#deadlysoupy

Their relationship is quite silly in the context at first. Brainstorm's profile calls him a conflicted Perceptor fanboy. The only thing we get, up to this point, is his Annoyance with how his genius is overshadowed by Perceptor. While Perceptor doesn't seem to give him his time of day at all, more concerned with his work and what Rodimus wants from him than what Brainstorm is up to.

It's honestly just my personal interpretation of either characters, but Perceptor is finally allowed to fullly get back to science again, he's not expected to be holding his sniper rifle (even though he was never expected to! He had himself believe that holding a weapon will make him of more value!), while Brainstorm is there with his own super secret super important agenda.

Brainstorm is, apparently, an MTO, while we don't know what for, but MTOs have a very sad track record and usually have a lot of baggage as they're usually "born" and then kicked into the heat of battle, barely having any chance to learn who they are, just what they're for. Yet Brainstorm has never killed anyone - and despite that, he's still LIED about being an MTO.

Here they're talking about the concept of Constructed Cold, but there were TWO waves of them - pre-war and post-war. What Brainstorm is talking about he was not even born to witness yet.

They're both people who, one way or the other, "defying" what they are. It's a common theme with tf ships for me, but in case with this, it's Perceptor believing that he has to be more, and at the point of MTMTE, perhaps, not feeling entirely whole, and Brainstorm WANTING to be someone He actually Wants to Be.

Brainstorm feels threatened when his intellect is belittled by people calling Perceptor the genius. Brainstorm is quite egotistical and selfish, but it all ends up being just a facade, just as much Perceptor's cold and perfect exterior he cultivated throughout years during the war, of someone he thought his side needed.

Up until Brainstorm's time travel shenanigans, we saw them interacting sometimes, and a lot of the time, it was Brainstorm trying to impress Perceptor somehow, or just being himself that draws attention of Percy nevertheless.

And then we see Percy smiling the most he's ever smiled throughout the comic, calling Brainstorm a genius himself, impressed by the intricate work of Brainstorm.

Perceptor gets up to clap for Brainstorm at his trial, and i think it's the moment that sold Perceptor for his respect to Brainstorm. Everything he ever knew about Brainstorm - the careless egotistical and cowardly scientist - turned out to be nothing but means to an end, making way to a dedicated, caring, kind and brilliant person into his mind.

I think their finale just says it all regarding these two, honestly.

"I always wanted recognition for what I am."

"Me too."

Brainstorm spent his life on science and to be recognized. He didn't hide the fact he's an MTO just because. He wants to be seen for his achievements. Perceptor's war trauma had him feel useless to his comrades, who's "purpose", who's Genius, was ultimately the thing people saw in him, brushing off his personal achievements, maybe even the fact he could be more, his person, the way he feels Brainstorm could understand, too.

They're simpatico for a reason, and its just one of them, but pretty crucial and at the very core of why they're so compatible.

The High Priestess: Which does Rook obey more: their head or their heart?

Rook tries to separate their compassion from their job. Too much blood is on their hands for them to preach sainthood. Thus, they use their head in most situations, which can make them kinda manipulative (not intentionally, that’s just what happens when you treat every conversation like they can be won)

I do think that once you scrape back all of those layers, you’ll find that they use their heart when helping those they love (The Veilguard, Varric, Rowan & Isabela etc.) Their heart isn’t very good at decision making though so any suggestions have to be filtered through the brain first lol.

The Empress: What does family mean for Rook?

Family can be anyone. Laidir was taken away from their mother too early for any solid memories of her to be present, so the Lords became the default image in their head for family.

And since you asked about Isa specifically, I’ll elaborate on their weird… thing they’ve got going on. They are so “Never Love and Anchor” core it hurts 😭😭😭. Isabela wasn’t a terrible mother figure, even though she tried to position herself as more of an Auntie figure at first. Because of her own trauma with her mother, she’s overprotective of Laidir in ways that she refuses to admit to anyone. She’s not letting go of that kid unless it would give them a better life (She would spin it as a “Finally getting you outta my nest” to Kiann. They know she’s sad whenever they leave, though) The two of them have this odd push and pull where neither want to admit they love each other in that parent/child way, but there isn’t really another way to describe it. There’s only so many times you can cry into your mentor’s arms during night terrors before you kinda have to call her mom.

The Wheel of Fortune: Describe an interesting character moment for your Rook. What made this moment stand out to you?

Their heavy insistence on Taash embracing Rivaini culture says a lot about them. I think Rook has a hard time seeing themselves as properly Rivaini at times. Like, they were born to Rivaini craftsmen on Tearstone, but being ripped away from their own culture at such a young age definitely took its toll on them (Isa took them in when they were about 16/17. Since she’s more tied to the Lords than she is to Rivain itself, she couldn’t help too much with those issues). Rook is a master at projecting their insecurities, so being able to help Taash with an issue they’ve been having for over a decade was definitely cathartic in a way.

The Devil: What type of demon is most likely to target Rook? Why?

A desire demon but not for horny or “Gold and Glory” reasons. My guy just needs a hug real bad. Fucked up to see your actual mother in the middle of battle.

The Moon: How does Rook's past impact their values? Does their past come with any biases or blind spots they have to account for?

Oh it deeply affects them. I imagine that they don’t share any pre-Lord of Fortune lore with anyone unless specifically prompted by someone they trust, but they think about it constantly. Their past very directly leads into their lack of swimming expertise, but it also leads to an understandable dislike for pretty much the entirety of Tevinter. Eventually they grow out of it, the shadow dragons and their overall experiences in Dock Town calm the hatred to a more directed state. Being besties with Neve also helped. Now they just despise the Tevinter government 👍