( closed. ) there is no crime in being kind.

[fightingale]

WHO: closed to Araceli, Ariadne, Beleth, The Iron Bull, Isabela, Legolas, Solas, Teren, Zevran, with possible sending crystal appearances by Leliana if necessary and a collection of nps.
WHAT: Antiva Mission; freeing slaves, dealing with a Merchant Prince, capturing an Orlesian noble and maybe recruiting some Antivan chefs.
WHEN: Roughly 1st - 5th May, with a gentle touch of timey wimey
WHERE: Antiva City, Antiva (and thereabouts)
NOTES: Plotting post & ic recruitment log (if you want to thread Leliana approaching your character to come along just lmk and I'll get to it asap.)
Themes of slavery, all the terrible things Venatori do that could be mentioned, the existence of Zevran and Isabela, and general carnage. (Please add any surprise warnings to subject lines, bruhs.)

Starters being added in the comments :]b

Comments

[ombranera]

Raise and raise well. It was not an ideal situation- my mother dying and leaving her debt and another mouth to feed- but they took care of me and the other children; made certain none of the customers ever were under the impression we too might be bought, and ensured we were not hungry or beaten for scampering about as children are wont to do. Most trouble we found came from wandering the market beyond the brothel, finding trouble as street urchins are wont to do.

[ He never spoke much of those women, the life he led in that warm, colorful building. It all seemed too personal to share with most but Araceli...Araceli would understand. ]

It is where I learned how to braid my hair and apply basic makeup- I could never quite get the hang of the way they would line their brows or eyes when I was that young, but I could color their lips quite well. [ Ah, memories. ] I think it is because the Inquisition was founded as a branch of the Chantry- and the chantry mothers and sisters might find a brothel on the grounds to be sinful? I do not understand it myself, Sorellina, I truly do not.

[foxsays]

There's no such thing as debt with the whores at home, that isn't how it works at all with us; like everyone on a ship is one crew, that is how it is in the brothel. One of the younger women there before I left was my first. We were friends, she was nervous, I was nervous, if that can be believed. [Some firsts she shared on the docks, in the taverns, or with her thief friends, but some things seemed safer under her mother's roof. There's always that safety for her, knowing she can always go back and be welcomed.] If I had wished to take that path they would have taught me but she taught me all the other things that people never think you can learn in a brothel.

I...I confess that I still find it very hard to think of it as sinful when what my mother still does is considered to be healing. To be with a Bride is to be embraced by the sea, to be healed, to be comforted; even with a consort - that is what the whores call themselves, consorts to refer to the gender or genders they prefer to lie with, it makes it simpler for all parties - when they do not need to provide the same healing, to be with someone? How is it sinful? We were given a body to feel alive, I have always felt so alive and connected. Loved. [There's a moment of pause, careful consideration as she tips her head to think about a few instances in the past. Not hurts, more selfishness on the part of others and she shrugs.] I think some of your Chantry mothers and sisters are the ones who are in need of it the most.

[ombranera]

Growing up around it as I did my introduction was quite practical. This is what happens, this is what might go wrong if you are not careful, this is how to be certain you are not hurt, so on and so forth. Not all Antivans share that easy education quite so early but most do not find lovemaking to be so shameful a thing. After all if one sins one must light a candle, pray for forgiveness, and move on with one's life. In the South...

[ Zevran shrugs. ]

Things are quite strange here, this is true. The closest to your Brides I can think of, considering what I know of them, would be Tamassrans of the Qunari. For them it is a need that is filled, a manner of healing.

[foxsays]

That was what the sailors did for me; my father's friends all knew me, he's one of those sorts of captains - the captain that commands respect even from what rivals he might have? Friendly rivalries, everyone only wishing to push one another to be the very best that they can be. And Marjani, the woman who taught me to duel, she made me more aware but that is the sort of thing that sort of teacher does at home, a special sort of bond.

[Both rapiers are tapped lovingly, another reminder that she carries her home with her wherever she goes; what belonged to Marjani now belongs to her, will perhaps one day belong to another girl, maybe a boy. She'll teach Leandra's child or children one day.]

But the Qun do not have love. Not the way Korrin has explained it to me - there is no choice in the Qun. 'This is your place, the place that is chosen for you'. That is no way to live a life. I have chosen my path and... [Glancing over at him betrays a hint of her nervousness that she might not have had prior to going to Antiva before but she doesn't wish to upset him, but she didn't miss his hesitation when she said she loved people in Thedas.] And I think now you have chosen yours at last, you are letting your kestrels have the chance to choose theirs. Everything in Castileos is done with love, it's naive in Thedas I'm sure, but I would never change that.