█ ▌⚜ C H A M P I O N

suggestive starters   ///   accepting !!

SHE HAS NEVER BEEN PARTICULARLY GOOD at goodbyes or greetings. whenever she l e a v e s,  a wake of dust and ash remains ; she r e t u r n s with blood and reverent requests of forgiveness. and it never changes. she is a creature of habit, made out of nothing but silt, salt, and saccharine, vile pride --  and yet there exists such prevailing, perfect beasts who continue to love her all the same. and THEY are the only home she has – those people who’s names exist as a homestead in place of a house, who’s mere existence give her reason to live. it is such a dramatic way to be ; a dramatic way to think, and yet home long ago ceased being a place and became, without want or asking, a person. she wonders sometimes if he knows.

and then there is KIRKWALL, the city that still smells of ashes and smoke, the city she has not seen in so many years. the city that breaks her heart to look at even from her place on the docks, hanging on to bulking chains as if they alone keep her standing, shaking, in her boots. ashen hair billows in Kirkwall’s bated breath. grey, lovely eyes blink away the urge to cry. there was a time when Kirkwall was home, when her estate was safe and she had fallen in love ; with so many memories shattered with the deaths of her family and friends, the city was no longer home, but it was a welcome sight to sore and somber eyes.

she feels dreadfully unwanted.

Sometimes it's hard to get in depth with your muse and their backstory, because you can't figure out how to bring those things up with others. Here are a couple of starters intended to make things a little more personal!

"What's holding you back?"

"I'm not comfortable with this conversation."

"Will you /ever/ be comfortable with this conversation?"

"Let me in sometime!"

"It's not that easy, you know."

"Help me understand."

"It's hard to connect with someone when all they do is push you away."

"Why are you always so cold?"

"Why are you always so happy?"

"Are you really happy now?"

"Who hurt you this badly to make you this way?!"

"What, did your ex mess you up that badly?!"

"Why do you keep fighting it any time you feel?"

"It's a problem, I get it."

"This is all kinds of messed up."

"That's not exactly a good coping method."

"So what happened, with your parents, really?"

"What was your childhood like?"

"Everyone has at lest a little bit of mommy/daddy issues. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"My parents aren't exactly perfect models, either."

"You were bullied? What for?"

"Was it hard? Coming out, I mean."

"You can't just run away all the time."

"You can't just hide all the time."

"Are you still thinking about them?"

"I'm not the enemy here. But this makes me wonder who the real one is for you."

"Is the reason you're so cold and defensive because you feel threatened?"

"How long has it been since you last spoke to them?"

"You never talk about it, why?"

"How come you're so different around them?"

"It's like you don't have a care or worry in the world."

"You seem so perfect. I don't get it."

"What was your ex like?"

"I don't think I was ever good enough for them."

"Are you not comfortable being intimate?"

"Why don't you feel comfortable being intimate?"

"Letting someone see you that vulnerable, it's a scary thing."

"Are you scared of being hurt?"

"Have you ever been taken advantage of?"

"Why are you afraid of saying I love you?"

"I never understood how someone could say those words so easily."

"You're hurting others the way you've been hurt in the past, don't you think that's ironic?"

"You use people to make yourself feel better."

"I'm scared of being used again..."

"Losing someone isn't easy, but you're making it harder than it needs to be."

"How long has it been since you lost them?"

"You're too attached."

"I'm not attached, I'm just comfortable with what I'm familiar to."

"Maybe the real reason you're so controlling is because, deep down you'd rather have them in your grasp than lose them."

Cassandra: Ser Hawke has graciously agreed to lead this Inquisition, provided that we give sanction to her Kirkwall associates as well. Inquisitor, allow me to introduce you to your council of advisors.

Josephine: I look forward to working with such illustrious denizens of the Free Marches.

Leliana: Yes, tales of your role in the Mage Rebellion have traveled far and wide. I am eager to hear them from your own lips.

             CALL HER ALL THAT YOU LIKE ; traitor, ruin bringer, champion. call her every word you know in every language you speak, but do not call her a COWARD. every day she looks into the face of a world that she f e a r s and walks along its belly as if she could swallow it if she tried. and she could. but that does not mean that her heart doesn’t race in her chest at the mere thought of so many things. she fears death ; but does not blink at the thought of it. she fears being alone ; and yet does not cry when she is lonely. she fears meeting her f r i e n d s after all this time should she be unprepared.

                and she is. wholly unprepared and wide-eyed at the mere sight of the e l f sidling along glistening streets in Kirkwall ( and the city still h a t e s her ). the elf with eyes made out of the emerald graves and the smell of b l o o d on her clothes. unmistakable. unquestionable.

                Merrill.

           HAWKE HATES TO HIDE and yet she has come to realize that it is, at times, unquestionably necessary. especially now. here. in the sky prison where Cassandra Pentaghast’s voice is shriller than any darkspawn scream, where howling anguish reaches the Champion’s ears even high up in the battlements. its made her creative in her search for places of safety among the inquisition ( which, she has accepted, there are few of ).

             she sits now in the somewhat hidden, darkened stairwell that smells of potions and spell-sparks ( it leads to the mages, and the r a v e n s she’s sure ). and she hasn’t been found out for quite a while, at least not by anyone who would feel need to let loose her secret. until now.