#illarook

Savior - final chapter

“If we do this, everything changes,” Illario warned her, sounding gruff as he squeezed her waist, unwilling to let her go even as he tried to give her a final way out. “We won't be able to go back to the way things were-”

Kala smirked. “You're wrong. Nothing changes, at least not for me. I've felt this way for as long as I can remember, and if doing this means we can't go back…then I'm glad. I don't want to go back to being your friend. I want to be yours, Illario. I want you as a lover and a man, not as a friend or someone dancing through the periphery of my life-”

Illario kissed her before she could finish, swallowing her words as he rolled them over and pinned her beneath him. Fuck. He wanted that too. He wanted to sweep Kala of her feet, steal her away, and make her his in every way possible - to keep her in his life for as long as she would have him. 

A possessive need to have her to himself roared through him - the by-product of denying himself his heart's desire for so long.

Illario's next message:

I wanted to talk a bit more about my different AUs. They only exist in my head, but I still love them.

Harem AU: This is by far the darkest AU for Marcus and Illario. While in my canon worldstates Marcus is happy to have children, he is definitely NOT happy in this AU. He was enslaved an brought to the harem of Illario, who is a sultan. So Marcus hates him with all his heart. In this AU he tries to kill Illario, himself and tries to end his pregnancy. The only reason Illario doesn't execute him is because he needs that heir. I do have some scenarios in my head of Marcus belly dancing for Sultan Illario.

Shipwreck AU: An AU where Illario loses his memory and doesn't remember who he is after his ship sinks and he ends up in a foreign land. For a while he can't even talk, but Marcus takes him in. He goes on a detective journey trying to find out more about Illario.

Arranged Marriage AU: A bit happier than the Harem AU, but still very angsty. They will eventually fall in love, but it's a very slow burn.

Chantry AU: An AU where Marcus lives in the Chantry, he has never seen the outside world. Illario's newest contract involves someone living there too, and Marcus catches him during the kill. Illario will keep sneaking back to the Chantry to meet with Marcus, climbing the walls of the building. Heavy window slamming. Marcus doesn't want him there, but Illario is stubborn and doesn't like giving up.

I’ve combined the prompts again for this one, and featured my Rook Juniper de Riva (I had to get her in there somewhere 😉)

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Crack in the Mask

So far “keep him out of trouble” had consisted of locking him in his room with someone standing guard on the door.

Like he even wanted to leave. Like he even could. His whole body protested at the slightest movement. Fighting his cousin, easy. Fighting a demon possessing his cousin, slightly more difficult. Someone had stabbed him. Probably Lucanis, maybe the mage - that scepter had a nasty looking point on the end. The blood seeping through his vest and shirt was sticky against his skin.

You can find the rest here on AO3!

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We Belong Together

By LustaniaSaxon

Summary:

The truth bleeds for a moment.

Notes:

Thank you to @pbtrinity for betaing!

Song Inspo: We Belong Together - Ritchie Valens

For @illarioappreciation Week 2026!

Template by @/otherpigeon here

I did one for Ariadne/Tarquin here and decided to also add in one with Ariadne/Illario.

Ariadne & Illario:

These two met pre-canon and had a brief, yet passionate, romance while Illario was doing a contract in Minrathous. They broke it off when Illario left to return home.

Ariadne is more affectionate with Illario than he is initially. Over time, that changes, but he was less invested than she was at first.

Ariadne fell first, but Illario fell harder. He didn't intend to fall in love but he can't help it when it's Ariadne.

A lot of Illario's personality traits are a result of Crow training: Punctual, outgoing, confident, closed off, flexible mainly with how he approaches difficult things. He's definitely more dramatic of the two of them but he'd still laid back in other ways. And he's generally the one who jokes more often, especially once they've accepted each other, flaws and all.

For most likely: A lot of Ariadne's are the same as the other template, but Illario would hog the bed, blankets, and sleep in more often than her. And the conspiracy thing, I think the two of them could have fun exploring those.

Illario definitely enjoys touch, giving and receiving gifts, and doing different acts of service for Ariadne. And she's happy to receive those.

As far as battle couple goes, I think the two of them would be ultra deadly. He's good with his daggers, lethal, and between her death magic and mage knife, I don't think anyone would be left alive.

Thank you to @illarioappreciation week for hosting

Each day, I will be borrowing a friend's Rook to write letters from or about Illario.

Today, thank you to @nyx-de-riva for letting me borrow their Rook Nyx!

Nyx, don't worry, amore mio.

The party tonight, you are under my wing. No one would dare approach us; my glare should be more than enough to invite reproach if they dare come too close. The fame of a god killer will not bother you tonight; surely the repulsion of the Crow Traitor is enough to cancel it out.

I can only thank you again for taking me back after all of this. I am a stain on your name now, an embarrassment, one that should have died that night in the Opera House, and yet I still stand.

Perhaps it is my good looks and soft words?

No.

More likely it is the sweetness of your heart.

Tonight, Nyx, let me care for you.