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The thing is at this point seeing people talking like Lucanis hates being a Crow and wants out is an easy way to learn that they do not in fact understand Lucanis as a character. There is nothing to suggest that Lucanis is unhappy as a Crow. "The training was torture and he resented Caterina for it for a long time" and "he doesn't like being a Crow" are not the same thing. "He's hesitant at the idea of being First Talon" and "he doesn't like being a Crow" are not the same thing. Lucanis likes being a Crow. Is it the path he would've chosen for himself if he hadn't been born into it? Maybe not (but "this isn't where they would've ended up if their life was different" applies to most of the characters in this series so it's not really valid evidence re the question of whether or not he's happy; if you're going to claim that Lucanis clearly hates being a Crow just because he didn't get a choice you'd better also be claiming that Alistair hates being a Warden, and I don't think I need to say that that's not the case). Does he wish the training had been easier to bear? Maybe so (and he's for sure going to be a reformer). I think people miss that while he does acknowledge the Crows' flaws—especially with de Riva, he really is much more willing to raise the subject with a fellow Crow—he never once expresses any dissatisfaction with being a Crow beyond him not being entirely comfortable with the idea of being named First Talon. I assure you he doesn't want to be Rook's house husband! He's gonna go back to the Crows post-game! That's what he wants! And people ignoring that because they can't handle the idea that he can like cooking and knitting and caring for the people he loves and also genuinely enjoy being a professional assassin is a real shame, because they're ignoring one of the most fascinating parts of his character.

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Bloodbath cut content I guess. These lines are only in the localization file, so I had to assign speakers myself. The dialogue between Lucanis and Rook when they go after Zara.

Rook: Are we sure this information is good? Lucanis (Rook origin Crow): You know Viago. He checks everything twice. And then twice again. Rook (Crow): And then ten more times. I should've thought that question through. Lucanis (non Crow origin): If it came from anyone else, I'd worry, but Viago de Riva is the most cautious man in Thedas. Rook: Can a Crow be cautious? I thought that was against the rules. Lucanis: Good enough for me. Spite: (Inhales.) She's close. I smell her. Iron and meat. Rotting from the inside out. Lucanis: Zara is here. Rook: If you're sure she's here, I believe you. We'll find her. Rook: I thought Illario would be here. To… avenge Caterina and all. Lucanis: He doesn't know. I swore Viago to secrecy. Lucanis: Zara took a year of my life from me. She took Caterina. She's not getting anything else. Lucanis: And my cousin has always made careless mistakes. Rook: Fill me in. What can Zara do? Lucanis: She's a powerful blood mage. Moreso than most Venatori, even. Lucanis: She controls minds. Drains blood to restore her own youth and health. Lucanis: All that, in addition to the best—or maybe the worst—of Tevinter spellcraft. Don't let her get a word in. option: Let's not keep her waiting. Rook: Well, it'd be rude if we left Zara on her own. Shall we go say hello? option: We'll make her pay. Rook: This is our chance. This is for Caterina. Rook: For a year in that pit. Lucanis: Thanks, Rook. Spite: Zara is ours! Tell your Rook. No one. Gets Zara. But me. Lucanis: Let's get moving. And Rook… leave Zara to me. Lucanis: In a manner of speaking.

The text file also contains a short description of how Lucanis' quest was supposed to go.

The party gets into the boat. This is a Venice-style gondola with someone on the back using the single paddle to propel the boat. The player is standing on a quiet Treviso street. It's nighttime and a heavy fog obscures the surrounding building. The Chantry is a shrouded structure barely visible across the water. The player discovers that the bridge has been destroyed, so the party must find another way in. This ladder would be a line attached to a grappling hook, to better sell the idea that we're sneaking in. The player engages in light exploration and popcorn encounters. Chance to "level" up before the big fight. Player encounters the majority of the Venatori squatters. They're surprised by your presence, and are unprepared to fight. Lucanis must hack the magical door leading to the residences. Zara is bathing in a pool of blood. She's surprised by Lucanis' presence as she was unaware he had escaped the prison. Boss fight with Zara. She uses the pools of blood to buff herself Zara recognizes her defeat and tries to bargain for her life. Before she can surrender, however, Illario executes her!. Spite is angry that his revenge has been stolen, and attacks Illario. To everyone's surprise, Illario defeats Spite by controlling him with a magic ring. Lucanis and Spite feel betrayed that Illario would steal their prey. Spite freaks out, demonstrating the precarious and dangerous nature of a relationship with Lucanis.

And it seems Illario might not survive.

Zara and Illario are dead and dust.

I have no idea what this line means.

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They only have Lucanis holding coffee in most of his Lighthouse scenes because otherwise they would’ve had to invest too much into the animation budget for his hands to move while he speaks like a true Italian.

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“He sang a lot.

He’d sing to the halla.”

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Lucanis is a romantic so I need a someone that will not just flirt with him I need proper wooing I need this wet cat of a man to be courted I need him to be given flowers and taken on dates and kissed on his hands and he deserves all the romance ever in this essay i

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I came across a post where someone speculated on the favorite movies of the Veilguard companions, and they claimed Davrin would be into the Fast and furious movies. Listen, y’all—I’m tired of pretending that Davrin wouldn’t be the biggest Lord of the Rings fan ever. And let’s be real, Aragorn would 100% be his favorite character.

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The way he looks at Harding when she admits that she's been a people pleaser out of necessity since she was little. 🥺

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Illario's cut lines? These are in the text, but they aren't related to any scene or speaker.

"How was your plan to become First Talon going to work?" I'll tell you how: poorly. I mean, I majored in backstabbing. I know how it's done. I had style! Charisma! What did my cousin have? Skill? Hard work? Sexy demon wings? "Our mages are different! They're maleficarum!" You can't spit off a balcony in Tevinter without hitting a maleficar. It used to be about the stabbing. Now, it's all flashy backflips and twirls. Just embarrassing. "What do I think went wrong?" Where do I start? "Whatever you do, don't send mages after him," I told them. What do they give me? Could it have succeeded? No. But that was never the point. Honestly, the Crows I had on my team weren't much better. Yes, most of them have spent a lifetime in training. You know what they're trained in? Backstabbing. The Venatori? They're terrible. Absolutely useless. I was making plan after plan after plan, but could they deliver? Maybe I should have worn the bigger cape.

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I do think a Lucanismancer Rook has to be their own special brand of weird to like... fuck with him like that. To be attracted to a man who unprompted says a cup of coffee tastes 'like a kiss goodbye' no lead up no explanation and then later to accept the fact that he chickens out of kissing you without too much of a fallout about it and then later to accept the fact that they are now An Item based purely on the action of him making them dessert added onto that that he very clearly says 'there is enough for everyone' and somehow understanding that to mean he's scared you won't accept what he made instead of thinking he's brushing you off and then having him say he'll kill gods for you like... two weeks later is... I'm not saying he was written for a very specific type of person but I am saying he's written for a very specific type of person

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you PEEL lucanis?? you peel his face like the potato? oh! oh! jail for snarkspawn! jail for snarkspawn for One Thousand Years!!!!

I'M SORRY SPIETTE I DIDN'T MEAN IT

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Lucanis during the hunt for Kataranda the Stormrider

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We're the product of love that we do not receive I'll corrupt every branch of this family tree

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it’s actually crazy to me that strife and rook aldwir barely have any kind of relationship in the actual game because the absolutely devastating found family backstory i invented for them is so real in my head. what do you MEAN they act like they barely know each other? if that’s true, how am i crying about them right now?

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Rook: You mean you didn’t spend all that time dreaming about having coffee with your inner demon?

Lucanis: And with you. But here we are.

The look on Lucanis face just before he responds to Rook’s comment says so much.

It said, yes, he never thought this would be happening to him. He never thought he would be sitting getting coffee with someone he loved. He never thought he would be getting coffee with someone who loved him back. He assumed after becoming an abomination all that was behind him. He would kill all the Venatori and then didn’t think beyond that moment because there was nothing for him beyond getting their revenge. All of those dreams and hopes he had pre-Ossuary were long gone and he did not dare dream of something so tender and sweet there.

He never dreamed of getting coffee with Spite. He never dreamed of getting coffee with someone like Rook and yet, there they were, together enjoying a drink at his favorite cafe in his beloved Treviso. It was more than anything he could have dreamed.

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After all we have seen, I still don't know who, if anyone, hears our cries. But now… I hope they do.

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an extremely self-indulgent comic set a little post-Veilguard, ft. a new baby wyvern for Lucanis <3