life was the horrific death of his friends at the hands of a sadist named Haake, whose image still haunts the man like a shadow, in dreams and in waking life. Having deserted, Ravic began hiding in the Backstreets of District 25, where he managed to acquire new connections, despicable alcohol habits, and, thanks to his skills, a job in an underground clinic. Around the same time, he meets and saves Joan – a femme fatale whom he loved, but whom, out of good intentions, the man tried with all his might to push away: he was too broken, too old, and too scared. By a fortunate twist of fate, Ravic comes across a good vacancy in Limbus, in which he sees an opportunity to relieve his loved ones of himself, while also being useful to others. Unfortunately, even the new job couldn’t rid the surgeon of his harmful habit – an addiction to calvados, a flask of which he always carries with him.

Ravic can easily be described as a melancholic, humanist loner who loves and values the lives of others, but hardly his own. Despite his fatigue, disillusionment, alienation from everything and everyone, and the realization that it’s impossible to help everyone, Ravic was not a cynic, as is typical for people of his profession, although he tried very hard to seem like one; he was simply too afraid to grow attached to anything. Thanks to his calm demeanor and life experience, he easily wins people over; he’s a good listener and conversationalist, especially when accompanied by a couple of glasses of calvados. However, most of the man’s words should be divided in two: lies, in his understanding, are as necessary in communicating with people as anesthesia is during surgery. My most favorite part of his character is his sharp tongue. Ravic is always ready with a quick retort, especially if you’ve annoyed him.

His Canto will also be one of the first, not second, but third or fourth, where they return to those Backstreets from which Ravic essentially fled, meet his old friends, stop by the cabaret where he used to live, encounter Joan... And that will be the most painful meeting, because the woman hates Ravic for running away; she thinks he abandoned her (which isn’t far from the truth, if you think about it). Ravic won’t make excuses, because he really just wanted to ask why she never accepted the letters he sent, to which he’ll receive an incoherent and disturbing answer. The truth won’t be long in coming: a stranger will run in and, hurling furious accusations at Joan, shoot her dead. Ravic won’t have time to do anything; the girl will die in his arms. In a rage (and a desperate attempt), Ravic himself will draw a hidden weapon, but with only one single bullet, which he had been saving all this time for Haake, and kill the attacker. From a friend, Boris, the team will learn that the attacker was a jealous suitor of Joan’s, and from a note in the dead man’s pocket, they’ll learn that someone named "O" told him about the meeting. Ravic himself will explain that he bought the pistol a long time ago, having saved up for it, because it gave him purpose and the idea that someday he could get revenge. But where the attacker got his weapon remains a mystery.

Interestingly, regarding this segment, Ravic will almost begin to distort, but out of everyone, it will be Eric who brings him back to his senses.

His Canto, as per tradition, will end with a Dungeon, where, for the first time, they will be hindered by N-Corp agents, but this time Haake will be among them. In the book, the sadist doesn’t recognize Ravic, and the surgeon lures the bastard into the forest by deceit and strangles him, but here it will be a full-fledged fight.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝓮𝓽, 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭. 𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓻.

if they were to have sinner soul foods from the hamhampangpang limbus event, what would they be?

Thank you so much for the question! I'd never really thought about it, so... I spent some time searching for suitable dishes and also decided to draw some sketches of my sinners eating them! I also included a short explanation of why I chose this particular dish.

Disclaimer: I know some of these dishes might be too expensive to serve in a Korean restaurant, but I didn't want to put such restrictions on myself.

Darrell Standing (The Star Wanderer): Cornbread with molasses

Firstly, cornbread is from the South, where Jack London hails from. Secondly, it's served to prisoners :) And molasses is an unusual SUGAR SUBSTITUTE that's usually bitter. My American friends were confused by this combination, because they usually eat something salty with cornbread, like sausage or fish, not sweet.

2. Ravic (Arc de Triomphe): French onion soup (Soupe à l’oignon gratinée)

I thought about this a lot. I even checked where Remarque himself was from. He's French with German roots on his father's side. But the question of Ravic still arose. My friends suggested thinking about which side he's warming to: did he abandon his homeland, or would he have returned if not for the war? Perhaps a childhood dish? They even suggested a dish from the France-Germany border region. But I settled on this because: Ravic himself said that Ludwig died in that war, meaning he'd said goodbye to the past. And onion soup is a workers' snack, cheap, served in every bistro in Paris, meaning he ate it very often. The onion has a bitter taste, but with sweet cheese and bread—simple but delicious. Simple ingredients and a long-lasting filling.

3. Erik (The Phantom of the Opera): Steak saignant with truffles.

The rare steak highlights his truly bloodthirsty nature, and the truffles grow underground, just like he does in his catacombs.

4. Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo): Bouillabaisse

This dish originates from Marseille, where Dantes himself is from. Delicious, with a variety of fish, as diverse as the Count himself. + It can be "rich," depending on the filling.

5. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Perfume): Oysters with lemon

The oyster is a living creature, eaten raw, almost alive. It smells of the sea, iodine, life itself. Grenouille is obsessed with capturing the "soul" (smell) of living creatures. The oyster itself, icy and slippery on the plate, is defenseless—like the girls he killed. Just as lemon is needed to mask the smell of mud, so Grenouille sought to refine and capture the scent of flesh. Moreover, according to the book, he was indifferent to ordinary food, nourished only by the aesthetics of smell. And the frog legs seemed too obvious to me.

6. Orpheus (Orpheus and Eurydice): Kollyva

Kolyvo is a traditional Greek funeral dish with sacred significance: a grain of wheat, fallen to the ground and "dying" to produce a new ear, symbolizes death and the hope of resurrection. For Orpheus, this dish becomes the perfect embodiment of the eternal widow, whose life has become a continuous commemoration of Eurydice. Her songs are like the sweetness of honey and pomegranate in kolivo. The eternal grief that Greeks have expressed through this dish since ancient times—rooted in the same pagan era where her myth was born.

7. Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray): English Trifle

8. Frederica Clegg (The Collector): English Shepherd's Pie

This is simple, "low," bourgeois food. Frederica is a former town hall clerk; she doesn't understand haute cuisine. "Shepherd's pie" is a dish that looks like a pie, but inside is just minced meat under layers of mashed potatoes. Similarly, Clegg tries to create a "beautiful life," but inside she harbors only the primitive instincts of ownership. + this is the food of her childhood, and autistic people have a very hard time parting with comfort food

9. Jekyll and Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde): English Black Pudding with Apple Chutney.

The dish itself is dual. On the one hand, it's a sausage made of blood and fat (Hyde represents the wild, carnal, and cruel element). On the other, it's a product of high culinary culture, prepared according to the rules (Jekyll represents the respectable doctor). The apple chutney (sweet and sour sauce) symbolizes the very chemical formula that attempts to "season" and soften the wild essence, making it edible for society, but ultimately only emphasizes the contrast.

10. Rachel (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?): Shrimp Cocktail

This was a very popular appetizer in the US in the 1960s and 1970s, where shrimp are served in a glass with tomato or chili sauce and lime. They're arranged in a circle, with the sauce in the center. Shrimp are farmed, and they're almost pure protein. Cold and dead. And the chili is spicy, it's in the center and red, like blood, life, and anger.

11. Guy Montag (Fahrenheit 451): Chicago-style hot dog

12. Randall Patrick McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest): Texas Chili con Carne

13. Kuudo (protagonist of A Wild Sheep Chase): Chikuwa

A chikuwa is a hollow tube. Kuudo often feels empty, devoid of personality (especially after meeting the "sheep"). But the chikuwa is often filled with cheese or other fillings. This is a metaphor for the Sheep (the filling) that has inhabited Kuudo's emptiness, which he tries to extract, track down, and understand. The chikuwa itself is simply a shell, lacking its own distinct flavor, just like Kuudo himself at the beginning of the novel.

14. Jane Doe (H.P. Lovecraft collection): New England Fish Pie

Bonus: Josaf K. (The Trial): Tafelspitz - boiled beef with apple-horseradish sauce

A classic Austrian dish served in luxury restaurants, but essentially just boiled meat. Josef K. is a man "boiled" in the scalding water of the legal system. The meat is simmered for a long time, becoming soft and vulnerable, just like him, before the system. The broth is clear (like the apparent clarity of the law), but the essence (the meat) is hidden somewhere deep in the pot. Horseradish (spicy) and apple (sweet) are contrasts between the hope and bitterness he experiences alternately.