@theesteppenwolf / theesteppenwolf.tumblr.com
Commissions do be open.
All my links are on my profile, feel free to DM me on socials with any other questions.
Look at my other drawings as style references too because i shift from style to style sometimes. If a very specific style catches your eye dm me the post.
For something outside of the listed tiers DM me :3
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.
what. a. damn. waste.
I want to make this as balanced and as reasonable a take as I can. I'll put everything under the cut and tag as critical so you don't have to engage with it/see it if you don't want to.
As usual, these are just my opinions. If you really enjoyed Lucanis' romance, none of what I'm about to say is meant to dissuade you from that. I'm happy for you!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. There were parts of it that I absolutely loved too, and I hope I'll do that justice with this post so it doesn't come across as hate. Because I don't hate his romance, I just think there was some places where it could have been fleshed out a bit more.
If you want to engage in discussion with the more critical aspects of this post, my only request is you do so respectfully.
This is such a good and respectful write up. Incredibly well put.
I also after seeing those storyboards got that hit of disappointment again of what could’ve been so thank you for pointing it all out here.
It’s a shame for such a good character to be put on the back burner and underutilized.
Send me y’alls favorite lucanis screenshots i need some sweet art refs.
Bonus points if he’s got wet sad puppy eyes in ‘em
How much do you wanna bet that Lucanis' romance was cut down because EA/BioWare fired Mary Kirby?
I've said it before, I do love his romance, but there is definitely a fair bit missing from the romance
I think this game does so many things better than any DA game (gameplay, exploration, art). The way the missions and companion missions are structured is great, Rook as a protagonist is engaging, it just lacks proper commitment and time. The Weisshaupt mission for me has to be one of the best story moments in ANY Dragon Age game and the greatest crime this game commits is that it didn’t have an opportunity to properly develop, so all i keep thinking is “man, if they just started with this what could’ve been”.
If i were to describe it; i think all the outsides of this game, the “containment” of it, is incredibly strong and good but as you move further inside the circle it looses its grip, that’s where we get to the writing problems, lack of companion content and rushed lore. And this only happened because of EA/Bioware exec bullshit.
If these 10 years weren’t packed with development hell and execs not giving a shit about anything than dead end trends it could’ve been an incredible game. And even through all the shit its been through it still manages to be a very good one.
I don’t know what’s going to happen to Bioware but this direction is great and i hope to god that they don’t shut down and throw away this IP because the potential of it now with this formula is so promising.
lucanis's crush reveal completely eclipsed everything else for me
i was so hyped to finally watch the solavellan veilguard ending but my brain kept going VIAGO???? throughout the whole scene so i couldn't fully appreciate it
Wait, I need to talk about Lucanis kneeling specifically for an Antivan Rook. Never mind “house dellamorte never kneels.” That is the FIRST TALON kneeling before a much lower-ranked assassin. Like, despite their places in the crow hierarchy, he doesn’t just see them as equals, but he KNEELS for them. I’m gonna throw up.
Ok, ok i will stop negative posting now, promise. I don’t want to be that person who just craps on things, especially given how much i love this game really.
I just need a venting outlet and seeing people who also respectfully agree and like to discuss the same problems helps. So if anyone wants to vent or discuss something more critical about the lucanis romance and his story (or something dav related in general) this feel free to dm me but i don’t want to flood a space with bad vibes, im here to have fun.
Going to my positive Lucanis (and general antican crow) brainrot now <3
when are we gonna wake up and realize that Romanced Rook should have made an appearance in Lucanis’ mind prison - a reflection of all his insecurities about their relationship, his fears around intimacy, his fear for their safety around him. To have all that made flesh and be spoken from Rook’s own mouth?? Sheesh 😩
I also think the whole “you can’t be here, you open doors not close them” is a cop out, sorry. They could’ve easily added SOMETHING about Rook, but didn’t even added a note. 😔
Rook could’ve easily been incorporated in that but they just weren’t and i don’t know how a writing team couldn’t see an insanely perfect and obvious development set up.
And if i drew Zevran in a new purple antivan crow fit what then?
Thank you to the absolutely INCREDIBLE @theesteppenwolf for taking on my commission of my warden, Milana Tabris and Zevran!
It's been a while since I've been able to treat myself to a comm and with having finished origins for the first time last month, these two have been on my mind A LOT!! This perfectly captures their little cute and flirty dynamic and I'm so so happy. 😻🫶
It's two am, this took 12 hours. Enjoy.
5 DAYS GUYS
He has bewitched me body and soul, it’s infuriating, his lack of content and writing is ruining my mental state
I am in a hell of my own choosing
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.
I STILL REALLY LIKE THE GAME Y’ALL
Tumblr stop showing me legit hate posts because that is not at all what i am doing pls i just want to have a normal conversation 🥲
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.
Name is Esha de Riva, technically my first and second Rook since i copied everything over but changed from rogue to mage. I prefer them as a mage spellblade <3
They mean everything to me ok???
