I'm pretty sure this is an unpopular opinion, but the "lack" of content in Lucanis's romance makes complete sense to me. Honestly I never saw it as lacking at all. I can understand why some people do and of course it would've been great to have more content, but to me, there is narrative sense to the way his romance is written.

Just looking at the last year or so of his life, Lucanis has been imprisoned, tortured, and to top it all off, possessed. He is sharing his body with a demon and constantly fighting to make sure he keeps control. And when he finally comes back home? Immediately finds out his grandmother is supposedly dead, and for all intents & purposes, it's in retaliation for HIS jailbreak. Already he is picking up broken pieces of his old life and cutting himself on them. It's no state to be jumping into a relationship from.

I've said before - and there's plenty of dialogue from him supporting it - that Lucanis spends most of the game trying to pretend he can go back to his old life; that he can be the person he used to be.

"I thought I still had this."

"Whatever else I am, I'm supposed to be a professional."

"I don't fail my contracts."

All of these things add and add to his turmoil until it's set to topple right at the start of the "Inner Demons" quest. He finds out his grandmother is alive! He should be happy! Instead he's caught in emotional upheaval, overwhelmed by everything he's been pushing off, and he has to make a decision, he has to keep going, he has to has to has to. And he can't. To the point that Spite has to intervene and say the one thing Lucanis won't.

"Help us."

And then, after getting to Lucanis, Rook literally tells us the man's struggle outright.

"As bad as the Ossuary was for you, it was better than the alternative. [...] You could solve those problems with a blade, but healing again? [...] There's no simple answer there. And if you fail, you could hurt the ones you love."

Lucanis was raised in violence. He still has a good heart in many ways, but that doesn't change the fact that he was more than likely never taught the emotional skills needed to navigate his problems any other way than with a knife. Which means that for 90% of the game, he is not ready to open his heart to someone. Even the 'almost kiss' scene is Lucanis attempting to replicate some of who he was, until something in him realizes that kissing Rook wouldn't be a one and done situation. No no, he wants them. And the minute that hits, he pulls away again, until the time comes in the endgame that he realizes losing Rook forever is scarier than never making the attempt to be together.

TLDR; Lucanis is a traumatized slow burn with one hell of a payoff in the end, you just gotta be patient with him.

P.S. - Once again, this is just my opinion, you are free to agree or disagree as you'd like; this is just based on my own experience with his romance.

I may answer a few of these later, but feel free to comment any specific ones you'd for me to answer in regards to my Rook, Gunnar de Riva. 😊

I’m taking your Rooks back to Language and Literature class with these asks. I added a few examples to questions I found vague or difficult to explain. Hopefully it’s not too gratuitous!

Dreams

Allegory: What does Rook dream about?

Repetition: What are Rook’s nightmares? Did/does this change with age?

Cliffhanger: If a spirit wanted to trap your Rook in the fade, what would their best plan be?

Tragicomedy: Would Rook make a deal with a demon? If no, what about a more benevolent spirit, would they make a deal with them?

Symbolism: The team is trying to rescue Rook from the fade. What five items do they use to do a summoning ritual?

Surrealism: How adept is Rook at navigating the Fade in dreams?

Morality

Hyperbole: Rook encounters two injured people. One a random npc citizen with a moderate but not life threatening injury and the other a venatori with a life threatening injury. As far as they can tell the Venatori was not actively involved in anything nefarious at this moment. Who does Rook help first (or at all)?

Foreshadowing: What does Rook think about Solas sacrificing the spirits of chaos and disorder? Would their opinion change if Solas had explained to the spirits that this was a mission they wouldn’t come back from?

Motif: What’s Rook’s opinion on the rite of tranquility? Is there ever a circumstance that could change this?

Epigraph: What situation(s) would make Rook compromise their morals? How would Rook feel about this?

Point of View: Does Rook judge others for choices they made under duress?

Paradox: What’s Rook’s opinion on Blood magic?

Personification: What’s Rook’s opinion on Necromancy? If your Rook is a necromancer, do they consider it a form of blood magic?

Self Reflection

Anaphora: What lie is central to Rook’s worldview? How does this affect them?

Extended metaphor: What inspires hope in Rook?

Dramatic Irony: Does Rook wonder why they’re the main character?

Do they have an explanation for why they are the main character? Fate? Chance? Skill? Maybe they don’t actually think they’re the mc?

Exposition: What would Rook think of younger Rook? What would they tell them if given the chance?

Flashback: What past act is Rook most ashamed of?

Omniscient: Are there any secrets Rook is hiding? From others? From themselves?

Allusion: Who does Rook blame for their trauma, misplaced or not? Do they keep this a secret?

Physicality

Onomatopoeia: Describe how Rook speaks.

Isocolon: Describe how your Rook walks/runs.

Style: How does Rook sleep?

Archetype: Describe what another character might notice about your Rook physically.

Vignette: Describe the first time Rook got very injured. What was their reaction?

Juxtaposition: What’s their most prominent physical weakness and strength?

Bonus

Soliloquy: List/describe the most self indulgent headcanon/fic you’ve thought of for your Rook.

Ooh, I really like some of these questions. May end up answering a few, even if nobody asks for it. 🤣

So, do we think Viago has Rook take care of his snake while he’s away?

And if yes, is it because he trusts Rook or because he knows Rook is afraid of it and thinks it’s funny?

Gunnar loves being able to care for Viago's snake. The first time he ever cared for it, Gunnar didn't quite get the door to the snake's enclosure shut properly. He completely panicked when he realized Cinder was nowhere to be found. Gunnar just knew Viago would absolutely kill him for letting it escape.

When Viago returns later that same day, Gunnar is still panicking. Viago pretends to be angry when Gunnar tells him Cinder is gone, which sends Gunnar into a full blown panic attack. Viago is quick to calm Gunnar down and points toward a shelf by the window. There, watching from above, is the snake. Gunnar didn't know Viago let Cinder roam the room sometimes, and Cinder's favorite place to go after exploring was atop that shelf. Viago still trusts Gunnar to care for Cinder after that because he could see how much Gunnar actually cared about the fact the snake was "missing".

Also, I headcanon that Viago's snake is a kingsnake - a gray banded kingsnake is what I imagine it is.

It's just so narratively crunchy that Spite writes poetry as his chosen form of self expression. Especially given that he clearly struggles to communicate with the people around him, the fact that he writes poetry in the scant moments he has command of Lucanis's hands really cements other textual indicators that Spite is frustrated by his difficulty with communicating. Over and over again he asks to talk to Rook, to be heard, but when he does get the chance to talk, he isn't understood, which must be unbelievably frustrating for the poor guy. So he practices! In writing! And that writing gives such a neat look into Spite's mind and how he conceptualizes himself and his situation. So I'm gonna dust off my English degree and yell about his poetry.

The first time Rook holds Lucanis while they lie together on Rook's chaise, he cries. Nothing dramatic, nothing intense. Just tears slowly slipping to dampen the fabric of Rook's shirt beneath his cheek.

Spite—who has only ever felt Lucanis cry under extreme duress, when the torture was too much for him to prevent his body's physiological reaction—begins to squirm and struggle to pull away, and he and Lucanis briefly tussle for control.

"What's wrong?" Rook asks.

"Lucanis! Is! Crying!"

Lucanis hides his embarrassed flush in Rook's shoulder. "I'm fine."

"But? Why?" Spite demands.

Rook strokes Lucanis's hair as they explain. "Sometimes when someone has been in pain or in danger for a long time, they cry when they feel safe again."

The body in their arms relaxes back into the embrace as Spite considers Rook's words. When the spirit replies, his voice is small and wondering.

"Lucanis? Feels? Safe?"

Lucanis's confirmation is a quiet confession: "I do."

They all fall quiet. As the peaceful moment stretches on, Rook and Lucanis begin to doze, leaving Spite to contemplate this amazing new feeling.

Safe.

This is how it feels to be obsessed with Illario DATV Dellamorte sometimes

Coming at Y'all With Another Gut Punch

Lucanis in his (Ice? Crystal?) Prison:

Also someone else has already pointed this out but Spite really did just yeet his ass outta there:

And finally, one of these days I'm gonna pause in time to get the screen shot that proves Lucanis kicks this dude so hard in the dick he gets impaled:

He yearns. But he is scared.