#it’s more about rereading it after getting to know lucanis more

[megthemariner]

I just reread The Wigmaker Job for the first time since playing Veilguard and. wow am I feeling things

[vaguely-concerned]

Eight Little Talons Reread Thoughts

Which, I’ll level with you folks, is mostly just me gushing about Teia and Viago and how much they should kiss because of who I am as a person, but maybe also some actual observations sprinkled in. This is still my favourite story in Tevinter Nights, I think, there’s so much Character Stuff in it. Let’s go!

Viago hated carriages—no amount of plush seating could make up for the inevitable ache of being knocked around like weighted dice. But decorum insisted, and he would not be outclassed by his fellow Talons.

Vs.

“You didn’t take a carriage.” 

“My luggage did. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a country jaunt.” She nodded toward the thoroughbred Taslin strider grazing on the top of the hill. “Andoral so rarely gets a chance to let loose in Rialto.” 

“You named your horse after an archdemon?” 

“Don’t worry, Vi. I won’t let him nip you.

You know… Andarateia might gain some illusion of normalcy by standing next to the most paranoid wound-up-tight repressed man around to provide contrast, but I think it’s crucial we keep in mind that she is also nuts. Naming your horse after an archdemon IS an insane thing to do in the world of Thedas huh. I suppose she genuinely seems to think of Caterina Dellamorte as a warm maternal figure and is in love with a tetchy snake of a guy too, it does all start to add up when you look at it like that.

— Beneath the smooth samite, he felt like a sinewy ball of tension. Teia suspected contact of any kind made Viago uncomfortable. It would explain why he swathed himself in indigo from chin to toe and refused to remove his gloves during dinner.

He offers his arm to her and doesn’t pull away when they meet Caterina — only when Dante shows up. Interesting (and possibly part of why Caterina seems to consider the two of them a cleverly stabilizing package deal when they get along lol). I love the mix of playful seduction and genuine fond, intimate knowledge and interest Teia has for him all the way through too — speculating about his childhood, trying to divine his thoughts and intentions, testing to see how he reacts to different things. And it’s so sweet that she seems to regard him with this affectionate amusement and fascination (which he seems to be afraid means that she’s mocking him but is, I think, just another level of appreciation she has for him. Correctly. Because he’s one of the funniest people in Thedas both in concept and in practice. Accountant brained-ass noodle arm Vetinari homage poison specialist. Teia’s neurotic purse dog of a man. Sole royal bastard who willingly chose to have a boring Antivan day job (killing people) and makes spreadsheets about it.) 

— “Not exactly welcoming, are they?” Teia whispered, her breath warm against his ear. 

Viago’s grip tightened on the head of his walking stick.

I swear to god courtney woods is so fucking good at writing romantic and sexual tension. One sentence!!! She drops in a one-sentence detail and it says everything!!!! She has such a knack for consistently adding these details without getting overindulgent or spelling it out too much that I really admire, I tend a bit more towards indulging too much as a writer that way myself so her sense of where to show restraint has me in awe 

— “Don’t ‘Nonna’ me, Andarateia Cantori,” Caterina snapped, although the heat in her voice had lowered to a simmer. “Not even my actual grandchildren call me that.” 

“Well, considering who your grandchildren are,” Teia responded, “I’m not surprised.” 

“How is Master Lucanis?” Viago asked.

Hell yeah Lucanis mention! Can’t wait to see how their dynamics will turn out in-game, we could be in for some truly spectacular and absurd workplace comedy nonsense if we’re lucky

— As always, Viago had with him his leather case of poisons and antidotes for toxins typically hidden in ingredients such as olives, truffles, pasta, lamb, cheese, cream, and alcohol. But he had not expected eggplant.

This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, I love Viago so much he’s such a perfect weirdo. Reader, he had not expected eggplant. 

— Taking a deep breath, Viago focused on tying his cravat—an ordinarily simple task except now Teia was running her hands across every surface in his room, and his fingers kept slipping on the final knot. “It would help if you removed the gloves,” Teia remarked. “Surely your own cravats haven’t been tampered with.”

Viago being just… seethingly horrifically despairingly horny every time Teia shows up is so amazing, and Teia clearly paying A Lot of attention to his hands and his reactions at all times… again, courtney woods s tier sexual tension provider. 

— “No,” she said, crossing her arms. “Not until we boil some water.” 

Viago raised a brow. “Eight people were poisoned in this room.” 

“Then run your little tests to make sure it’s safe, but I refuse to look at another dead body until I’ve had my coffee.”

I must take care to repeat: teia is also fucking nuts (affectionate). It’s SO FUNNY that her slightly lighter and softer moral take on being a Crow means she does feel bad about the servants ending up in the crossfire, but she will also demand that viago make her coffee with their horrifically bloated corpses still strewn about the room fhdsjka. 

— Teia had often imagined what it would be like to kiss Viago. She told herself it was only natural. He was handsome, in his own way, and wound up so tight that she likened him to a giant knot. He was a challenge to untie—to twist and pull and loosen until the tension gave way and he unraveled, laying bare all his secrets. But knots were a delicate business. Tug the wrong way and you could end up with a noose.

I know I KNOW they have sex so weird and intimate and no one even takes their clothes off during it I know it in my heart

— “Do you not think you’re attractive?” Viago turned on her, his ears pink. “Ten people are dead.” 

She didn’t back down. “And whoever’s responsible will pay, but that has no bearing on this conversation.” 

“It could be me.” 

Covering her mouth with both hands, Teia doubled over, laughter spilling from her lips. “It’s not you.” 

He looked as if she’d slapped him. “I’m more than capable of killing everyone here.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re offended!” 

“It is offensive,” Viago protested. “Professionally.”

Teia please tell me you love me not only for my body and fashion sense and numerous and fascinating neuroses but also my extensive knowledge of poisons and capacity to cause death

— Again, Viago felt like a lute string. With every challenge, Teia twisted the pegs, tuning him, until she found what she wanted. Which is what, exactly? he asked himself, not daring to listen to the number of answers that bubbled to the surface of his mind.

You know Viago I think we should let her try some scales here at least. See what happens. (There’s no explicit sex in this story but everything that’s going on is nevertheless so kinky fdsjak. I think Teia could convince Viago to show a flash of his naked wrist and have a reaction like a sheltered young Victorian gentleman seeing an exposed ankle and a playful wink for the first time)

— As if she could feel the sudden rush of shame within him, Teia brought her hands up to rest on Viago’s hips, holding him in place. His thumb stilled as he realized her breath was short. Her pupils dilated. Before he could stop himself, Viago nuzzled his forehead against hers, his nose brushing her cheek. Teia’s hands snaked up his chest to run through his hair. She tugged him forward. He braced himself on one arm, while the other curled around the small of her back. 

This whole scene is unspeakably good of course but it’s always the detail of ‘his nose brushing her cheek’ that does me in the most. The longing!!! The yearning, the intimacy, the awkward perfect clumsy physical reality of it!!!! If he kissed her here the magical potion thing on her lips would have been immaterial, the results would have been the same without it!!!!!! The tug of war between longing and fear!

— oblique Zevran mention! <3 as the ultimate failson of house arainai, granted, but as I believe he might argue here: ‘ah, but you have heard of me, no? :>’. Babe I support you so much go out there and raise hell/kill whoever you want to I got your flower

— Big shoutout to the author for managing to pull off an entirely workable ‘And Then There Were None’ plot in the background here, even though the real meat and potatoes going on is the character and relationship development (and what meat and potatoes they are too)! It’s not an easy thing to do even in an abbreviated, more of a homage sort of form and balancing it with everything else going on is a feat

— Caterina 100% knows Teia is in Viago’s room when he’s supposed to be isolated and just doesn’t care lmao. (They act like such teenagers in that scene where she knocks on the door and they haven’t even kissed yet I’m dying). Caterina seems like a terrible person but it’s impossible to not feel for her a little, trying to keep Talons in line seems a lot like herding (very horny very carrying sharp objects) cats 

— Standing outside her ex-lover’s room, Teia tried to quell the violent drumming within her. Normally, she didn’t need to come down from a physical encounter. Seduction—like any form of manipulation—was about control. She could enjoy herself, but Teia always made sure to hold the upper hand. Viago had shattered that control without so much as a kiss.

I feel like this is a sneaky common trait that actually is part of what makes them so compatible (and the playful negotiation of which must feature prominently in their sex life eventually lmao): they are both HUGE control freaks. (Indeed it might be hard to be a successful Talon without this trait.) Teia and Viago both strive for control of themselves and their surroundings so deeply, she’s just much more extroverted, psychologically minded and soft power focused going about it (not unlike Caterina, whose power is built more on fear than charm but works along the same lines), while he’s more coldly intellectual and uh materialist? I want to call it? about it. Which makes perfect sense considering their backstories! Teia came from nothing in a monetary sense but has found she excels at moving people, hearts and minds style — and she’s very good at it, she is everyone’s favorite — so that’s the source of power for her, and Viago is not very charismatic or interested in people naturally but grew up seeing how status, wealth and power have their own clinical gravity that can be used, and also that people can never be trusted to watch out for you in that system.  

If Thedas has a Machiavelli-equivalent to ask whether it’s better for a ruler to be feared or loved they would both instantly give their answer with their whole chest and then squint at each other like ‘babe how do you live like this’ lol

(Also this line of thought has me wondering what the hell Caterina’s partner/spouse(s) would have been like — she must have at least two children to account for Illario and Lucanis, I wonder if she was ever married and what that looked like.)

— I really like the oppressiveness and claustrophobia you get from the descriptions Teia uses in Dante’s room — it feels so icky and sticky with history and sad and confining, and the way she keeps pushing herself through it anyway is weirdly melancholy to me. 

— I also like how their flaws/traits that drive them apart at the crisis point have follow-up consequences outside of their relationship before they reconcile. Teia’s penchant for manipulation and pushing on people indirectly causes the death of someone she once cared about (I mean, fuck that guy, not crying any tears for Dante or his broken bottle, but like in the overarching principle of the thing lol). When she goes too far with it or gets careless, she renders other people vulnerable and helpless in ways she doesn’t anticipate. (Rightfully or not this seems to be part of what scares Viago so much about it, he has this fear of being dissected for whatever she finds interesting and then abandoned when she’s tired of it, the whole underlying being a footnote in her life when she could clearly be something uh a lot more in his anxiety.) Meanwhile Viago’s insistence on self-reliance and reluctance to engage in human contact leaves him easily isolated and nearly results in his death. (And even when Teia saves him he has a hard time giving her full credit in favour of his many neurotic coping mechanisms lmao disaster man.) But when the two of them work it out to understand each other better and come together as a partnership, they’re such a force to be reckoned with that it brute forces the resolution and return to stability near the end. (Well. A significantly reduced version of stability to be fair but y’know better late than never.)

— Also: delicious detail that she is actually the closest you might get to a self-made woman/Talon, and he is definitely at least not in a position to fully dodge the nepo baby allegations — he wants so bitterly to be entirely independent and self-sufficient and not reliant on anyone, and yet it’s his connections inherent to his birth that have helped him get here, while she wants so desperately to have people to rely on because she comes from nothing and has known what it is to be that alone and unprotected. He knows protection and gifts — and love — can easily be taken away and used to control you/render you helpless in your vulnerability from how his father treated his mother, and she knows you have to try to hold on to something in other people or it’s just you and the dirt and you die. Which is what they’re really talking about in that scene where they argue, and it’s why they’re both right and wrong at the same time and it’s so tasty. It’s really Teia asking ‘Will you ever trust anyone? (will you ever trust me, or will you put up this wall every time no matter what I say or do?)’ and Viago going ‘Will you never take precautions to protect yourself against this hurt? (will I have to be the bearer of bad news about how the world really is every time?)’ and neither of them realize that’s what they’re taling about and it’s why it all explodes so badly. (I mean. Factually both came to the wrong conclusion about who the murderer was for fairly good reasons, so there’s also that haha.) 

— I wonder if we’ll see Bolivar or the heirs to the houses left Talon-less in the game itself. I’m guessing they probably won’t have big roles, at least, but you know just as background flavour, especially since Crow!Rook is already within the de Riva uh household as it were. I think Viago is still sensibly mid-table at Fifth Talon in Veilguard and Teia remains Seventh? So at least they’re not messing around with that rank order during the occupation 

— In semi-not teia and viago news (I am a character first writer and reader I canot change this), it’s neat to see it outlined just how much the Talons really are just merchant princes with some more added knives and cultural weight behind them. They are at the end of the day running businesses, no matter the mystique ™ you wrap it in. (Which I think Viago would be the first to tell you and Teia might try to argue against at least a little haha. Being a Talon is what you make of it you live your truth girl kill awful men you’ll never run out of contracts!!)

— Can’t believe the Crows have self-congratulatory ‘top 10 murders in history!’ classes as part of the training. Do you think Zev sat through those. Probably, if Teia did, right. Now there were some entertaining hours around the campfire during the Blight I’m sure

— Viago understanding but not accepting Teia’s offer to help him with an alibi and at first angling it as being out of hesitancy to accept help/rely on someone, and then later unveiling the added element that he knows Teia respects and loves Caterina and doesn’t want her to have to lie to her for him… Viago is nothing so simple as secretly nice deep down but he IS horrifically in love with and desperate to be kind to specifically Teia and it gets to me okay  

— I’d forgotten that DA’s passionate love affair with toxic yuri and some recreational bury your gays extended to Guili and Lera in this fdskjah. Would it really be Thedas without it I suppose (considering the genre of the short story it’s fine with me in this case, though, everyone’s dropping like flies in this even the straight people that’s just equality) 

— Viago was not a typical Antivan. He liked facts—checklists, numbers, precise measurements. Heart palpitations, clammy hands, tight pants—Viago did not like these things. In fact, he would go so far as to say he hated them. Mild curiosity was his favorite mood. What Teia had elicited in him was akin to an internal natural disaster.

I simply love him so so much. Mild curiosity was his favorite mood. He failed to account for the eggplant. He’s so annoyed at being poisoned and dying horribly and it literally never occurs to him that anyone would help him until he wakes up in Teia’s lap. He organizes all his poisons by puns. He uses his potentially last breath to argue with Teia about his precise state of dress or undress. Have we finally found him, the perfect man? 

(Also between Reyes and Viago Courtney Woods does such a good line in guys who’d really rather be emotionless machines of practical violence and monetary gain but find themselves down so horrifically catastrophically bad that it cracks them open to reveal a soul they aren’t all that happy to discover they have lol) 

— When Viago woke, it felt like someone had drained the blood from his body and replaced it with sludge. But it wasn’t all bad—someone who smelled like coffee and cinnamon was playing with his hair. . . . Her fingers resumed stroking his hair. It felt better than the water. It felt better than anything.

Unspeakable. Don’t look at me. 

— Viago reaching out and touching Teia’s cheek with his bare hands without a thought and all his tenderness and reverence for her laid bare in turn is something that can actually be so personal and it only took very nearly dying to get there (also… he’s presumably still half-naked through all of this while cradled in her lap. Amazing.). Can’t believe bare hands to cheek feels like third base with these two. And his fucking THOUGHTS through all of this… Don’t cry, he doesn’t deserve your tears, no one does (I don’t, I don’t want to be something that causes you pain) AOUGH

— Vaguely related: the implication in how that part is built is that he’s reaching out specifically to gently dry away her tears, right. Double AOUGHHHHHH not only does he manage to not be selfish or unfair in asking her not to cry he does that instead… there’s hope for you yet messere de riva  

— Teia with the red-hot poker standing guard over Viago while he ‘looks like a king in judgement’ and does the Poirot in the library exposition is everything and so hot what the fuck. She a snacc she attacc but most importantly… she protecc, she’s so fucking cool lol. they’re both really smart, but she’s clearly the brawn as well as the social skills (hey manipulation is such an ugly word!) and he’s the logistics and realpolitik on two long thin nerdy legs, absolute power couple. She’s the gaslight he’s the girlboss together may they gatekeep this invading army out of antiva  

— You guys… this might come as a surprise I have tried to keep it on the down low but. I really do love the world of Thedas so very much. I love the people and the places and the history and the stupidness and the brilliance so much. We must save the world because everyone I love lives here. Let this be a secret between just you and me we can’t let people know we sit/have emotions etc.  

— A servant approached to take the cage in Viago’s hand. 

“Careful,” Viago warned. “He bites.” 

“I can’t believe you’re keeping that snake,” Teia said, shaking her head. “It almost killed you.” 

“Which is more than any man can say. He deserves my respect. And a good home—with all the mice he can eat.” 

“But did you have to name it Emil?” Teia asked, making a face. 

“An homage. You’re always telling me to recognize my fellow Talons.”

Andarateia ‘names her horse after an archdemon’ Cantori x Viago ‘keeps the deadly adder that nearly killed him as a pet and names it after the last guy who failed to murder him’ de Riva. Freak well and truly matched. Soulmates, no notes, I’ll do borderline anything for these two to make it, goodnight. 

[himluv]

Spiral

Chapter 23(?!) of Say My Name (Say it Twice) is here! Find it below, or head over to AO3 to read from the beginning.

After a harrowing day in Isana Negat, Lucanis decides to finally tell Rook how he feels.

cw: PTSD, panic attacks

Lucanis reread the parchment for the third time. Teia had sent word, Viago’s people had found something. Something big enough that the Talons wanted to meet outside of the city. Outside of Illario’s reach.

Normally, he’d bring this straight to Rook. They needed to get to Dock Town, to the Cobbled Swan soon. And they would. But not tonight.

Tonight, he was just grateful they’d all made it out of Isana Negat alive. For a moment, he’d thought all was lost, that Rook and her big, soft, foolish heart chose to stay and die rather than leave Harding to the Titan’s rage. 

He would have run, had tried to get Rook to run. But, she’d refused, and of course he couldn’t leave her to face Harding alone. So, he’d followed her up to that stone platform, certain it was their final moments. 

And, yet again, Rook proved that he should know better than to doubt her heart. Against all odds, she’d reached Harding, soothed her rage and reminded her of who she really was under all that pain. Lucanis was still rocked with awe each time he thought of it. 

Was there anyone Rook couldn’t reach?

But, their misadventure in the mines also left him feeling uncertain. Not about Rook, he was more sure about her than ever, but about himself. She had done the impossible time and gain, but she was still mortal. And they were still hurtling toward a confrontation with two ancient, blighted gods. Even after all their wins, the odds of victory were long. Too long. And if the Cantori Diamond had taught him anything, it was that, eventually, their luck would run out. 

If something happened to them, shouldn’t she know how he felt? Could he survive losing her, knowing he’d never told her? But would it make her grief that much worse if he did, and he was the one lost? Or would the knowledge of his affection be a comfort in the aftermath?

Tell her, Spite hissed. You want. She wants.

Lucanis knew the demon was right. And, he could feel the gods’ noose tightening. When they did face Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, it would be all or nothing. There were no guarantees anyone would survive, and they were running out of time. 

Yes. He would tell her. Now. He’d delayed long enough.

Yesssssss!

Lucanis left Teia’s message on his side table, checked his hair in the mirror, and stepped out into the dining hall. Dinner had been a quiet affair. Harding had promptly gone to her quarters and passed out upon their return. Taash had brought her dinner and also not returned. He and Rook had both been reserved, tired after the physically and emotionally draining day. 

As he crossed the courtyard, Lucanis felt a flicker of doubt. Maybe tonight wasn’t the right time. It’d been a difficult enough day without adding an emotional confession to the end of it. And there was still the matter of Illario and whatever Teia and Viago had learned. There was so much to do. 

And by that logic, he could put this off forever. 

No! Spite barked. Tell Rook. Tonight!

Right. If he waited for the perfect moment, he could always find a reason not to have this conversation. He was doing this. Now. 

It wasn’t a long walk to Rook’s quarters, but Lucanis took it slow, rehearsing in his mind what he would say to her. 

Rook. I don’t want to wait any longer. We might not have long and–

No. Too grim. 

Rook. I want… no, I need you–

No. Too clichéd. Even if it was true, he couldn’t steal his confession from the pages of one of his romance novels.   

Just. Tell her. The truth! Spite growled, the demon’s tone distinctly irritated. 

Right. The truth. He could do that. And Rook deserved to hear only the truth from him. He looked up when his path met with her door. He knew she was in there, because Spite had led him here and not to the music room. The truth. Just, tell her the truth. He took a deep, steadying breath, and then knocked on her door. 

It took a moment for her to answer, and when she did she peered around the door with a puzzled look on her face. 

“Lucanis?”

He gave her a tight smile. Mierda, he was nervous. “Rook, I–”

“Come in,” she said, swinging the door open. 

Right. Yes. Good. This wasn’t a conversation to be had in a hallway. He stepped through into the room and froze at the sight of the floor-to-ceiling aquarium. Behind him, he heard the door close. Heard Rook say something. Both sounds were muffled, as if heard from underwater. 

Nooooo, Spite hissed. No! Get out!

He was out. Had been out for months, but the shimmering blue light filtered through the water still turned his blood to ice.

Lucanis closed his eyes and took another deep breath. This was Rook’s room, not the Ossuary. Zara was dead. She couldn’t hurt him anymore. And he would never see that prison again. 

“Lucanis?”

That voice. Rook’s voice. She was the reason he was free, the one who had come to save him. And yet, when she put a tentative hand on his shoulder, he flinched. He spun to face her, hopefully camouflaging his knee-jerk response to her touch. 

“What’s wrong?” Her eyes darted across his face, searching for some clue.

“Nothing,” he lied. Which was stupid – it was painfully obvious something was very, very wrong.

Rook frowned at that and gestured to the green velvet chaise in the center of the room. “Maybe you should sit down.”

He nodded. His knees felt weak, his chest suddenly so heavy. Lucanis let Rook lead him to the chaise, his eyes on her hand where it hooked onto his elbow. He hadn’t noticed this touch – he was afire and frozen all at once. Was he breathing?

“Rook,” he said before she could drag him any closer to the glass. His voice sounded strange. Far away and thin. He licked his lips, eyes darting at the aquarium glass, then back to her face. Breathe. Just breathe and say what you came to say. “Rook, I–”

Neve’s voice rang through his head, ‘even mentioning the Ossuary sends you spiraling.’

Spiraling? No! Spite shouted, face pressed to the glass. DROWNING!

“Lucanis?” Again, her voice pulled him back. And when he saw the concern, the fear in her eyes, he knew the real truth. 

He closed his eyes. “Rook, I can’t.” He turned his back on the glass wall, blinking back panicked tears. Mierda, what was happening to him?

Rook stood beside him, her hand still at his elbow. Then she cursed. “Shit! It’s the aquarium isn’t it?”

She didn’t wait for him to reply. She dragged him from her quarters and down to the music room. He followed her, numb and panting against the frozen blocks of his ribcage. It wasn’t until she pressed him down into his usual chair that he felt like his head was back above water. 

Slowly, his chest loosened and he was able to take slow, deep breaths. Eventually, his pulse settled and he became more aware of his surroundings. Rook crouched before him, a hand on his knee. Her other hand was in his, gripped tight. 

“Hey,” she said as he blinked at her. 

He leaned back, resting his head against the wall and covering his face in both hands. Then he let out a string of profanities that would make Teia proud. 

After a beat of silence, Rook said, “I think I understood most of that.”

Lucanis groaned from behind his hands. Leave it to her to tease him at a moment like this.

“Are you okay?” She asked. 

He took a deep breath and felt the last shards of icy panic break away. “I’m all right,” he said. Still, he kept his face covered. 

“Will you look at me?”

No. He didn’t want to see her concern. Or her tenderness. He didn’t want to face the proof that she’d seen him at his worst. He would rather vanish into dust than look at her in that moment. 

“Give me a moment,” he said.

“Okay.”

He expected her to move, to sit at the piano, maybe even to play, but Rook did not leave his side. Her hand stayed on his knee, rubbing gentle, soothing circles above his kneecap. For a moment he let her touch anchor him, his mind swirling like crema in a freshly brewed cup of coffee. 

Mierda, he needed a drink. 

What was the matter with him? How could an aquarium unravel him so completely? How could Rook ever trust him after this? How could he fulfill his contract, how could he keep her safe if all it took to unmake him was a glass wall of water? This was worse than he’d realized. He was worse.

When he didn’t speak or move for what felt like ages, Rook tapped his knee. “Lucanis?”

He grunted.

“I can hear you thinking.”

Lucanis sighed and let his hands fall into his lap. But he kept his face tilted up toward the ceiling. He couldn’t look at her. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed.” Rook shook her head. “I should have realized the aquarium might bring up… bad memories. I should have warned you.”

“You can’t take the blame for everything, Rook.” His voice sounded so tired, even to him. 

“No,” she said. “But, I can try.”

He shook his head. “And why would you warn me? It’s not like you expected me to knock on your door.”

A beat of silence hung between them. “Not tonight, no,” she said. “But, I thought, maybe, eventually–”

Lucanis looked down at her in surprise. Did she mean…? She thought about him coming to her room? In the middle of the night?

Judging from her blush, yes. Yes, she did.

Rook smiled up at him. “There you are.”

He didn’t look away from her, even though he desperately wanted to. He felt… fragile. Like a single misplaced touch would shatter him and he’d fall to pieces all over again. But, if there was anyone he trusted not to break him, it was Rook. Lucanis put his hand on hers where it still rested on his knee, squeezed her fingers in his. 

He could tell her how he felt, now, and she would accept him just as he was – fragile and half-shattered. He knew that, deep in his chest. He felt her acceptance in the weight of her hand on his knee, in the weight of her gaze. He should tell her now. He wanted to. 

But hadn’t this… episode proved him right? Like Neve had said, with everything he was dealing with, how was it right for him to squeeze Rook in? He’d thought he was ready, but he couldn’t even step inside her room. There was still so much he needed to do, needed to deal with before he could pull her into his life and not hate himself for it. 

Lucanis squeezed her hand one more time, and then released her. Rook took the cue and removed her hand from his knee. His leg tingled at the loss of her touch. 

Rook stood and put her hands on her hips. “So, what did you come to talk to me about?”

Lucanis stared at her for two panicky heartbeats, then remembered Teia’s message. “Viago and Teia sent word. They want to talk. About Illario.”

Spite growled from behind Rook at mention of his cousin.

“Whatever it is, they wish to speak away from Treviso. Away from anyone who might be listening. They won’t put more to paper.”

“Oh,” she said. She sounded disappointed. 

“I need to meet with them, as soon as possible.”

“All right,” she said, nodding. “We’ll head out first thing tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Rook,” he said. He hoped the weight of his voice told her he meant it for more than just their impending trip to Minrathous. 

“Of course, Lucanis,” she said, and the warmth in her eyes told him she understood completely. Just as she always did. 

Lucanis couldn’t bring himself to confess his feelings to Rook now. Not after this mess. But he was also desperate not to be alone just yet. 

“Rook?” He called as she turned toward the door. 

She stopped and looked at him. 

“Can I ask another favor?”

She smiled. “Always.”

He smiled at that, even as he felt the heat bloom in his cheeks. “Will you play for me?”

She laughed. “Now?”

He shrugged. “If it’s a bother–”

Rook waved his words away and sat at the piano. “I did say ‘any time’.”

“You did,” he murmured. He watched, rapt, as she settled into the instrument. She played the same notes she’d hunted out that first night he’d found her in this room, but she’d obviously been practicing. Her fingers were sure as they danced across the keys, drawing the song out, coaxing it into a reverberating being with such tenderness it made him ache. 

Lucanis had attended more than his fair share of operas, had listened to live musicians countless times at parties in Villa Dellamorte and in the close intimacy of cafés. None of them compared to Rook playing for him –privately– at his request. 

He had basically zero experience with what made him… want. But in that moment, watching Rook’s hands, seeing the expression on her face shift to match the tone of the song, Lucanis’s whole body suffused with delicious heat. He always wanted Rook, in some low, background fashion. But this was different, pointed and–

Hungry, Spite hissed. 

Yes. It felt a lot like hunger. Or, a craving. He’d expected his feelings for her to diminish in the wake of his embarrassment, but instead they only seemed stronger. That she could see him like that, and still care? It made something in his chest open up, vibrating like the notes through the room. Lucanis felt uncoiled and strung tight all at once, so much so that he had to close his eyes and focus on his breathing. 

He couldn’t tell Rook how he felt now, because if he did he didn’t think he could keep from devouring her whole. That wasn’t what he wanted when they finally spoke about this… thing developing between them. He didn’t want reckless passion and possible regrets in the aftermath. He wanted them both to be sure, to have no illusions or misunderstandings. And right now he was too twisted up with his panic and Illario.

So, he took his pleasure in the music she played for him, imagined her sitting at the instrument in Villa Dellamorte’s ballroom, maybe in an elegant, backless dress that shimmered as golden as the sunset in Arlathan Forest. It was a pleasing thought, one Lucanis was more than happy to sit with for as long as Rook wanted to play.  

They would go to Minrathous tomorrow and deal with whatever news the Talons had about his cousin. And maybe, after, he could finally tell her how he truly felt. 

[icharchivist]

So i reread The Wigmaker's Job (Lucanis' introduction) and The Wake (DA day 2020 short story about Lucanis' whereabouts) the other day and i have been buzzing with thoughts since, here's a post about it

On Lucanis's wings

I think it's VERY interesting that the story puts a lot of emphasis on Lucanis being anxious of missing jumps, and on failing those jumps. There's a lot of mention on how Lucanis specializes in doing things in the heights, Illario says "if they learn to look up, you're screwed", and Lucanis is anxious about missing his jumps, and when he does during the final battle he's wounded seriously and he damns himself for being too cocky.

and it's the man who ends up getting wings???

if anything that confirms his wings is a new development, but this is so fascinating to me. the story really emphases how good Lucanis is at his job: his senses are ultra developped, he can hear the slightest of sounds from a room away, he sees very keenly (it's also very clear that Caterina, his grandmother and leader of their Crows' house, abused him physically until he had basically all of this covered and a numbness to pain), so by all account, him risking to miss his jumps is his own biggest weakness to become the assassin he wants to be.

And he gets fucking wings. like DAMN.

There's also the focus on how sensitive his eyes are to the Fade and Magic to the point it gives him headaches in contrast to his tarot card showing him covered in Pride Demon's eyes. Also the devs mentioned coffee helps close you a little to the fade, and we know Lucanis is a coffeeboy, so there's definitely that playing.

On Lucanis' "The Demon"

Lucanis gained his nickname "The Demon" after he murdered his mark in The Wigmaker's job, and while i'm sure people would assume it means he's just that bloody, i offer the other reading of how Lucanis *genuinely weaponized actual demons from the other side of the veil to mass massacre people at that party*.

Actually it's another thing i find fascinating. so, Lucanis was asked to kill this guy, Ambrose, really quickly, at a Wig's show he was putting on in a private party only his closest associates participated to. Except Lucanis sees that the Wigs are made from slaves being fed Red Lyrium, who had their legs amputated so they couldn't move, their mouths sewed shut, while kept in Ambrose's lab of horrors. And Lucanis pretty much snaps when he sees that and he refuses to just kill Ambrose quickly - he's going to turn his whole factory against him and make him wish for despair before killing him - and free all the slaves he possibly can.

So Lucanis' big plan is literally to tear the veil open so demons start to possess the slaves he cannot save, and those slaves will tear into pieces all the people at Ambrose's party.

Ambrose himself has to turn himself into a massive abomination to fight against Lucanis when he's basically refusing to kill him so he can torture him more, and it's after Ambrose was turned into an abomination that Lucanis makes sure to kill him.

But a few things were interesting to me on reread:

First, the fact Lucanis knows for a fact that the situation attracted a Demon of Vengeance and that it won't leave until Ambrose is dead. Because the desire for Vengeance of the slaves is just that big, it must be so. Lucanis identifies it right away for some reasons which i find very interesting because this is a rare type of demon??? "Rage" are lower level demons but Vengeance is a higher type. Even if Lucanis had some information about magic (from where?? did he develop it from being that prolific in Tevinter?) this is highly specific.

But Lucanis also knows for certain that once Ambrose is dead, the abominations made from the slaves will turn to dust because "they will have had their vengeance." -- and he's proved right as it happens. Which is WILD because i don't think we've ever seen a case like that before??

Which leads to my conclusion: Lucanis is savy with spirits and demons and knows when he can get help from them. I suppose it's something you pick up when your main field of killing is Blood Mages in Tevinter, but it's fascinating to me.

and i think it adds to why the Vints start to call him The Demon. It's not just that Lucanis can kill even the most prepared of mages, that he can leave a bloodbath behind him and move on-- it's that he still knows enough of the Fade and spirits to turn the very demons the blood mages are used with manipulating against them.

(there's also the possibility of Lucanis being possessed but he earns this nickname BEFORE any possibility of him being possessed and i think that's the most important part)(i also have opinions about that in particular especially due to recent spoilers but i decided not to go into it this post to focus on the pre-game content.)

Lucanis the Freedom Fighter

Another thing about Lucanis that is really interesting especially as it's contrasted with Illario is that Lucanis actually feels strongly about social causes but he believes himself trapped in his position as a Crow and he can't do anything about it. He knows a lot about Elven Alienage Culture. He makes Elven friends. He befriends the slaves at Ambrose's house. He's genuinely gentle with one of them, Effe, even when Illario himself, as a good Crow, tries to remind him to keep his distance.

I think it's really interesting because the Crows are NOT supposed to be involved at all in this type of things. They are here for the mark and the money. They're not heroes. They shouldn't let their morals guide them.

But Lucanis is all about his morals. If you upset his "delicate sensibilities" like he says, he will go around his mission.

And Lucanis balances both wanting the safety of the people he wants to protect and the pure vengeance he wants to offer.

I think one dialogue that illustrates it well is when he talks about wanting to free the slaves and Illario tells him they're not Freedom fighters and he need to stop, and Lucanis replies "at least we can give them vengeance." Lucanis priority was safety, but as a Crow, as a person made for killing, the only path he can really see is the one of destruction. He wants to help, to be benevolent, but since he's not made for it, he'll find out what he can do.

There's also a line i love from Lucanis when he decides that it doesn't matter to him if Ambrose's guests get killed in the massacre Lucanis unleashes to punish Ambrose, because they're all aware of Ambrose's machination or blissfully ignore it for their own comfort, and he thinks "Ignorance is bliss, not innocence." To him, if you end up profiting from the suffering of others, you're just as much worth punishing as the people he found out they could profit from it.

He has a strong moral compass and can put himself into the position of Judge and Executioner, but at the same time he wants reparation for the people who were hurt.

Like i said it's also interesting he knows about Alienage culture, about how the guards of Vyriantum burnt down the Alienage Tree to crush their rebellious spirits, but Lucanis knew of the customs and still commented that it had had the opposite effect, obviously. He cares about how people try to battle the system.

He's happy being tasked to murder racist blood mages because he hates racist blood mages.

(sidenotes: he's called Mage Killer in the trailer because he's getting this reputation in Tevinter, where he kills BAD BLOOD MAGES, VENATORIs. He doesn't hate mages on principle. He's just specialized in killing powerful mages in Tevinter. Stop acting like he's a mage hater, he's not!!)

And at the end of the story, when he comes, covered in his own blood to see Illario again after he tasked Illario to save the slaves while he dealt with Ambrose, when Illario worries about him Lucanis brushes it off and goes "it doesn't matter. what about the slaves did you manage to bring them to safety?"

And i think there's a layer of interesting when you know the Crows are known for using slavery. Lucanis and Illario are BORN Crows. They're the grandsons of the First Talon of the Crows, the most powerful house of the Crows and they're born in it. They weren't slaves who were bought and then unable to ever leave, like Zevran. Sure in a way they're also not able to leave but they're tied by the abuse of their families and duty, which is a form of Slavery, but not pronounced like Zevran's. And especially, Lucanis thinks nothing of it. He's okay with being a weapon, he's okay with Caterina's abuse since it means it got him to survive this far. He doesn't see his position and there's questions to be had on how he sees the others Crows who come from Slavery.

But thing is that Lucanis is really on another level caring about freedom and safety even if he has to put his work on hold for it.

Lucanis the Assassin

One thing that actually interests me in regard to what i just wrote is that Lucanis wants nothing to do with the Crows' leadership.

Illario and Lucanis are both considered as possible successor to Caterina, the First Talon of the Crows. The Crows are organized by specific houses which are all led by Talon and their number shows how high in the hierarchy they are. Basically, Illario and Lucanis are Crows' royalty. They're the grandsons to the highest ranking member of the Crows all around.

Lucanis is considered the Favorite though, Caterina favors him openly. And Lucanis hates it. He doesn't want to lead the Crows. He thinks Illario is better for the job because Illario is much more of a tactician, someone who's much more set on the rules of what it means to be a Crow, someone who knows how the Organization world.

Lucanis considers his talents are only on how he's good at killing and good at withstanding pain. He doesn't see himself as a leader no matter how much Caterina pushes him.

And considering Lucanis' thoughts on Slavery for instance i wonder if this is one of the things that play into it, especially with how one of his conversation with Illario about it (Illario who rEALLY wants to become Talon) happens right after they got into an argument because Illario had to free the slaves for Lucanis despite the fact it's not their job, and that Lucanis endangered the mission by getting guided by his desire for vengeance.

By all account, Lucanis knows Illario has a clearer mind about it, to respect the rules of the Crows. Did Lucanis ever think about how being a leader of the Crows would mean having to grapple with the way their Order resolve this much around Slavery? He goes insane the moment he sees the slaves suffer, even before seeing the worst of it he gets very protective of Effe just because he sees her master has torn her hair out, which while horrible probably barely compare to the torture Caterina pushed them through. I doubt Lucanis could actually reconcile the way the Crows work, and the way he actually sees the world.

I feel like he makes an exception for his upbringing because it's all he knows. He's thankfull for Caterina's abuse because it prepared him being the best Crows, but he never had any alternative proposed to him. He resents seeing other people's Abuse, but he doesn't even process the fucked up situation he's in, nor the fact he has no escape. And i think avoiding the leadership is the best he can do to not address the hypocrisis the Crows left him into.

All in all he's also pretty established as someone who can withstand all sort of pain because of the multiple torture Caterina pushed on him, and he also can just as easily conduct this judgement on people. In the story, they manage to arrest a Venatori who was spying on them and Illario ties him up to torture him and asks him who sent him, but when the Venatori says "even if you torture me i won't talk" Lucanis just shrugs saying he won't bother and he kills him instead, looking through his stuff instead to get his answer. And i'm not even talking about how Lucanis even managed to arrest that Venatori, this was insane.

Lucanis doesn't hesitate to kill, he doesn't hesitate to bring pain. He also tells himself the "child song" that Caterina taught him and Illario about how to kill multiple people, which Illario teases him about.

But as said before even as an assassin he cannot fully close his heart to the suffering of people around him : thus he believes Illario is much better fitted than him for that.

Lucanis, the Brother

Lucanis and Illario are cousin, of the same age, who were raised together. In The Wake, Illario says "He was my cousin, but we were more like brothers, really.". They were much closer than anything else and were raised as siblings.

It shows in their dynamic. They bicker, but it's always out of care about one another or mild annoyance. There's never any animosity between them even though Caterina set them up as rivals for the title of Talon. Even when they discuss it, they're level headed about it, fully about how Caterina perceive them, not about each other's faults. They're important to one another.

Lucanis' voice actor actually mentioned reading the Wigmaker job because voicing his character and immediately connected to Lucanis because he has a brother that he bickers with as much as Lucanis bickers with Illario, but they would die for one another, and it made it really easy for him to get into Lucanis' role.

Lucanis calls out Illario for looking like a tourist, full of gold, for a party in Tevinter, but he also mentions that he dragged Illario shopping (while he, himself, didn't buy anything), only because he always liked the finer things and some fashion, but especially because Illario felt excited about it. When Illario flirts around at the party Lucanis is so exasperated with him but in a very "that's my idiot of a brother" type of way and it's really sweet.

The Wake totally destroyed me with the way Illario talked about Lucanis. All of those talks about Illario wanting to lead the Crows, of not wanting to lose it to Lucanis even if he was the favorite, and the moment Lucanis is believed dead, Illario totally crumbles and says:

"And I was always right behind him, you know? Always.” Illario’s voice suddenly grew thick with emotion. “Now there’s nobody for me to follow.” [...] “It should have been me.”

Despite the competition, despite thinking he could himself be the good Talon, despite Lucanis constantly reassuring him that he believes Illario is the better leader of the two - once Illario believes he lost Lucanis, his thoughts go to how in the end, he was the one always following Lucanis. That without Lucanis Illario doesn't know where he's going. That in the end, he would have rather died than losing Lucanis.

It's very touching reading The Wigmaker's Job and The Wake back to back because you see their very serious conversation about who could lead the Crows, but once Lucanis' die, none of it matters for Illario. He just wanted to be with Lucanis more.

DESPITE the fact that Illario warned Lucanis multiple times about how HIS behavior was going to get him enemies; Illario fuss over how Lucanis makes himself known to his preys, he knows it's LUCANIS' BEHAVIOR that is getting him into trouble. And yet in the end he still thinks "it should have been me.". Illario is aware it's all in Lucanis' hands yet he cannot even process it this way because he misses him so bad.

Also idk where else to put it but in The Wake we learn that as a kid, Lucanis was the type of people to get hyperfixation and ramble for ever about them. He read about Wyvern once and it's all he could talk about for weeks, which Illario is lovingly annoyed by, while also mentioning later that they went Wyvern hunting together, implying that despite being annoyed, Illario was more than happy to indulge in Lucanis' obsession. It's very cute because it shows just how close they are that something was both annoying and endearing, and it shows how Lucanis was as a kid before the training of the Crows made him more quiet and reserved in general.

Yet Lucanis would drag Illario into all sort of troubles, and Illario thinks fondly about all of this because those were always worthwhile for him.

About Lucanis' hyperfixation i wonder if the focus on coffee in every promo material shows where his new passion is at. They mentioned it's canonically to block out his sensitivitiy to the Fade, but it'd be cute if he rambled about it. Please.

On his Fate

So. Back in 2020 when i read Tevinter Nights, i was convinced Lucanis will come back because his story ends on a cliffhanger. Then, The Wake came out and i was devastated it might not be the case, that Illario was going to take over from where Lucanis started. So my excitement about seeing Lucanis in the trailers can't ever be compared because i KNEW his story was unfinished and i'm so happy about it.

In The Wigmaker's Job there's focus over the fact the Crows' personal identity are not supposed to be well known. People aren't supposed to know their names. But the Venatori learnt about Lucanis' name, and they know his reputation, and it's why they're keeping an eye on him. Illario is really alarmed by what it means, though Lucanis doesn't care because if he kills them all it'll be fineeee.

But when meeting Effe, one of Ambrose's slave, who sees their face and knows they're the Crows, Illario starts to argue they should kill her because they can't let her know their face. Lucanis brushes it off, says "no she didnt. Right you didn't?" and Effe confirms, seeing Lucanis is saving her life.

Illario however panics more and fuss over Lucanis. Lucanis just shrugs that if someone sees his face, he'll just grow a beard.

indeed in the book he's described with only a 5 o'clock beard type, so him growing one in da4 is probably a direct call back to this specific line. continuity. Also Blackwall's school of "don't be suspicious".

But indeed Illario's concerns were correct. The story ends on seeing a Magister willing to hunt down Lucanis, and she mentions specifically that now they know how to get to him:

“Don’t be. I’m not a fool like Ambrose. A true maleficar knows demons cannot be killed, only controlled. If this Crow fancies himself a demon, then I look forward to using him to his full potential.” “How?” Crispin asked. “Never underestimate the power of observation,” Zara lectured. “I’ll keep a low profile. That should entice him to move on to more exciting prey.” “But he’ll continue killing Venatori,” Felicia pointed out. “For which he’ll be duly punished. In the meantime, we practice patience.” Zara paused to marvel at herself. Every feature and proportion were in perfect symmetry. And yet, when she smiled, there was something ugly behind it. “Freeing Ambrose’s slaves already tells us this Crow has a heart. He will reveal other flaws. And we will exploit every last one of them"

First of all, terrified about the fact she wants to control him, re again: Lucanis' relationship to freedom and the paradoxal situation of his position within the Crows. Him leaning more and more into Demon/Spirit territories make him also more prone to be seen as a potential slave (as Blood Mage often do, after all).

But yeah, the thing is, freeing the slaves IS coming back to bite Lucanis in the ass. It showed that he cared, that he has weaknesses, that it can be used against him.

I can imagine Zara can have tracked down the slaves that were freed to have information on his face. And it's probably also because he cared so much that he ended up in a situation that led to him seemingly die. He may have been trapped because he has a heart too big and people found a way to use it against him.

so we know Zara is hunting him down (and one of the trailer shows Lucanis fight about a woman mage, and considering the big worldbuilding effort they do to show us how nasty Zara is in particular, she definitely feels like a minor antagonist in the game). She probably tried to kill him once, and probably will try to use him again once the game starts.

The Wake showed that Lucanis seemingly have died. We know he's still alive - whether it is because he faked his death or became an abomination himself, he's still alive but had a brush with death.

We see Viego and Teia in the trailer. They both appear in Eight Little Talon and comment about Lucanis on here, and they also have a physical appearance in the Comics The Missing, which is how we can recognize them. Most importantly, they're the two people who take care of Illario when he's grieving madly for Lucanis in The Wake.

So i'm assuming Lucanis will be able to tell his closed ones that he's still alive, or at least Viego and Teia may alert Illario about it.

I hope they do, i hope we see all of them back on screen, reuniting all together.

Final Thoughts:

My head have been buzzing with thoughts about Lucanis for the past 4 years, while feeling like i was fooling myself with "here's how Lucanis can still win" after The Wake came out. And in the end, i win. I'm the one who wins. And now being able to reread Tevinter Nights and The Wake really gives me even more perspective on him.

I loved him then, i still love him now, even more than i did before, and i'm so excited to see how his character will be utilized more.

Finally, this one line that still lives in my brain rentfree:

I can't wait to kiss him after all those years thank you DA4 for your services.