#ossuaries

[wanderingibon]

" I noticed that you've been smiling more, Lucanis. "

" ...Have I? ...Si, I suppose I have been. "

[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.)

[thenightstroll]

For fans of ossuaries, 'To many human bones arranged in not anatomically correct, although impressive way'-ness, and the likes,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Chapel

Text link, because, you know, literal cubic metres of human bones

[wandering-cemeteries]

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James)

Brno, Czechia

Feb. 2023

[redwyvernan]

the ossuary quest is so funny when you remember that rook (somewhat canonically) can’t swim

like the other companions are freaking out about lucanis being possessed by a demon and i imagine rook just fucking sweating the whole time because they’re under the fucking ocean and they can’t fucking swim if the enchantments fail. a possessed assassin was probably the least of their worries

—rook the whole time, probably

[ari-larsen]

this is a cover for a comic assignment in my graphic design class, where I decided to illustrate The Soup Scene™️ from Harrow the ninth

and here’s the sketch but I forgot to save it initially so now some parts are erased lol

[fil3t]

Inner Demons: Rook's Arrival

He breaks. Our agreement. His mind. Is still here. He wants. To stay here. So he keeps. Me here!

[ode-to-fury]

And if I said Lucanis definitely thought Rook was dead? And if I said he gave up the second Solas appeared instead of Rook? And if I said the only thing keeping him alive those weeks Rook was gone was Spite and the thought that if he waited long enough for the others to get over this delusional idea that Rook was coming back he might just get a shot at Solas? Might just be able to die taking revenge for the love of his life? And if I said he refused to listen to the others telling him they weren't gone because if he allowed himself even a little bit of hope the pain if it wasn't true would be worse than what he could handle without going insane? And if I said he gave up because not giving up was more than he was capable of after everything he'd endured? If I said Rook was the only bright spot he had in his life and they got taken away? What then? What would happen if I said all that?

[rook-rot]

just thinking about the way Lucanis' voice gets super fast after you give him the wyvern tooth dagger because of how excited he is

[666candies]

Sedlec Ossuary.💀💀💀

[vaguely-concerned]

literally never am I getting over the unexpected and acknowledged throughline in this game that 'part of the reason lucanis is so good at what he does is, surprisingly, that he has a frankly remarkable capacity for empathy'. his instinct for it is so strong that it even kicks in looking at actual demons he's been culturally conditioned to think of as mindless monsters and lets him realize that they are just as innocent in the middle of this horror as every other prisoner, which is what helps him survive in there and reach an understanding (and even a warmth beneath it all!) with spite, when spite was at his most terrified and confused and needed him. it makes him an incredibly kind and devoted friend, and a terrifying enemy. shorn of most of the compassion that goes along with it in his private life, he uses it in his professional one as one more knife to kill with as easily as he does in SO gently and softly helping to untangle lace harding's people pleasing problems with her. so long as the three categories of people -- family, enemies, targets -- stay distinct and separate in his head, this seems to be working out swimmingly for him! (well. that's probably what he'd tell you at least lol it's certainly helped him survive and do his job I'll give him that.) the MOMENT the lines start to blur, he is fucked. this dude was compartmentalized to hell and back long before the ossuary.

(he shares the 'incredible insight into people and human nature -- as long as I don't have to interpersonally engage with and adapt to it on the spot. b/c then you'll see the biggest mess you could ever imagine' trait with merrill. which does make quite a bit of sense in that they're written by the same person and also in my estimation a not entirely dissimilar shade of autistic lol. also yet another tick on the 'lucanis - iron bull parallels' tally haha. 'ben-hassrath, kid. we can use anything.' what if your circumstances and upbringing forced you to turn some of the kindest fundamental instincts inside you into tools for violence and you only got to keep guarded scraps of it for yourself. what if you're so fucking scared it'll break bad inside you some day and turn you into a monster and you'll end up hurting the people you love. saddest freeze slash dissociative trauma response handshake meme duo To Me)

[mohntilyet]

my initial knee jerk reaction to lucanis/spite saying "family, enemies, contracts" was bad because it felt like an oversimplification but actually thinking on it i really love that lucanis forces himself into this box to make things make sense in his life. family is unconditional, enemies are to be killed, but contracts is so. interesting... man who promises mila that he will find her father because he does not fail contracts. the same man who tells effe that he will kill her slaver because he needs to turn her from a poor young woman that he sympathises with, into someone he can make a deal with. it's not kindness, it's not weakness, he's just fulfilling a contract, and crows don't break contracts. if he kills a bunch of racist blood mages during that process, then he's not breaking the rules, just bending them. a very convenient excuse to be a good man while still being a crow and assassin. and of course when spite is forced into him, he gets out of it with something familiar! by making another deal! something he could work with, something he HAS to work with, because being just an abomination is unthinkable. if he can work himself out of this problem like he's done with every other contract in his life, in his mind maybe there's some tiny chance that this becomes another job that he can claw his life back from.

[galasgamingcorner]

DA: The Veilguard Scenery | Ossuary

[the-raven-and-the-tower]

A snoop through Lucanis's room in the Lighthouse; Signs of a Struggle

Lucanis is doing a damned good job holding it together considering everything he's been through. He's keeping a tight grip on his emotions and using the job to focus himself, but if you stop in to check on him... there are a few clear signs that not all is well.

Baby boy picked a room without windows, yet he's still craving light. For an assassin who has spent most of his life very comfortable in the dark, he’s avoiding it now like he’s avoiding sleep.

There are FIFTY SEVEN candles in his room. Fifty six of them are lit. Look at the variety. He found every spare candle available to him in the Lighthouse and possibly dragged a few back with him from the Cantori Diamond or Dellamorte estate.

^ Short candles, tall tapers, all in various states of use, ALL LIT. One very different candle in a silver candle-holder, maybe from the Diamond or home

^ Another silver addition, this time a candelabra with similar style to the last one and an elven lamp, similar to the one Rook decorates their room with.

^ Three more styles of candlestick holders in with all the standalone candles I'm guessing he found around the Lighthouse.

^ Terrible shot, but he also has both wall torches lit, which were the only lights in that space when he moved in IIRC

And what's more, he has enough coffee stashed in this room to give niacin flush to an elephant.

There are ELEVEN coffee cups sitting out and two more sitting ready next to the gifted coffee set. (Also, he has no coffee in his mug if you sneak a peek into it.)

^ Seven of the cups are within reach of his right hand, where he sits on the bed.

^ There's another in front of his hookah pipe. Couple more in the second shot, I missed a picture of one somehow. There are two unused cups sitting ready behind his gifted coffee set that definitely doesn't look like it's for tea...

^ Coffee beans and I'm guessing the two sacks next to the basket are full of the same. His empty cup below, cuz it makes me laugh.

Next, the bed. It gives me vibes of the crappy bedroll Astarion sleeps on in BG3. Look at this thing.

You can see where he tried scrubbing the grime away before giving up and deciding to just live with it. We know there are other beds in the Tower, Taash and Davrin both have cozy ones when they arrive.

Whether or not Lucanis had the conscious thought of "what he's worth / deserves", this is how he values himself. This is what he chose to sleep in... likely with the thought that he's going to be avoiding sleep at all costs anyway, why does it matter what shape the bed is in?

He brought barely any personal possessions with him. Lace is the same way, but Bellara's room is full and we found her packing list (adorable). Neve, too, has brought books, papers, a spare leg, tools to work on it with... Even Rook has a scene where they decorate their room with possessions that are meaningful to them.

But if we go looking through Lucanis's personal belongings, we find barely any of them. And what few there are, we find mixed among the team supplies or shoved under them.

^ Here, is hookah pipe is neatly shelved in the corner, and we find a a heavily-armored and well-locked chest tucked among the fruit. I might be looking for meaning where there isn't any but... Lucanis has got himself tucked away in the pantry, his walls up and himself still locked away in the Ossuary of his mind.

^ Better view of the chest.

Underneath one of the moved shelves is a Crow-themed rug, with almost all details hidden under supplies for the team, another big basket of coffee beans and another presumably-locked chest.

Under the bed, we find another rug, rolled up and not set out even though having it laid on the floor inside of the bed would be more comfortable. He spends a lot of time sitting on that bed, having a rug to put his feet on could be nice and yet... it's under the bed.

The only other Lucanis possession I could find in the room is his bag, shoved under his bed. He's a boujie boy, but it's not a boujie bag. It's utilitarian and well-used, shoved under the bed until he needs it.

To end on a slightly happier note... his brewing bench outside the pantry door is pretty neat.

^ I wonder where these mugs are from and what the designs represent.

^ Any idea what this is, anyone? The thing hanging from the chain?

Oh, and guess what was under the brew station! MORE COFFEE!

[fallbabylon]

In 1830, workers in Cham, Germany, uncovered a 13th-century chamber containing an estimated 5,000 skulls, some of which are still displayed in the ossuary behind Marienmünster Chammünster Church- Chammünster, Germany

[thepaintedlionsossuary]

Reincarnate - Peafowl on Fox Skulls

Profiles of a peacock and a peahen on fox skulls. No mount. Reincarnation from predator to prey, from earth to sky. Done in acrylic paint with matte vanish.