so rookwood... what's so appealing about him??? can you yap about everything about him because I know NOTHING and im willing to entertain this delusion of yours
let me introduce you to my favorite old man. as always, starting with canon:
he was an unspeakable (-> he worked in the department of mysteries)
we know he was a friend of ludo bagman's father, and ludo, not knowing that rookwood was secretly a death eater, passed him some information
he was named by karkaroff and then imprisoned in azkaban, from which he escaped in the 1996 mass breakout
he fought in the battle of the department of mysteries, was imprisoned again, and again escaped in the breakout of 1997
he killed fred 💔💔 but he was then stunned by abertforth and probably sent to azkaban for the third time
this is literally everything.
for me, the most appealing thing about him is that he managed to fool everyone at the ministry just like barty fooled everyone at hogwarts. he worked in the ministry's top-secret department, and at the same time, he used the imperius curse on everyone around him to get information to send to voldemort, without ever being discovered, without raising any suspicion. and who knows if they would've ever caught him if karkaroff hadn't talked.
i think he joined the death eaters because he was a miserable man. he knows criminal circles for work, and he first heard of voldemort on a mission. he probably can't even tell you what the death eaters' ideological agenda is; he doesn't really care, he just wants a master. he's good for nothing but following orders, but he also has a bloodlust that the ministry won't ever accept. he became an unspeakable just to be some sort of soldier, but it wasn't as satisfying as he thought. as soon as he found voldemort, his loyalty went to him.
he's completely impassive and emotionless most of the time. he's a lone wolf. he works alone and alone only, so when voldemort tells him to babysit barty, it's torture for him. he doesn't care how good, smart, or helpful barty could turn out to be; he doesn't need help.
except, he grows fond of him the more time passes. because sure, barty is pushy and annoying when he wants something; no matter how many times augustus curses him, he doesn't give up. but he's also a great observer, and he learns quickly. when they're forced to work together, barty knows what to do before augustus even asks, and he does it well. he has a soft spot for the "kid." they're a good team, after all.
small moodboard just because... yes...