#Rook Sata

[dreamtigress]

Several Sentence Sunday

Thanks for the tag, @onthewaytosomewhere!

So, I mentioned a paragraph from Onbreekbaar this past week, and I decided I wanted to share a bit of that section this Sunday. I'm still in the early stages of this story, and finding Jeter's voice has been a fun challenge. But this bit is from Rook's POV, and good Ghezen, these boys are so sweet. I am really loving exploring them.

Throwing this longer selection detailing Rook and Jeter's first kiss below the cut...

“Oh, good… because I've, um, wanted to kiss you for like six months. I just… I didn’t know if you were into guys… and I just didn't think you'd want me… because I'm kind of broken…” 

Saints in a sandwich. This again. It was a common refrain from the other boy, one that Rook had been trying to combat with various tactics. He chopped his hand through the air as he replied, “You are not broken! Saints, Jeter. What can I do to convince you that you aren’t broken??”

Shy and sly all at once, Jeter offered brightly, “Let me kiss you?”

Oh. Well then. Rook found himself nodding, words failing him utterly. Tentatively, Jeter leaned further forward, spanning the gap between them. He reached slowly for Rook’s face, and Rook nodded once more, accepting the touch. Jeter’s hands cradled his jaw on either side, his fingers feather light. And then there wasn’t a gap between them at all, as the kiss Rook had been fantasizing about came to fruition.

Rook had kissed a few people before leaving Novyi Zem. He remembered it being awkward several times, and weird one time with a boy who used his tongue like a lizard. The best was with a girl named Kuri, but that might have been because she’d been eating malva beforehand and tasted like the sweet dessert. Good kisses got compared to magic or fireworks or lightning. As Jeter kissed him, though, it wasn’t any of those things. It was a blanket of quiet on his overactive mind, wrapping him in warmth. It was peace and comfort. It was simple, delightful. The gentle press of Jeter’s lips, his long fingers cradling Rook’s jawline, the surprised little inhale that came from one or both of them… 

It all felt like a home he hadn’t known he’d missed until this moment. When Jeter pulled back a fraction, Rook sighed out, already longing for more. 

He wasn't sure Jeter had even kissed anyone before him, but he was certain he wanted to be Jeter’s next kiss. And maybe more after that. A lot more. Rook whispered, “You’re not broken…” and reached up to grip Jeter by the nape of his neck. Then he kissed him again.

Soft tagging anyone who wants to share some sentences this late on a Sunday.

[thedinanshiral]

What's in a name? A (very) simple guide to find your Rook's name.

I’ve seen some people are wondering how some of us already have named Rooks, others have no idea how to get names or which names could be good, and since i kinda overdid it and have 11 Rooks already planned and named i thought i’d share some of my process and drop some ideas. This works for me, but maybe it can help others find their Rook’s name(s).

Keep in mind these are also fantasy names, they don’t have to make sense or have a specific meaning, you can literally make them up. I also take into consideration known naming conventions, for example in Elven we have Solas and Abelas’ names, with specific meanings (Pride, Sorrow) and judging by what Solas tells Abelas, it’d seem ancient elvhen would change their names according to roles or events in their life. Similarly in the Qun, we know their names aren’t names as we understand them but simply descriptors of the role that is assigned to them within the Qun.

It’s probably easier when it comes to human nations in Thedas: Orlesians are likely to have French names, Fereldans to have anglo names, Antivans to have Spanish and Italian names. Tevinter is a bit trickier because it’s based on the Roman empire and Latin is a pretty dead language, but they sure liked to make records so we have names there too.

Elvhen names:

I literally opened a tab with the Elven language DA wiki page and read everything -for the bazillionth time tbh-; DA elven language is a cipher, not a conlang, so feel free to make things up because we don’t have the full cipher -i���m not even sure BW does- .

For Elven names i check the wiki for words that i like the sound of, the meaning of, ideally both. If i feel something is “missing” i may add a letter or combine different words into a new one.

Here are some examples:

Athima, from athim, humility

Atisha, from Atish'an, atisha is peace

Sethena, from Sethen'a or Setheneran, land of waking dreams or where the veil is thin, aka the Fade.

Revaren, from Revas, freedom, and Renan, voice.

Alasan, from alas, earth/dirt, and suffix an, place.

Sulahni, from sulahn, sing.

Samahli, from samahl, laughter.

Vardanehn, lit. Our little joy.

Mir'as, Banal'ras is shadows, implying ras refers to light, Mir is mine. Lit. "my light".

Qunlat names:

Same process as elven, but trying to modify as less as possible, keeping in mind the Qunari are very rigid in their ways and can be very literal as well.

Anaan, victory

Asaarash, rivaini horsebreed used by the antaam.

Kaaras, navigator.

Asaara-kaaras, wind navigator, wind rider.

Saar, dangerous. Saar-asaara, dangerous wind. Saar-meraad, dangerous tide.

Sata-kasi, mauler.

Vattic-kos, vat is fire, tic is cold and kos refers to nature damage, all three words are in reference to damage done with a mage staff. So Vattic-kos could be elemental damage.

Shokra, shok is struggle or war, shokrakar is rebel.

Antivan names:

These were way easier as i’m Latina of Spanish and Italian descent which in this case feels a bit like cheating. I think any Spanish and Italian name could work, these are just some i like.

Vittoria/Victoria

Chiara

Alessandro/a

Stefan

Dante

Aria

Tevinter names:

I literally googled for Latin names for this one, and also checked previous Tevinter characters’ names. Some of this could also work for an Antivan Rook.

Aelius

Amadis

Bastian

Caelus

Camilla

Dena

Dante

Desideria

Ella

Enora

Favian

Fausto, Faustino, Faustus

Gaius

Gloria

Grazia

Klaudia

Laurena

Lavinia

Liberia

Merit/Mérita/Mérito

Remus

Salena

Sarina

Sidonia

Sollemnia

Tatius

Terentius

Tiberius

Urbano, Urbanus

Valentio

Varinia

Viatrix

Virgilio, Virgil

Vitus

Xandros

I’m leaving out the numerals like Primo, Segundo, Quintus, Octavio... check Cesars' names, that could work too. I think you could just search the scientific name of any fauna (hello House Pavus) or flora and pick whatever sounds nice too. Also we recently got a new Magister’s name in the Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance trailer, Magister Andante. Y’know what “Andante” means? Walking. Magister Walking. Fear nothing and go wild with these names, seriously.

You could also check other cultures and native names, respectfully of course. Here are some guaraní and mapuche names i like, i didn’t modify these at all.

Kerana, guaraní “goddess of sleep”, or sleepy one.

Karai, guaraní, “respectable man”.

Luriel, guaraní, “lord of the wind”.

Amaru, guaraní, “rain”.

Anahí, guaraní, from a legend, the name of a young woman burned at the stake by the conquistadors, after which she is transformed into the flowering tree.

Newén, mapuche, "strength"

Nahuel, mapuche, “jaguar”

Ayelén, mapuche, “laughing”.

Tahiel, mapuche, “hombre libre”

For Dwarven names, i am deeply sorry i haven't decided on a Dwarf Rook yet so i haven't done my dwarven research, but the same process applies: check the canon dwarf names we got so far, if the lore says anything about dwarven naming conventions, if they're a commoner or noble, if there are caste-specific names too, and so on. And if you want to name your dwarf Rook Bob, that's fine too! ( if DUNE can have Paul and Jessica, why couldn't we have a dwarf named Bob?? like i said, go wild, name freely, be happy)

I understand some people don't want to or aren't sure about naming their Rooks until we learn what the different canon surnames will be, and i totally get that, i felt the same way. But i couldn't resist until we got that info so i overdid it, particularly with my Tevinter-Nevarran mage whose name i picked clearly inspired by Cassandra's full name, only for me to end up calling her by the first of her five names that i kinda struggle to remember. So far we've only seen one canon surname, "Thorne", and since surnames are defined by factions, Thorne seems to be the Grey Wardens' canon surname. The elf Grey Warden champion seen in the recent high-level combat gameplay is named Esha Thorne.

I think maybe surnames should depend on what they're now calling lineage (elven, qunari, human, dwarf) rather than on factions, or they could have offered options, one per lineage and one per faction, and let us decide which one to keep. An elf named Thorne sounds a bit odd to me, even if they're a Grey Warden. Will any of my chosen names match the canon surnames? Probably not, but at least i had fun while naming them. My only GW for now is Favian and Favian Thorne doesn't sound bad.

Anyway, I hope this helps those who are a bit lost to find names that works for you and your Rooks, have fun!

[dreamtigress]

Intrigue Thursday!

Now published in full, with 10 chapters of glimpses into the lives of some of the Dregs and Inej's crew, plus a visit from a crooked Merchant Council member.

Schurken Gemaskerd: This spin off story from Kanej Wensen ties together a slew of little plot lines and character arcs. We get ten different character POV’s surrounding the Rogues Gallery expansion opening gala. Zurye has a surprise meeting. Ryo gets a surprise assignment. Jesper is in a tizzy with all of his planning duties. Rook is in a tizzy because Jeter’s all dressed up. Kaz leads his Dregs in a Barrel parade to the Rogues Gallery. Mesa has a chat with Tajed while she’s trying to work. Inej finds out some intel from Rosa Ortega, leader of the Liddies. Wylan has a run-in with another member of the Merchant Council. Jeter is Kaz’s assistant for the night, and brings the news of an incident. Oxana gets to witness a private debriefing of the Crows.

See also: OC POVs, Blasts from the past, Soundproofing for all the rooms in the Slat?, Knowing where the levers are, ADHD Jesper Fahey, Life’s hard when you have a crush, The Dregs know how to throw a PARTY, Masquerade time, Inej gets protective, Serves you right, He said WHAT?, Oh no he didn’t go there, You can blow up his mansion later, What goes around comes around.

[dreamtigress]

🌹🌹

Thanks for the ask, @tinyarmedtrex.

From this WIP ask meme.

It's still in early days, but have two sentences from Onbreekbaar, the spin off story with Rook & Jeter.

Rook whispered, “You’re not broken…” and reached up to grip Jeter by the nape of his neck. Then he kissed him again.

I adore these boys and I'm having fun starting their story.

[dreamtigress]

WIP Wednesday

'Cept today, I am doing another Work Is Published Wednesday!

Schurken Gemaskerd: This spin off story from Kanej Wensen ties together a slew of little plot lines and character arcs. We get ten different character POV’s surrounding the Rogues Gallery expansion opening gala. Zurye has a surprise meeting. Ryo gets a surprise assignment. Jesper is in a tizzy with all of his planning duties. Rook is in a tizzy because Jeter’s all dressed up. Kaz leads his Dregs in a Barrel parade to the Rogues Gallery. Mesa has a chat with Tajed while she’s trying to work. Inej finds out some intel from Rosa Ortega, leader of the Liddies. Wylan has a run-in with another member of the Merchant Council. Jeter is Kaz’s assistant for the night, and brings the news of an incident. Oxana gets to witness a private debriefing of the Crows.

See also: OC POVs, Blasts from the past, Soundproofing for all the rooms in the Slat?, Knowing where the levers are, ADHD Jesper Fahey, Life’s hard when you have a crush, The Dregs know how to throw a PARTY, Masquerade time, Inej gets protective, Serves you right, He said WHAT?, Oh no he didn’t go there, You can blow up his mansion later, What goes around comes around.

The first half of this is now published on AO3! Second half of the chapters will get posted tomorrow!

Soft tagging: @tinyarmedtre, @cameliawrites, @19burstraat, @theprinceandagcd, and @linearao3 if they have anything they want to share today.