#Lucanis spoilers

[juneiper-art]

Given how spite reacts to Manfred disappearing just... imagining how he would react to rook being missing. Just demanding over and over "where. Is rook." Y'know...his favorite... Lucanis having to answer that question over and over again as the weeks go by... yeah

[girlwithadragonheart]

I need to yap desperately about one single gripe I have with this game. MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD read at your own discretion

The first half is me ranting about how much certain things mean to me and how impacted I was, and the actual gripe comes closer to the end.

I'll preface this by saying this post is about Varric's death and my rage and despair regarding it, but more so about my Rook's.

I've seen people who said they picked up on the hints about whatnot, who knew before the Fade Prison. I was not one of those people. I was so relieved when I saw him after the Prologue that I didn't think twice, because I knew that it would destroy me the second shit started going wrong.

I was already not having a good time when I started the game simply because Varric was getting older. I don't handle aging well or death, and his design showing his age, and the comments he would make about "getting too old for this" just made my heart break.

And then shit got worse. I sobbed disgustingly when that knife went into Varric's chest.

After Rook woke up from talking to Solas and she heard Varric, I was so gods damned relieved. And my Rook was better taken care of by Varric in that year she spent with him than she was in the rest of her entire life.

I cried from the end of Ghilan'nain's fight until the romance scene and on and off after that. I got so used to visiting Varric just to be comforted by his presence. Inquisition was the biggest part of my life for a year and a half when I was just a kid.

I did really bad middle school age writing for it but regardless of the quality, those characters were built up in my head becoming even more than they were in the game. Varric was my biggest support character through everything I was going through at the time.

I don't talk about it much, but I didn't have a great childhood, and I know a lot of people didn't, but I coped with it through writing and video games. Varric was the one supporting me through the abuse I suffered and writing was the way I processed how bad things really were.

When Rook was in the prison she said "What am I going to find here?" And Varric said "I think you already know, kid." I DIDN'T until he said that. The second he said that my entire chest tightened and I just said "No" out loud as I watched Rook find his body.

Now for my real complaint!!!

Rook never gets the chance to grieve Varric. They go from talking to him every day to finding out he's dead and it was all a lie. I have personally never been more fucking pissed at Solas than I am now. But Rook comes back and they have that kind of "closing off" scene with Varric's empty bed (which was so hard to go through btw). And then they fuck their pookie LIKE I CANNOT BE THE ONLY ONE UPSET ABT THAT

FYM I gotta find out my dad is dead and then Rook is up for boning like there's no fucking way unless it's to cope. And at least pertaining to the Lucanis romance, Rook is processing everything that happened and they can say "So much has happened, I just don't know how to feel."

And rather than getting to process that in some kind of way, the devs said nah this scene serves one singular purpose, and Lucanis says "I do" and then dicks them down.

Personally, I felt very dismissed despite being overjoyed about finally having the romance scene, I couldn't even enjoy it with everything that happened prior.

Rook deserved the chance to completely break down after everything they went through. Tbh i don't know how they kept it together. Varric said "don't get all misty eyed" and i thought to myself that's way too delicate a term for what's happening here, I was fully ugly crying.

Fuck your "I had a good run" I still need you bitch.

All this to say I'm very upset, and I'm running my second playthrough and every time I look at, hear, or talk to Varric I tear up again. Wtf Bioware.

Rook should've gotten the chance to actually talk about what Solas did to them, especially in the sense that he made them believe Varric was still there. Or at least get to properly grieve the person who was their closest friend for a long time.

I have very strong feelings about this obviously

[vael-fire]

This is a lovely and well thought-out take that brings up a bunch of stuff I’ve been thinking, so I’m gonna tack on instead of doing my own post.

I loved Lucanis’s romance so much and I’m glad I did it, but this is true. Slow burns still have to have good pacing, and this one doesn’t—partly bc it’s tied to Treviso so intimately which I love, so hey. But it was missing if not an entire scene at minimum a few lines of dialogue reacting to what’s already there. If there’s pining and torment, we gotta see that arc all the way through, not just set it down and pick it up months later.

I see Lucanis’s trauma and fear clearly and I love a slow burn for him. They nailed that part. If I was doing developmental edits on this as a book, I’d say it needs to give Rook the chance to acknowledge what’s going on with Lucanis as well as show us what’s going on with Lucanis. I think it did the latter nicely but the former not so much, and that’s the disconnect for me.

Also not shitting on this at all: love the game, would romance Lucanis again, watched all my scenes with him a million times already. If you love it as is, awesome—honestly I do too. A lot of the criticisms of every DA game in history are just “it wasn’t what I wanted it to be.” I don’t think that’s what OP is saying and it’s not what I’m saying either. But the fact that a lot of people still loved the Lucanis romance in spite (haha) of feeling it was incomplete is a sign of what a compelling character they gave us in him.

More Lucanis rambles because I’m still thinking about it and got nothing better to do :P

I am not here to tell anyone how to feel but putting words into peoples mouths who criticize the Lucanis romance (or Lucanis in general) for being unsatisfactory by saying;

“You don’t know what a slow burn is/ it’s because you expected zevran / you don’t get it he’s traumatized/ you just wanted something spicy and didn’t get it so now you’re mad” etc.

Is completely disregarding the fact that his lack of reactions and lack of content actually led people to believe he is bugged. Most DA fans didn’t expect spice or steam or whatever but they did expect an effective story, one they didn’t get.

This is at the end of the day a visual storytelling medium and implication will only get you so far, if i have to start thinking up entire plotlines in my head to make sense of the story or relationship progression then they failed at good storytelling. If i have to write paragraphs of explanations that the game doesn’t even remotely touch on then that isn’t a slow burn, it’s just a lack of content and poor pacing.

If he is traumatized and reluctant because of it you have to give me a scene where i can actually read that. If he is awkward and doesn’t know how to react to flirting you have to exaggerate to an extent for people to tell. If there is longing and angst give me banter that reflects it.

A romance in a game should give me some kind of deeper personal insight into a character and if i have to do the writers job and in my head think up those insights then the actual romance is mostly moot. I’m not saying give me all the details i’m saying at the very least give me a jumping point, some info buried in the game i won’t get otherwise. His romance fails at this.

Mary Kirby was fired yes and it’s awful what happened but unfortunately the product still remains and it leaves a lot to be desired for a big amount of people. When players are straight up going back on saves to romance someone else it’s a real problem. For me, it soured my first playthrough, especially later when i saw how Davrin and Emmrich had content, convos, specific romance outings and at the bare minimum actually had a noticeable reaction to flirting dialogue.

Again I’m not telling anyone how to feel, if it works for you that’s awesome, but to disregard his obvious lack of content by calling other fans basically stupid is incredibly disingenuous.

I love his character, loved it since The Wigmakers Job and he is still my favorite after my first playthrough. I think the beginning of his romance was very promising and the end is great but everything else is missing I’m sorry. His romance was not well executed and i honestly don’t think his character really was either. (But i won’t vent about that right now)

I know what a slow burn is, i was not expecting Zevran, i did not want a steamy romance. I wanted a well executed story and i didn’t get one. I am critical because i think it could’ve been great, i still love the game and i am not shitting on it, his character or other fans i just hate wasted potential.

[viennacherries]

i think what some of yall don't understand is that lucanis loves like a cat.

like is he gonna bound over to the door and tell you how much he missed you every time you come back in? no. he's gonna sit casually on the sofa and pretend he hasn't even noticed and then as soon as you're comfortable he's going to curl up in your lap and fall asleep.

yall are just used to fictional men who chase the protagonist, i fear. lucanis loves in a way that's much quieter.

he's still just as loyal, he still loves just as hard.

[hot-wolf-summer]

Coffee 💜

All favorite drink choices + flirt responses

[rinriya]

Lucanis Dellamorte x Antivan Crow m!Rook | A Little Closer to the Edge

[3gremlins]

i love how short lucanis is, like my rook is not very tall and he's shorter than them.

i love him so much??? his ambient banter with your other companions about his relationship with rook makes me have so many feels (♡ヮ♡) . there's one line when he's talking to emmerich where he's like "i just like being around them they just make me happy" and i was like SAME BUDDY T.T I also love how his advice to emmerich's gifting works out (he suggests giving his bf knives) and emmerich's like "that was good advice!!!" and he's like "it was?? that has never worked for me" like he's so cute and kinda self deprecating? he's such an interesting character - assured and confident at his job but kind of surprised something nice has happened to him relationship wise. (emmerich's like "oh thank you for that advice" and lucanis is like "oh but rook's advice was prob better" and emmerich was like "yours was great! my bf actually collects knives so he loved that" XD) (it's hard not to constantly have him in my party, like who is coming with me and lucanis, friends? it's also usually emmerich tho i also love his interactions with taash and bellara and his evolving friendship with davrin. i have forced myself to have other combos tho, i do love everyone's banter. having that distinctly bioware problem where i absolutely want to do other romances but will have a hard time not romancing him like 50 more times* T.T polycule included when dragon age) i wish you got to have more directed asides with your romantic partner like even it's just to chat or make out a bit (they're def following more of the da2/mass effect format of making you do story stuff to unlock companion content- which is probably best but also) *because of this i'm not sure if ill ever be able to make that other choice since it locks him out completely and that's too sad for me.

[malikalsayfs]

Lucanis saying "i am yours" with the same inflection as Zevran,, I'm literally the same exact person I was 14 years ago

[crownedinmarigolds]

This was a bunch of dumb bad sketchery to end up with this bad punchline. Sorry I went a little freakmode in my brain when I saw Spite walking around.

(Noa Hidalgo in Dragon Age is a Grey Warden from Antiva. I'm having Lucanis refer to her as Senora because they're both Antivan and that's that haha)

[rexodusart]

Veiltober day 4: Lucanis

If I had a nickel for every dark haired assassin with an accent I have fallen for that’s associated with a sort of bird, I’d have 2 nickel; which ain’t much but it’s weird it’s happened twice.

[rissi-chan]

(Spite voice) I want. To make. My Rook!

-Me, screaming into the void for an early character creator in an undemanding, but rather totally hype/overly-excited way

[viennacherries]

wait no no no wait wait

cos like. they tortured him. so they probably withheld food too.

so lucanis, starving and weak, was presented with food. he ate it. and then he ended up possessed.

you know he blames himself for it. he should've seen that it was a trick. he should've been stronger, not taken it. he should've gotten out of there already. he should've known the food was tampered with. it's his fault. he should've just starved to death instead.

i'm gonna fukin vomit. i'm gonna cry.

all of the notes you find in the kitchen where he insists on doing the cooking. no fucking wonder.

hey lucanis...low key wtf

[elfrooting]

When you see what I've become, will you love me for who I am, not who I was?

[nose235678]

*Veilguard Spoilers*

So, Lucanis Dellamorte is in like his early 30’s? And his parents were Crows, said they died like Crows (on the job), when he and Illario were little and around the time Zevran returned to Antiva to take on the Talons, he would’ve been maybe 10?

What I’m getting at here, is that Zevran did some stuff so heinous to the Crows that he has a standing contract on his head that nobody’s brave/stupid enough to accept (there’s a note about the contract in game for a Crow with sexual prowess and an impossible contract) and what could’ve been that bad? Perhaps, killing the First Talon’s daughters/sons-in-law?

There’s at least some chance it was him, right…?

[viennacherries]

okay hi sorry i need to talk about the lucanis romance for a moment and why i think it's absolutely perfect. spoilers below the cut ofc

so obviously there are a limited number of romance scenes. i really do believe in the case of lucanis' romance this lends itself to telling his story.

we learn through party banter with him and emmerich that his relationship with rook is his first. and that's not suprising really, he's an assassin. he faces death constantly and aside from the fact that he could die at any moment, being in a relationship gives his enemies a weak spot to exploit. love and the weakness required to accept and give it is a risk he cannot afford in his line of work.

then you add on the fact that he's been in the ossuary for a year. he was definitely sure he was never getting out of there. and then he does but he's possessed.

so here's rook. and they're flirting with him and being all enticing and he thinks they're great. but he doesn't deserve love and he certainly can't risk it. he's an abomination, he'll put them in danger. and what happens afterwards? when he goes back to taking contracts? it only takes pissing off the wrong person once for rook to be in danger. so he mostly just talks around it. tried not to think about it or aknowledge it.

and then spite breaks through for the second time. and there's rook. again. and they're soft and understanding and kind and they remind him that under everything else, all of the trauma and the fear, he's human. they make him feel so safe and he starts to let his walls down.

we can't know for sure why he pulls away in that moment, but i think it's because he reminds himself how dangerous it is for him and for rook. he wants them terribly but it's such an awful no good idea so he drags himself away.

but he still cares for them. he makes them dessert and he keeps them safe and eventually he has to admit to himself that they're not just friends anymore.

and then rook is taken into the fade by solas.

he never tells rook, you only find this out in a bellara romance, but rook is in the fade for weeks.

all that time, lucanis is there and he's just full of regret. because holy shit he's fallen in love with them and now they're gone and he should've just told them. he should've held them like he wanted. because now he can't and he never will again.

and then they're back.

and he comes into their room and his words are so simple.

"i never thought id see you again. i thought id lost you"

and obviously the rest of his dialogue can vary in this scene but all of it is SO weighted if you consider the fact that he really did think they were dead.

"i do. i know how to feel."

"it's one of the things i love about you"

"i'm not going anywhere."

he is in LOVE with them and he's tired of fighting it. he's tired of pretending he isn't. he's tired of denying himself of what he wants because he's scared. because ultimately he did lose them, despite how careful he'd been, and it hurt just the same.

"i know how to feel." because he DOES now.

so in the last battle, before you fight elgernan, he tells you again just how much he loves you. how he'll do anything he needs to to be back in your arms when it's over. because those weeks without you were torture and he never wants to do that again. he wasted all that time terrified to hurt you but you got hurt anyway. why keep pretending? why keep denying himself the person he wants more than anything in the world? he goes from 0-100 because this is so much more real now. there's so much to lose.

"i've assumed you knew my heart because it beats for you. it's been beating... when i wanted you. when i was afraid to want you... tell me this ends with me asleep in your arms and i will kill any god you ask."

this one sentence conveys EVERYTHING. all of his longing throughout the game. how long he has loved rook. he didn't say it because he was afraid. but he's not afraid anymore.

so much of lucanis' romance is about subtext. it's about the things he doesn't say rather than the things he does.

i think it's absolutely beautiful.

[hot-wolf-summer]

as much as i love lucanis, the scenes rook has with him are really lacking (esp in the romance). based off of what was presented in the game and short story, i would have liked to have seen:

- rook and lucanis cooking together (or even something like ME’s citadel dlc where kaidan cooks and shepard keeps him company)

- gondola ride

- assassination attempt on rook’s life in the lighthouse

- lucanis creating dossiers on various enemies/targets

- discussion about how spite will impact their romantic relationship

- an actual discussion about why he pulled back from their almost kiss (i get why he does and i love it but for them to not even mention it outside of a background dialog is wild)

- illario trying to seduce/manipulate rook

- an actual first kiss that wasn’t part of the final romance scene. i don’t think their romance needed to be overly physical or super hot and heavy, but it would have been nice to have even a small kiss or even a hug before reaching the literal end of the game.

- and honestly the convo where rook locks in the romance is incredibly underwhelming and poorly lit (there’s this shadow that flickers over their faces that is distracting). the characters never even discuss being together but the game knows because the player locked it in. i just think there should have been some actual dialog confirmation that they were starting an exclusive romance (especially if there isn’t going to be a kiss).

like this is not a “lock in” type scene. if anything the scene with the almost kiss is.