The majority of this blog is dedicated to video games. Mostly a reblogger, who occasionally fools around with photomodes and makes gifs. No minors allowed. A fair warning: this blog is not spoiler free and may contain themes and pairings that are not to everyone's liking. So would anyone who disagrees kindly keep their hostility to themselves.
Will I ever stop marveling at the amount of work that was put into this animation? Never. This is just mind blowing and I’m still smitten with this piece just as I was when I saw it for the first time. Sincerest eternal gratitude to truly remarkable @kelgrid for making this commission for me! The details are stunning from that warm and radiant sunlight to their elated expressions which are as clear as day, this gets me the most. I could have hardly imagined that there could be a full-fledged smooth animation with a background to boot of all the possible creations dedicated to these guys, and I owe this to you! You were a pleasure to work with.
And now I should just keep my delighted drooling self out of the Judge’s way and let them twirl around to their heart’s fullest content. You go boy, swirl him around like there is no tomorrow!
“Beware the rabid Judge,” the New Edeners like to say with no small amount of fondness in their voices.
It often times confuses the newcomers, the Captain not being an exception. Surely such a tone may seem unbefitting such a phrase.
“Yeah, wouldn’t want to get on his wrong side,” he murmured, a note of nervousness laced into his admission. After all, there were few who haven’t heard of Eden’s trusty guardian and his prowess in fighting.
“Don’t get in the way between him and the Father, might run you over,” the settler clarified light-heartedly.
“Duly noted,” the Captain couldn’t help chuckling.
True to those words, soon he saw the Judge’s avid displays of affection, when he trotted ahead of a flock of exhilarated and bumbling children, cheering them on with jolly shout-outs. The unrelenting horde was running towards Joseph. Not taken by surprise at all by the commotion, the Father smiled and opened his arms, welcoming the Judge into his embrace. He ran at the head, grabbed Joseph by the thighs, and spun him around in a whirlwind of sunlight, then gently placed him on the ground where kids surrounded the Father in an instant, eager to hear his teachings. Looking at this little haven amidst the stormy confrontation that he found himself drawn into, the captain leaned on the wall and smiled at the sight, his burdens forgotten for a moment. A nice way to start the day, he’ll give them that.
I wanted to save these photos specifically for the Valentine's day, but I'm rather late.
A bridge in the shape of a heart made out of bones. What else could be more romantic.
This title ("a heart of bones") got me thinking about some rather heartbreaking headcanons for my Rook. They would be in the end, if anybody is interested.
Otherwise, enjoy the photos, please :) I personally think, that the photos I took of this sequence are among the best I have from this game.
The rest is under "read more".
Bonus:
It looks like Lucanis is scolding Rook for something, and the latter is looking pleadingly at Emmrich for help. While Emmrich is like: "I don't see it, you have to sort it out on your own."
Bonus bonus:
A couple of idle animations that synchronized just right.
On the first one Lucanis smiles when he is looking at Rook, but when he looks to the side, his smile instantly drops as if someone called him out on it, and he is like: "No, I wasn't smiling".
On the second one it looks like Lucanis is annoyed by Rook's antics: he sourly looks around to see if anyone is making fun of the man, but when his gaze returns to Rook, the assassin privately smiles despite annoyance, then visibly has to reign this smile and himself in.
The size difference in the video, though...
Headcanons.
For the first headcanon, the title is the most appropriate. My Rook is a Mourn Watcher, so he would most likely dedicate himself to serving the Necropolis after his death. His skeleton would be haunting the halls of this place, and a strange ache would be raking the empty ribs of the wessel which once held his soul, because a tiny part of it clung to the mortal soil, still stuck to the body it once inhabited. This part of his soul would feel like it had lost something important, but never, through the whole eternity, would it ever understand what exactly it had lost...
If Rook were to die before Lucanis, his soul would refuse to leave the land of the living alltogether, in order to stay with Lucanis until his death takes him, as well, so that they could ascend to the next life together. And thanks to the connection to the Fade that Lucanis has because of Spite, the assassin would be always seeing Rook's soul - it would always be with him. Rook would never want for Lucanis to take his own life, but... if Lucanis throws himself more fiersly and recklessly into each new battle, that is his business only.
Last, but not least, I imagine that thanks to his efforts in saving the world, he would be eventually granted Leechdom. When he had first heard about it from Emmrich, Rook began craving it, too. But, when the time for him to become a Leech finally comes, he refuses it right before the ritual, right before the gates - because he refuses to live an eternity without Lucanis.
As someone who is acepec, the whole demi Lucanis debacle just doesn't sit right with me. He has so many dialogues that just cut off suddenly, scenes that feel like they're missing (that missive in Act 2 where he talks about dealing with Spite once and for all that just became a completely different scene with Zara??) All the concept art for the romance that was never explored. The massive difference in relationship progression between Rookanis and Nevecanis in terms of both emotional and physical intimacy.
Lucanis' romance is so clearly incomplete even in a game where the romance arcs are sparse on the whole. His character without the romance feels incomplete as well - we get two or so big moments of characterisation and everything else is just the same scene about coffee repeated as infinitum.
I have no issue with a character being awkward and inexperienced, wanting to take things slow, not recognising flirtation or romantic cues, wanting to figure out their complicated situation before jumping into something. I am that person! It took 6 months after my partner and I acknowledged we had feelings for each other for us to start dating because I was not in the right place mentally to do so. Both of us are demi. Both of us have had very few previous experiences with romantic relationships. But that doesn't preclude a person from understanding or wanting emotional intimacy.
The Lucanis situation does not come across as 'he just doesn't have sexual attraction to Rook yet', it's just complete shutdown of conversation on all fronts (something he does not do with Neve, btw.) I too find flirting scary from people I don't know and agonised over it before my partner and I were together. This is not how he's written. His expressions do not reflect shock or awkwardness when Rook flirts, nor does his tone when he responds. Do you know when he does do this? With Neve right at the start of their banter. And he overcomes that shyness quickly. He just does not acknowledge Rook speaking at all the same way any video game character does when their conversation tree is bugged, the game decided to cut some response dialogue and just transitioned directly into the neutral follow-up line. He isn't rejecting emotional intimacy because of Spite and the Ossuary prison because during the ambient dialogue it's clear he's sharing that emotional intimacy with Neve waaaaay before Rook helps him.
I just want more of his writing. Where is he and his character in this story? He's so incredibly inaccessible to us. And I know people will say that characters do not have to be emotionally available to the player (which is true! A great example of this working well is Vivienne, who is warm but not directly open if befriended.) But that should then be a consistent character trait, and it's clearly not. In fact, Lucanis is incredibly declarative about his feelings for Rook romanced or not once you hit Act 3, he's just completely missing in Act 2. Which to me is a flaw in the game's structure. And that 'missing-ness' is being read as demisexuality instead of 'hey this character's writing is actually incomplete and needs restructuring and additional scenes.' Those additional scenes could very much be as awkward and non-romantic in tone as you please, but we needed more of them. Have Lucanis visit Treviso more often to do things other than drink coffee. Have him visit other locations as well! Teach Rook how to cook a local dish, the gondola fight we saw in the concept art. Deciding after the game's poor reception that a character who is clearly only 3/4s of a character, who is lacking in so much characterisation, is the demi character? That feels bad man. Demi characters should be written with just as much care and attention, should get to express themselves in as wide a variety of circumstances, show us more of themselves and how they interact with the world. The reality is that Lucanis has the weakest romance arc in the game, and posthumously attributing that to demisexuality feels like an indictment of acespec people's ability to read the room and express emotional intimacy rather than a true attempt at representing us.
Just as Cullen's heterosexuality and preference for elves and humans is in fact a game development constraint rather than a character writing decision, and Solas' heterosexuality was a result of running out of dev time to record voice lines and re-rig cutscenes, I think we should be able to acknowledge that this version of Lucanis is not a good representation of his character in multiple ways. And that is due primarily to the development cycle rather than writerly intention.
We've had beautiful slowburn romances that were also deeply affected by character trauma throughout the Bioware series. Lucanis' is (in its present state) not one of them. Leliana, Cullen, even Alistair. I think using demisexuality or even slowburn as an 'excuse' for Lucanis' incomplete character isn't a useful way to think about his writing.
Note: This post is purely about quality of writing wrt emotional intimacy. I have zero issue with virgin Lucanis and think that fits his wider writing. I also don't wish Lucanis to be someone he's not - Zevran or Davrin or some other flirty/dommy archetype. I just don't like the casual conflation of awkwardness and inexperience with asexuality. These things do go together but also I don't think we should use demisexuality as a bandaid for poor writing because it reflects poorly on our understanding of ourselves and the community.
Just my rambling on this topic and an attempt to justify this "bandaid for poor writing", because I don't really see it like this. I don't think I've answered a lot of points that you had made, but just wanted to share my opinion. Also, the way I see Lucanis might not be the right or only one, I understand.
(If you answer this post with more arguments, I don't think I would be able to find the strength to reply you back any time soon, I'm very sorry in advance. I don't mean to be disrespectful, not at all, it's just hard for me to participate in discussions. Ugh, it took me almost a whole day to write this. I guess I just wanted to get it out of my head, it's been buzzing in there for a week.)
Also, if anyone else reads this, sorry in advance to anyone who played non-male Rook. I played as one, so it was natural for me to use respective pronouns.
All right, enough beating over the bush, I should get on with the main topic.
I, too, had my doubts about this romance at first, was unsure whether I should romance him or someone else. The progression with him did seem undercooked to me at first, the lack of !anticipated! ("not what I anticipated" doesn't mean "not right", though) response was almost maddening.
But then "Inner Demons" happened.
This very quest sold him to me utterly and completely, after it I had no intentions of romancing anyone ever again in this game. It explained to me a whole lot about him.
And the line "It's better I stay here than risk losing you" was one of the most important to me. Here is what it says, in my opinion: that he is trying not to get close to Rook, because he fears that he would, without a doubt in his mind, lose him eventually. So, during the first acts, he is just trying not to get involved, not to fall in love (but failing). Hence, in my opinion, his dialogues are not bugged, but he is purposefuly brushing off Rook's advances.
Why can't he outwardly reject Rook if he is afraid to get close to him?
"Old stale fear of disappointment".
I know that this feeling was mentioned in the context of his relationship with Caterina, but this fear definitely encompasses his whole life, it was irrevocably instilled into his cranium since he was little. To add salt to this injury that never healed, he fails to kill Ghillanain: he disappointed himself, he disappointed everyone around him. He is dealing with a lot of disappointment to add more. So he is afraid that, if he rejects Rook, it would make him even more disappointed in him. Moreover, if he rejects Rook, he would hurt him, and that in turn would make Lucanis even more disappointed in himself, add that salt to his already festering injury. He is just stuck in a whirpool of disappointment that he can't even take a breather.
He is afraid of reciprocating Rook's feelings, he is afraid of rejecting them. So, what is left for him?
To ignore them or brush them off with an impassive reply.
Perhaps he was hoping that the principle "If I ignore it, it will go away" might work. He was hoping that if Rook keeps hitting the wall, that if he sees that there is no hope for them sharing a future, Rook's feelings would eventually dwindle. Perhaps he hoped that Rook's feelings would prove superstitial, just Rook having fun at being a flirt, and would let go of them easily. But, to no awail.
That is why "he's just completely missing in Act 2", he had no reason to declare his feelings before he "broke out", so to speak, and allowed himself those feelings.
Anyway, I remember only one moment when he didn't deem Rook with any reply, and it's this one (I also included the "positive" option, because previously I only flirted with him, and now Lucanis' answer cracked me up).
Lucanis didn't reply to Rook's flirting, yet I think that the way he pursed his lips just a tiny bit and furrowed his brows a fraction says
After this I understand all the talk about Lucanis' microexpressions, because, the way he pursed his lips just a tiny bit and furrowed his brows a fraction says a lot, I think. I may be seeing things, but he does have some unique expressions, and this one does seem intentional. Although I understand why such a reaction may seem bugged with a follow up to a neutral response.
Also, here Rook's words sounded rather rhethorical, like they didn't need any reply.
"Yet, I'm still here".
What can you answer to it? "Good"? Too awkward. "I'm glad"? Too personal for Lucanis on that stage of their relationship. For me personally, this particular line just doesn't imply any reply.
Why is he not flustered when he is being flirted by Rook?
Because, I think, that as an assassin, he was trained and is rather skilled in the art of seduction, which is rather obvious in that almost-kiss scene, where it looked like his training kicked in for some reason, and it wasn't the real him. So he is not stuttering when Rook flirts because he sees and understands conventional flirting when it happens, he must have been introduced to it in his training, he must have used it on his targets, because, once again, it comes very natural to him. That is why he understands Rook's intentions - Rook's flirting is on point and obvious. Lucanis sees it and dismisses it. He does have the ability to read the room.
Then why is he flustered when Neve flirts?
Because, to me at least, her "flirting" seems extremely weird. From what I remember from her banter with him, her flirting is half-joking, half-threat, half-compliment in as many sentences. Perhaps it's my own demisexuality and awkwardness speaking, but I suspect a lot of people, even those who are open with their affections, would be at least a bit weirded out, because her intentions are rarely clear. It's like "are you trying to woo me, to insult me, or stab me?" So I wouldn't even call him flustered or embarassed with her, I don't think those are the right words. I'd call him confused and weirded out by her approach. And it shows in his replies to her. From my memory, some of his answers were as following: "I don't even know what to say" and "I was going to say 'thanks', but now I'm not sure". It's not in any way a romantic reply and an attempt to flirt back. At the same time, Rook's intentions are always clear: in his flirting with Lucanis he shows care and admiration, which are easy to catch on.
And to me, this is why the progression with Neve is different. It's easier to joke back and forth, than to face true, suffocating feelings, than to let someone in. It's easier to accept humour and nonchalant approach than sincere care, which Rook provides, since Lucanis seems to be a person who was not used to such thing. I think that he is afraid of true feelings and unpacking the baggage, so he closes off with Rook. But also, this is why, in my humble opinion, his relationship with Neve is never as important to him, as his relationship with Rook (I'm sorry to Nevecanis shippers). It seems more airy, less involved. After all, if you don't romance him, and don't get Inner Demons, he would want to separate from Spite even if he is with Neve.
Probably because he never truly let her in. And because Spite, who is a really important aspect in Lucanis' life, doesn't trust her. It's easier with her, which doesn't mean better.
I do agree that something is missing in his romance, though. Not an important aspect, but still. Like a tiny touch during their second coffee date would have been really appropriate, otherwise that scene with Lucanis howering over Rook seems rather awkward. Also, I'm almost convinced that they had kissed before, because the kiss that they shared during the romance scene doesn't seem like their first. They also should have had at least a tiny talk about Lucanis' inexperience. But other than that, the romance is rather refreshing. I think that it is intentional that way, and that the demisexual prism was there from the very start. Yeah, to some it may seem like it's an attempt to put on a bandaid after the fallout, to close the wound. But just some dialogues from the game say otherwise. Like this one, for example.
in honor of mary kirby telling us about ace lucanis here is a very hidden bit of banter you can only get if you 1. got the cutscenes to get
As for the concept arts - the scenes that weren't included... I'm not upset that they were cut off. Because my personal first thought, when I saw them, was that Lucanis was acting like some of kind of experienced hero-lover, which contrasts with the way I personally see him. Yeah, that sounds extremely biased, I know. But to me it seemed to be a little off with the whole inexperienced/demi aspect of him. Maybe it's just me, maybe in a relationship he would open up faster, I don't know.
Update:
The official first kiss we got was in the end of the game in privacy. All the kissess from concepts had to be during the game, then - long before he had the courage to really kiss Rook. And if he didn't have the courage before that, then the one in the hot springs looks inappropriately steamy. Plus, both kissess (in hot springs and under the rain) seem to happen in public, and I don't think that Lucanis - given his profession and mentality - would easily show his affections in public. These might have been the reasons why that content was cut.
As for the scene with the gondola fight, I'm awfully grateful that it was cut off: Lucanis knows that Rook can't swim... yet he still purposefully pushes him into the water? That's a huge red flag for me. On the other hand, Rook can't swim, but still agrees to this dangerous affair? It's irrational. Besides, Rook on the concept is a lithe woman, Lucanis would have little trouble saving her from the water if she was to fall off. But my Rook is the tallest possible, plus-sized qunari... It would be extremely difficult to pull that save off, perhaps even impossible, and that scene's hasard and thoughtlessness would increase tenfold. So, the gondola fight seemes to me rather impossible with the variety of Rooks.
All in all, to me, his romance is one of those slow-burn ones that is affected by the trauma. His just happens to be more closed off because, unlike the characters who you had mentioned, he is also an assassin - let's not forget this ESSENTIAL detail and all the consequences this profession may imply (like, feelings are a liability), topped with a betrayal from someone important.
I just think that demisexuality comes in an abundance of flavors, peppered with various experiences from a partner. Demisexual person and a budding relationship with one is always different, just like any heterosexual, homosexual, and so on, so I don't really understand the comparison with the player's experience. I mean, it seems like you're saying that what we have with Lucanis is not a good representation of demisexuality, but I'd say that there is no appropriate and avowed template for depicting demisexuality, as well as any other relationship. Like, there is no "right way" for dealing with trauma, for example - the way a person dealt with their trauma in a movie might not be similar to the way the vewer of said movie dealt with the same trauma. And it's perfectly normal. The way you, me, or any other demisexual person behave or the way your relationship developed is not the only appropriate way for any other such relationship to develop. If the majority of demisexuals are easily flustered, it doesn't mean that everyone has to be. There is no "right way" to depict demisexuality. So, to me Lucanis seems to be just his own brand of closed-off and inexperienced demisexual.
Damn it, I should've put more thought into lace in my fanfic. Coincidentially, a few days ago I wrote about Rook helping Lucanis to done this outfit for the first time.
If you are (or anybody at all) interested, here is the link.
It's sfw, but please, mind the tags.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
I have wanted to write a fanfic about the outfit from the 2nd screenshot, but I was almost pulling my hair out because I couldn't figure out how, for the love of the Outsider, this marvel of style even works.
I think I figured it out with the photomode.
Let's call it a study in a Corvid Cloak.
Perhaps it may come in handy for some people.
To begin with, a few shots of the outfit itself.
Then, I'll try to separate it layer by layer.
First, there seems to be a shirt underneath it all.
Then, comes some kind of cotton tunic or some such.
But it seems to be long only on the front, it doesn't cover anything but the front.
Then the main mystery (at least for me): where does this lace on the back even come from?
It seems to be a part of that broad belt, because you can see here that the lacing ends where the belt ends.
But the more I looked at it, this garment seemed like less of a belt and more of a skirt of some sort, because the layered hem comes from under it and seems sewn to it. I guess the lower garment is actually doned on like a skirt, but instead of a zip like on modern ones, it is fastened by the lace.
And under it Lucanis wears deliciously form-fitting leather pants.
I'm sorry for taking such inappropriate shots of you, Lucanis, it's all... for science.
An observation I had about the boots: the ornate knee pad may come separately from the boots, looks like it's on an individual leather belt.
Then comes a vest, or it seems like a vest at first, but it looks like it's actually an intricate jacket with a sort of a shoulder padding which comes down to the elbows.
Aaaaaand, to finish it all with the main attraction - the cloak itself, to which the cape is sewn.
I may be wrong in my assumptions, and if so, please do point it out. For the love of all holy, this outfit ensnared me and I want to dissect it layer by layer.
Well, that seems to be all. Thanks for your attention.
As a bonus: a few shots of Lucanis I took while studying him.
Everyone is so serious and stoic, then tensely sneaking around... while Manfred just rattles his bones along to the best of his abilities.
Bonus video: Manfred being a helpful little egg during the fight against the Venatori. The startled tiny "ah!" one of them lets out when Manfred jumps onto him is priceless.
The difference between the two outcomes is how much love you let into your heart. I pray that you hear these words before it’s too late. I want to see you become an old man in the paradise we’ve prepared for. I love you, brother…I love you.”-
