#Lucanis and Illario

[simpforjesus]

What if Illario didn’t betray Lucanis AU

I blame brain rot

This idea won’t leave my head so I thought I’d share it. I know it may not make sense with game’s story or some of the characters might be a bit off but hear me out.

What if when Zara first approaches Illario about killing Lucanis, so Illario can be first talon, Illario considers it at first but says no. Zara is disappointed and decided to capture him(with much difficulty, Illario is a crow after all) so he can’t warn Lucanis and the other crows. She tries to torture information out of him on how they can infiltrate the crows. They eventually get a crow willing to betray Lucanis and set up the ambush. When they successful capture him, Zara tells Illario that Lucanis is dead, causeing Illario to feel extremely guilty, if he hasn’t let his jealously take hold of him, Lucanis would still be alive.

I imagine Lucanis would be very worried about Illario before being captured and during the events of the game and determined to find him. It’s not like his cousin to disappear like this. I bet he’d even ask Rook for help if they get a chance.

Maybe the first clue they get is when Zara is begging for her life,

“You want to know who betrayed you, don’t you? Who sent you to the Ossuary? Or maybe you want to know where your useless cousin is?”

the traitor crow jumps down from the ceiling and kills her before she can say anything else. But Lucanis needing answers asks Emmrich to help him get more information out of Zara. She tells him everything, that Illario refused to betray him, that she’s been torturing him all this time, now for fun and so they can use his blood for blood magic, where he is being kept, and which crow agreed to betray Lucanis, and of course that she wasn’t the one who “killed” Caterina.

Lucanis immediately asks Rook if they can help him rescue his cousin to which of course Rook agrees, taking Emmrich with them. They go to the Venatori hideout Zara mentioned and find Illario unconscious, chained up in a cell severely hurt from the torture and his own guilt (both mentally and physically) Emmrich heals him as best he can, while Lucanis tries to wake him. When he does both are beyond relieved to see each other alive. Illario tries to apologize to which Lucanis forgives him, probably even says he has nothing to apologize for. Once Emmrich heals Illario enough for them to carry him without making his wounds worse, they get him back to either the lighthouse or treviso.

Lucanis and Rook find Caterina alive, expose the traitor crow, Lucanis becomes first talion, yada yada game events.

It takes a long time for Illario to recover, both mentally and physically, but does eventually with the help of Lucanis and Spite,(and probably Rook, Teia and Viago and even Caterina in her own way).

Am I the only one who thinks this would make an awesome AU fanfic?

[mohntilyet]

viago your dedication to poisoning yourself and 'um actually'ing your recruits has made you the most attractive talon in all of antiva

[okthisway]

when your bestie is also your worstie 😔

[high-dragon-bait]

Illario is the funniest villain Dragon Age has ever shown us "Oh yes Teia I have the ashes for my totally dead grandmother, I'll go get them because they are in my possession. My dead grandma's ashes of course" my dude you're a crow you could've burned any body you had on hand. I want to study you in a lab

[snarkspawn]

... but we're more like brothers. Caterina took us both in... (We're brothers...)

[loveisalwayswise]

Average family night at Villa Dellamorte

[tiiracotta]

This guy

[lynaiss]

The Wigmaker Job outfits ✨

[marcell-arts]

He was my cousin, but we were more like brothers, really. (All we had left...)

lucanis and illario through time

[magerightsmagefights]

Thinking about how Illario expects his cousin to be the silent, brooding killer. About how Lucanis has never had a serious friendship outside House Dellamorte, and he's also just spent a year imprisoned, so of course Illario would assume Lucanis is still unsociable and awkward. He's always been that way. Thinking about what if Illario asks the other companions about Lucanis when they stop by the Cantori Diamond, and has to do a double take when someone says, "Oh yeah, Lucanis is hilarious. Always has something funny to say."

And Illario is like??? Lucanis? My cousin Lucanis? Is making people laugh? On purpose?

Bellara goes on a tangent about the book she's reading, and how Lucanis had such a good interpretation of the villain's motivations and it made the ending so much sadder! She's never been in a book club before, she's so happy Lucanis suggested it.

And Illario quietly mouths the words "book club" to himself because, aside from contracts, when has Lucanis ever joined any kind of club?

Of course Taash thinks Lucanis is just the coolest. Antivan Crows are already pretty cool, but a Crow with wings? Who's teaching her how to say good one-liners? Fuck yeah, Lucanis is awesome!

Then if an unromanced Emmerich starts dating Strife, he nearly gives Illario whiplash with the comment "Lucanis gives excellent romantic advice, especially with gifts." Because surely we can't be talking about the same Lucanis. The same Lucanis who has never been in a relationship, and the one (1) time he tried to flirt with Viago -- by *sending a gift* specifically -- Viago either ignored it or took it as a threat. Did the demon do this? Can demons make their hosts charismatic?

Davrin calls Lucanis a "fun drinking buddy." Harding appreciates how concerned Lucanis is that she's being fairly compensated for her services. Offers to lend her his contract negotiator, show her what other people are charging for the same services, he's really so sweet.

And a romanced Rook. Most people make insanely hot Rooks, so Illario watches, completely baffled, as Lucanis manages to pull that. Or if not that, Neve Gallus. Just. how?? Lucanis made one step out of the Ossuary and fell into a Pit Of Friends. All it took was like one month away from Caterina's influence (and the prison) to turn Lucanis into a guy everyone likes being around. How did this happen. When. How the hell is Illario suppose to defeat his cousin if his cousin is armed with the power of friendship? (He can't. Illario is very much defeated by Lucanis' power of friendship.)

[housederiva]

[ruushes]

he's proud of them probably

[mohntilyet]

imagine being illario and finally finding the resolve to kill your cousin right. you seduce and fuck a blood mage venatori magister to get her to do this for you. you figure you’ll eventually kill her once you are first talon, tie up the loose end and make it look good for you. a vengeance story! except when your cousin’s body shows up your grandma retreats into herself presumably out of grief and you’re like jesus christ he’s a corpse and still the favorite. at this point you start feeling some regret and at the wake you’re beside yourself. it helps to be really feeling some of that to fool everyone else. but months pass and your grandma still isn’t even discussing the inheritance and you have to be normal because you don’t want to incriminate yourself. and then a year later some random guy (worse if its a de riva tbh) shows up saying they need your cousin to kill an elven god (what.) and he’s the only one who could (insulting). and its at this point your grandma is like “lucanis died… but he is not dead!”. record scratch freezeframe. while you juggle with the fact that the freak woman you fucked specifically to get her to kill your cousin didn’t even kill your cousin AND your grandma didn’t bother telling you (for good reason ofc but she doesn’t know that), you have to lead these assholes to go save him and unravel your hard work. so plan b. you kidnap your grandma and push your (now possessed) cousin away (and then get mad when he actually walks away. because you’re like this). and when your cousin comes dangerously close to figuring out what’s happened with you and the magister, you kill the magister. you ally with those elven gods and venatori (you aren’t sure how you’re going to get out of this one but it’s fine. that’s a hill for future illario) to make sure you have enough backing to stand up against the other houses if they challenge you becoming first talon. you continue to gaslight your cousin into staying away, because if there is one thing you can count on, it’s his literal inner demons and total lack of a support group, you’re certain he’ll fuck it up by himself. you know this because his support group used to be your grandma (dubious) and yourself (lol). you’re almost home free. and caterina will definitely acknowledge you as a player on the board. which isn’t important but it would be nice, right. BUT THEN IT TURNS OUT. YOUR COUSIN HAS RECENTLY MADE 7 FRIENDS. one of whom can speak to the fucking dead because of course he can. and then some of those friends show up to publicly humiliate you at the dinner party that should have been YOUR crowning moment. your grandma ALSO shows up to tell everyone you have gathered that your cousin is first talon. your cousin gapes at her because he doesn’t actually even want it so it’s kind of awkward for everyone. and then when you’re sure he’s about to ask viago de riva to poison you to death, he actually tells him just to take you away. because OF COURSE he’s being the bigger person. anyways the point is i’m surprised illario just lets himself be taken away because if i were him i would have started biting people and then bombed the villa

[wardensantoineandevka]

[drxgony]

i love you house dellamorte

[vigilskeep]

can i say it’s contextually crazy that when spite has a knife to illario’s throat, all lucanis can do is fight his own body and yell to rook for help, and spite’s wing moves out of the way so he can turn back towards rook. it’s not a subtle movement, it fully retracts as he turns. if lucanis not controlling the wings is important in the romance scene it’s just as important here. this is a demon that’s fully lost it and taken over and is trying to kill someone its host loves, and lucanis is trying to get help to stop this. and the demon... moves out of the way so that can happen? even in that state, completely blinded by rage, it still wants them to reach out to rook and trusts their intervention