*steals the arcana*

Volta: Adorable. Precious. Sweet little baby. Yes, she's in a villain's role, but the more you know and see the more clear it is that she's a victim of circumstance. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see references to how she used to eat plague beetles as a way of slowing the spread of them (and to deal with her bottomless appetite). Was she ever meant to be a courtier? No, and the consequences of her gluttony are nothing to sneeze at, but deep down I just like seeing her free of her deals and curses and enjoying a quiet peaceful life away from craziness of Vesuvia. The time for it is long gone but I would've loved to see a tale (or series of short tales) of Volta's post-upright ending life where she wanders around Vesuvia's food stalls and rates them, while providing exposition on the cultural influences present in the city and what kind of transformation it's going through under Nadia's leadership.

Vlastomil: He become so much more interesting to me after reading Lucio's pre-prologue tale because what do you mean this silly slimy guy is the source of the plague?!? I actually really enjoy how the courtier with the most obvious contribution to the suffering and past problems of Vesuvia is also the most passive one. He doesn't want to be here, he wants to be left alone with his worms, and that single minded focus keeps him from doing anything at all about the plague he's the ultimate source of. You even get the feeling that he's not that malicious, he's just haphazardly agreeing to whatever someone else asks him to if it lets him get back to his obsession. I'd be very interested to know a little more about how he came to be a demon that far south to begin with, but other than that his character is so straightforward that I don't feel a draw to analyze him that much.

Vulgora: Honestly the one that I have the least thoughts on (I'm so sorry lol). Unless I've straight up forgotten it, we don't really have a backstory for them or a strong characteristic beyond a love for violence. Unlike Valerius, Volta, and Vlastomil, they're too far gone to be redeemed to a human form, but unlike Valdemar, they don't seem to have any established lore as a demon. The only narrative takeaway I really have for them is how they seem to provide the most foreshadowing for what kind of creature Lucio could've ended up as if his deals went more in his favor - in fact, a lot of Lucio's blood-obsessed, villainous dialogue seems to me to be a toned down version of how Vulgora speaks and reacts in conversation.

Valdemar: oh boy. They are so expertly designed that I don't often care to reference them simply because I effectively Do Not Like them. I really loved how the Arcana made more use of their ancient, unsettling, eldritch horror vibe in Portia's route, given how the main Arcana villain in the first three routes was always the Devil. We got a new scale of how ancient and influential Valdemar is and it left me with even more questions than answers. What is their backstory? What other parts of the world have they affected over the years? What historical events and catastrophes have they been involved in? The mystery just doesn't stop with them and it's an excellent trait for an antagonist.