#that's why the chantry hasn't found her and never will

[sun-marie]

2, 4, and 12 for lydia <3

2. How did Rook get the nickname? What do they think of it?

Being born into slavery in the Tevinter Imperium, "Lydia" was the only name she had as a child, separated from her parents. When she escaped and joined the Lords, she sought to reinvent herself as a free person, and wanted a new name to reflect that. After playing (and mostly losing) chess a few times with her fellow Lords as a teenager, she liked how subtly strong the Rook piece was, you could never see it coming before it was too late. If she didn't already see herself that way, she at least wanted to aspire to that. "Lydia" (while not as strong as like a deadname) is different person in her mind, a scared little elven girl trying to survive in a world of humans.

4. Which faction did they join, and why? How long has it been?

The Rivaini Lords of Fortune! I don't have the exact details yet, but when she was anywhere from 7-12, the ship she was serving on was attacked by the Rivaini coast, probably by the Felicisima Armada. In the confusion, she managed to sneak onto their ship (she might have also killed someone out of self defense during this) and stay hidden long enough to make it to Rivain proper when they docked for supplies. She had a rough few years until a Lord of Fortune (not Isabela) found her and, seeing her sailing experience and magical potential, offered to recruit (and partially raise) her. By the time we meet her in the game, Rook has (officially) been with the Lords since the Kirkwall Chantry Explosion, about 16 years.

12. Does Rook have any family? Do they keep in touch?

Sadly, no. Or rather, if she has any family still alive, she doesn't know where they are. As soon as she was able she was taken to be a galley slave, separating from her (also enslaved) parents. When she finally settled in Rivain, she tried to find them again only to realize she didn't know anything about them, not their names, not where they served, and barely what they looked like years ago. While she hasn't fully given up hope of seeing either of them again, she's accepted that the Lords are her new family, particularly her (currently unnamed) magical mentor and Isabela.

fifty questions for rook ask game <3

[outerspacejellyfish]

Safe; nestle(d); spark; message; inspiration; doubt; bond; groan

(you dun have to do all but I figure I'd give you some choices~)

OH YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'M DOING THEM ALL @pumpkinspice-villaingirl, THANK YOU FOR THE WORDS FRIENDO~

Safe: from the untitled Greedfall fic that hasn't seen the light of day

"They can return her to her family as a sign of good faith, or to extort promises of safe passage from your people, or they can eschew any of that altogether and mount her head on a pike to parade before you as a trophy of their victory!"

Nestle: same as above

Kurt sat a short way up the rise beside their camp, nestled in a nook that provided him with cover while still offering a good vantage over the tents to the forest beyond. He glowered at her suspiciously.

Spark: from Of Gods and Dragons

I grimaced, but complied. The mark sparked and sputtered when it was exposed.

[Morrigan] examined in silence for some moments, then met my eyes. “And why, pray tell, is the supposed Herald of Andraste sneaking into my quarters like an assassin in the night?”

Message: from ye olde Agender!Ochaco fic that also hasn't seen the light of day

[Katsuki] shot them a rare smile as his fingers flew across the screen, replying to Kirishima’s message. “That’s my Ochaco,” he murmured fondly. “Now eat your breakfast.”

Inspiration: apparently literally none of my in-progress fics have this word???? how?????? I feel I should rectify this. But the next entry (doubt) has the word 'inspired' so I guess that kinda counts?

Doubt: from Of Gods and Dragons

[Varric] held up a hand to forestall my protests. “Rose, I know you haven’t had a chance to make money here in Thedas. I’ve no doubt you could if you wished to, but we’ve been a little busy trying to save the world. Consider this an investment toward that goal, and don’t worry about paying me back.” He grinned suddenly. “Besides, the whole thing has inspired me to write another crime serial, this one taking place in the shadowy world of Orlesian politics.”

Bond: moar Of Gods and Dragons

“The Chantry teaches that the Old Gods of Tevinter legend reside deep underground. When the darkspawn come across one of these Old Gods, they corrupt it, creating an Archdemon—a tainted Old God. But an Old God cannot be killed by ordinary means. When its body is slain, its soul travels into the nearest creature with which it has a bond. In the case of the Archdemon, the taint is the source of that bond. When the nearest tainted creature is a darkspawn, a soulless being, the Archdemon takes over the host to rise again. But if it is a Grey Warden who slays the monster, then the soul of the Old God will travel into the Warden, and kill both Warden and Archdemon in the process. Two souls cannot coexist in one body, after all.”

Groan: and moar OGAD!

“No!” Stroud yelled in a strangled voice, and surged forward to hack at the intrusion. The rift pulsed again, and a groan ran through the watching crowd.

Then, out flew a strange mass of armor and flesh, knocking right into Varric and sending him tumbling. The mass resolved into a confused tangle of limbs, and Cassandra kicked Varric in the face as she struggled to extricate herself. Her eyes, wide and desperate, found the rift, now crackling with energy.

+ bonus~

It took Varric a moment to recognize the other body laying atop him. A hand found shaggy hair, groaning as fingers came away bloodied, but finally Hawke’s eyes met his. “Let’s never do this again,” the Champion mumbled.

[broodsys]

a wild fic wip appears

honestly i try not to share wips but wtf why am i talking abt the market economy in dragon age

-

They'd been traveling for years, now; Fenris had opted to leave Kirkwall behind after... everything. He'd been surprised when Isabela had offered him a place on her ship, but eventually accepted. They'd be on the open sea for weeks, even months at a time - he had learned to love the ocean for her ruthless beauty, as well as the cocky, extraordinary way Isabela handled her ship.

Hands that only knew how to hold a sword slowly learned to work rope, to know the grain of wood rather than the rasp of a leather grip and the weight of a balanced broadsword.

He still hated fish. Some things no amount of time or exposure changed. Others, time and exposure changed greatly.

He had left Kirkwall with an oppressive weight, only recognizing that it felt like home when that was suddenly torn away. The remains of a building, smoke in the sky, Hawke's awful silence. Hawke was /never/ silent. What had magic touched that it'd not spoiled? He'd used it as an accusation, before, believing he knew the answer. He understood better, now; it wasn't good or bad. Magic had saved his life countless times since he'd thrown in with Hawke, both on the field and afterwards, Anders' eyes half closed as his hands, glowing softly, rested just above Fenris' ribs or leg or wherever he'd been hurt.

"What has magic touched that it hasn't changed?" He asked the vast sea, standing at the rail. The sun had set only moments before and the sky was still marked by wispy pink and orange, brightly lit by stars. The moon would be nearly full tonight, but he knew Isabela wouldn't risk docking at night. Maybe if they were heading into a real port, but not when they had to contest with a rocky shoreline. They'd be spending the night at sea.

Normally he wouldn't be bothered by this, but the crew had been increasingly restless. The explosion at the Conclave had set all in disarray, but in the following weeks Circles had collapsed irregularly all across Thedas, sometimes by the Templars leaving to join the rest of their order (with rumors of heavy desertion) or by the mages themselves. Most were nonviolent affairs, but there were cases where the Templars attempted to independently retain control. In most cases the mages had been able to overthrow that control, and Fenris knew that part of it was the lyrium shortage. A big part of Isabela's business was smuggling, which meant they were both privy to the lyrium shortage. The Templar order apparently found a new supplier, leaving the intermediary tradesmen in the lurch. Several of them sold cheap to the Chantry, but word was most of them were going with the Inquisition. No matter what the case was, outlying Templar outposts were receiving no new supplies of lyrium, which limited their abilities.