AND WHY IT IS TORTURING ME!!!

This makes me understand why I am in the middle of both upright and reversed routes...

AND WHY IT IS TORTURING ME!!!

Something people don't understand about Lucio's route

[Also, something important to take in count: I'm really tired, I've been listenting to Florence + The Machine, Aurora, and Hozier all day, I just played Lucio's new chapter, and this may not be really well-written or make actual sense. I don't know, I'll probably delete it later.]

We all know that the MC has to prevent the LIs to fall back into their old habits, right? We have to prevent Julian from self-sacrificing and thinking of himself as someone dangerous because of not knowing whether he killed Lucio or not, we have to prevent Muriel from isolating himself and considering himself a monster because of his times at the Coliseum, and so goes on with the other characters. We also know that each character, LIs or not, has a patron, they all represent one of the major arcana— Morga represents the Chariot, Portia represents the Star, Valerius represents the Hierophant, and so on. The only characters I can think of right now without a patron are Lutz (Lucio's father, who doesn't even has a sprite), Tasya, and Khamgalai.

However, people tend to think that Lucio's Reversed Ending will simply (key word being "simply") be about him going back to being a dictator who doesn't care about his people, that he will seek power once again, that he will join the Devil on his plan or something like that, and it's just... no. It doesn't fit. It won't be only about that.

Let's see the meaning of the Devil, Lucio's patron, according to The Arcana fandom wiki page about the tarot deck:

Upright: The Devil knows there is power in perception. He binds those who cannot see their path to freedom.

Meaning: Shake off his veil: you are not trapped. There is always a way out of even the darkest places.

Reversed: The Devil loses influence over his flock as the chains of bondage drop from his tight grasp.

Meaning: It is time to clean house: purge the things that harm you from your life. Take back your power.

The main problem with Lucio is not that he was a dictator, he wants to fix his mistakes, he feels sorry for it, and he doesn't want to do it again. No, the problem with Lucio is that his life consisted mostly in one thing— running away. From Morga, from the courtiers, from the plague, from the Devil, from his deals, from everything.

The Devil, in tarot, is about bounding, and taking in count that Lucio avoids his problems and escapes from them, it could mean something good for his character arc. He would stop running away, and finally do something with the mess he made.

But, this doesn't end here. It would be too easy if it did. Remember The Star, the book in which the MC and their blond goat encountered the Arcana? Also, do you remember who else had the Fool's powers apart from the apprentice? Yes, our dear count.

Let's now see the meaning of the Fool:

Upright: The Fool stands on a cliff's edge, overlooking the limitless potential of their future.

Meaning: The way is uncertain, but you have all the tools. Make the leap. Do not let insecurity bind you.

Reversed: The Fool rushes in without guidance, ignoring all the warning signs.

Meaning: Beware of acting rashly. Consider the consequences of your actions and tread lightly in the dark.

Let's think— the Fool, reversed, is about rushing in without considering the consequences, while the Devil, upright, is about having a way out of the darkest places. Don't you think that, since he's related to both, he may represent the Fool reversed and the Devil upright?

Let's take this a bit further; the Fool, upright, is about being brave enough to face the future, while the Devil, reversed, is about getting rid of harmful things and take back your power, about escaping from his chains. And you know who not only has the Fool's powers, but also can break the Devil's chains? Yes, the MC.

What I'm trying to say is: the meaning of the tarot cards matter, and a lot. The Devil's meaning isn't inherently bad, and the Fool's meaning isn't inherently good. It seems like Lucio and the MC share two patrons. Also, from what we saw, I think that Lucio's Reversed Ending won't be just about "going back to evil", it would be about running away. Again.

There are two versions of the love confession in The Moon (you can find both here, credit to @snake-sweaters). One of them is more like "We're alone, but together in this" (a bit possessive, it kind of excludes, oh, I don't know, the rest of the world they're tying to save), while the other one is like "I want a future with you, after we fix up all of this, and I want to change and actually be useful" (clearly character development from the selfish, problem avoider Lucio we had at the start from his route). I think the first one leads to the Reversed Ending; it feels like "us against the world", while the second one feels more like "us for the world". You get me?

To finish this mini-essay, I want to show you a small hint we've got with these two decisions when the dead ask the MC and Lucio what they're going to do to save the world.

This is what happens when you choose "whatever we can"

And this is what happens when you choose "whatever's necessary"

If you ask me, "whatever we can" is the upright choice— do you think the dead would ask the MC "by whatever means necessary?" in an "are you really sure?" kind of way and their (the apprentice) voice would go through the city like a thunder? Like, in the other Reversed Endings the characters do what they feel is necessary, despite it being pretty fucked up, instead of doing what they can.

Also, whichever choice the MC took Lucio would be all like "yeah, me too, I'll do the same", so... yeah.

I think that if Lucio went back to his old self it would be because he'll do whatever's necessary to stop the Devil or something like that, or he may try to run away from him with the MC, letting chaos unleash everywhere, but not actually caring about it. He has the apprentice, after all, what else could he want?

TL;DR: Lucio's bad habit isn't just "being bad", it's running away, not keeping his word, and not adressing any of his or other people's problems. I think his Reversed Ending will be about him avoiding the Devil so he can be with the MC, which will lead to him not keeping his promise of saving the world and becoming better, which will lead to... well, old Lucio.

@apprenticeofcups, you wrote some interesting theories and metas about this game, you have more experience doing this than I do, and I feel like this meta isn't actually well-written. Anything you may like to add? (Only if you want to, of course)