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allthisshitisweird2016-07-22 05:47 am
faderifting) wrote in allthisshitisweird2016-07-22 05:47 am
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE MEME!
TEST DRIVE: ORLAIS EDITION
I. EVERYBEAR I GO
Believe it or not, there are bears in Orlais, too. Stuffed ones posed in noble salons casting intimidating shadows as lords tell unlikely stories about how they bravely stared the great beast in the eye before they slayed it with a single shot. One comtesse keeps bears as pets in large pens on her estate, much to the distress of her nearest neighbors. But most common are the dancing bear acts found on street corners here and there. Perhaps there is some sort of special bear communication network that has passed on a message, because it seems like the presence of the Inquisition has inspired these bears to finally make a break for it out of servitude, and that is how you find yourself being chased by a bear in a belled hat down a narrow cobbled alley lined with street vendors.
II. OUI OUI MON AMI
The Inquisition's efforts are currently focused on Orlais, where a civil war is raging and intelligence indicates Corypheus seeks to eliminate Empress Celene, while the oppressed elven population's discontent threatens to bubble over into a second rebellion. The Inquisition's activities here are mostly political and designed to gather influence and information: endeavoring to make a good impression at the ball of an influential comtesse with ties to the Council of Heralds, or assisting with the reconstruction of the alienage district destroyed by fire. There are rowdy soldiers in taverns to eavesdrop on, and restless crowds listening to streetcorner speakers preach Celene's virtues, or Gaspard's, or lament the end of the world.
But honestly, who cares about any of that? Halamshiral also offers great high-end shopping. Priorities. Gowns, tunics, fur-trimmed cloaks, sleeves slashed and puffed with layers of bright-colored satin. Tall boots with gold spurs to clink as you walk. Veils, lace-trimmed smallclothes, perfumes, necklaces worth your weight in gold. If you have the coin, the shopkeeps have time for you. The slightest whiff of poverty will leave them cold toward you. They might even pretend not to see you, but hey: they work on commission.
Even among decadence and finery, there are signs of unrest. In an out-of-the-way village square, little Orlesian children gather to throw thick gold coins in a gilt fountain, with whispered wishes and giggles. All at once, a thief pushes his way into their circle, breaking the idyllic scene. He leaps into the fountain and grabs a handful of coin. Thin, dirty, ragged, hollow-eyed and, under the hood of his cloak, elven, he scans the now-screaming children -- and then takes off running.
“Stop him!” howls one precious Orlesian cherub, her rosy cheeks streaked with tears. “That dirty knife-ear took my money!”
Kids are just the cutest.
III. SKYHOLD
Skyhold is where people who don't like fun accents and life being a constant masquerade hang around repairing walls, filling out paperwork, and, on rare occasions, engaging in elaborate, color-coded team snowball fights.
That last occasion? Totally over. Now the Inquisition will see you work, work, work, work, work. Working to save Thedas is not all fun and games, and there are plenty of things to keep you busy in Skyhold. See that roof over there? It has a hole in it. Climb up, someone suggests, and fix it. See that hole over there, in the wall? Some drunk from the tavern fell through it yesterday, and it needs repairs. See that floor over there? It’s dirty. And here’s a mop.
If these tasks seem too menial and demeaning, perhaps you’d like to head up to the library and reshelve some books. Perhaps you’d like to meet a special friend there? The stacks are warm and cozy, and at least a little out of the way. Secret spaces are at a premium. But be careful: you aren’t the only one in Skyhold, no matter how many people shipped out to Orlais.
If warm ovens are more your style than warm books, try the kitchens. They could always use a helping hand - especially because one of the baby griffons has made its way down there. A sharp-beaked competition for your plans to pilfer snacks, but you’ll prevail, right? The griffon loves chicken, and the taste of your blood. Get her outside before she gets too comfortable.
Or just feed the dogs, you dirty Fereldan.
IV. WILDCARD
Thedas is a big place. Do something else in it. Maybe in the Hinterlands.
Corvo Attano | Dishonored | Rifter
Running away from things happens to be a specialty of Corvo's, but it is not one that he is necessarily happy to exercise. Considering that it is usually humans chasing him, and not massive bears wearing ridiculous hats? He finds the current situation even less enjoyable than usual.
He races along the alley, ripping off the stupid Orlesian mask that he's been told he simply must wear. It was significantly less unsettling than his own mask, but lacked the field of vision his had, or that he had on his own. Silently, he continues to run, his sight turned up to the walls of the alley. No air vents, nothing to climb on--Ah!
He whirls around a corner, and finds a balcony overlooking the alley. Not a picturesque view, but helpful for his needs. He raises the hand that doesn't have the green shard embedded in it, but it has a mark of its own, one that glows a bright yellow as he holds it towards the balcony, ignoring the bear getting ever closer. The air around him shifts, or more precisely, the scenery around him, enveloping him until he's quite invisible. He reappears within a blink of an eye, crouching on the balcony, and staring down at the now thoroughly befuddled bear.
"Shoo." He suggests, helpfully.
i'm wildcarding fight me
One of His is here, and those with the Outsider might be somewhat surprised when he does his equivalent of a Fade Step, what used to be the same teleportation power (or at least similar) that Corvo himself has. He rushes, sword in hand (not like those of the guards or the Overseers, but one made in Thedas) and magical wind howling around him to throw a demon backward. His free hand glows green, and this hand is offered to Corvo, though his eyes are fixed on the demons spilling from the rift.
"My dear Corvo," he all but sighs, but he sounds pleased, more human than he did when he would encounter Corvo in the Void. Perhaps even more notably, he is standing on the ground instead of floating, and he isn't wearing the same clothes he always wore; Thranduil has upgraded his wardrobe ("upgraded" both in quality and in that there is now more than one outfit in it). "You always did have a knack for finding yourself in unexpected places."
fights u
This, he feels,is a perfectly valid excuse to spend a few moments staring dumbfoundedly at the Outsider. But he's always been quick on his feet--and quick to his feet, which the occasion called for it. So he takes the strangely glowing hand (did he have that before?), rising up. Whatever is going on, the priority is clear enough, and Corvo turns to the rest of the monstrous creatures.
"And you are always there, Outsider." He pulls out his sword, feels for his gun--why isn't it there? He breathes out a small noise of frustration, and draws his crossbow instead. "Is this a new test? But--" He spares a moment to look around. If this is the void, then it's certainly gotten more...more. And greener. Not even a single floating whale. "--If it is, I think I would prefer to pass."
bites
"If it is a test, it is not one designed by me." It's possible that the Void itself has done this, pushed them to its sister-world of dreams and then out into its realm of waking, but he isn't certain. That is what frustrates him the most about Thedas, even as it excites him; he doesn't have the answers, doesn't know. He can See but only barely, only briefly, and there is so much to learn here that is completely unlike the world they came from.
The demons, for starters.
"This is another world entirely. And those-" with a nod toward the demons "-are demons. Unintelligent, in this realm, though not all are, but driven to attack the living nonetheless. Myself included." Unfortunately. "The green fissure in the sky, the Rift, that can be closed with the shard in your hand. It will stop more demons from coming out, but they will try to stop us."
More unsolicited advice, but at least this advice is fairly straight forward.
kinky??
He spares a moment to look at his hand, and sure enough, there is an eerie green glow to it, to match the Outsider's.
Wonderful. But survival is the priority, and when he's sure that he will live, he can spend some time being flabbergasted at the situation.
"You have a shard as well," he observes, starting to slowly approach the demons, angling himself just so. "I can hold off the demons from you, if you can close it." A man who rose up in the world from nothing through his skill with a sword, Corvo is cautiously confident that he can fight them. As for the Outsider--well, who knows what the full extent of his abilities are? "If you cannot--Then I will handle it."
:3
It is, he supposes, probably something Corvo feels more or less all the time, since the death of Jessamine.
"The Rift is an opening to the Fade, this world's realm of dreams and spirits. It is not meant to be there and it fights to remain open. The shards in our hands are linked to it, but it is not magic I have a mastery of. We will keep the demons off of each other to get there, and close it together."
He realizes this is probably rather strange for Corvo, but perhaps it will make him realize the gravity of the situation they're in.
no subject
That change, at least, is a welcome one.
Corvo nods, mouth set, expression grim. "Together, then. Afterwards, a longer explanation would be welcome." A pause, and then his lips twitch in what's almost a smile, as he mutters what's almost a joke. "If I'm not dead by then." But he hasn't suffered and survived through what he has to die here, in an unknown world, against an unknown foe. So he grips his sword, and rushes the demons.
Or, close to it, at least--before he can reach the demons, he jumps, higher than any human should be able to, and holds out his left hand. Then he blinks, one moment there, another behind the demon, sticking his sword into it. An unknown foe, but they are killed all the same.
no subject
Still, he has seen Corvo fight enough to be able to anticipate what he'll do. He vanishes as well, into the thick of several demons, and then blasts them away with wind. One is slammed into a rock and crumbles into ash right then and there; the others, the closest ones, are swung at with his sword. Where he may be different in this world, he's still, at least, inhumanly strong.
no subject
He dodges the damned fire with a roll to the side, sliding and hoping back up. Another glance is spared for the Outsider, but he seems to be managing just fine. Which is--Well, Corvo didn't know what he expected, really. But it makes sense that he would wield the Void's magic so effortlessly. Once he's sure the other is fine, he resumes his attack on the demon.
There is one thought that occurs to him, as he thrusts his sword into one of the demons, and quickly backs off as it melts into the ground.
"Are there others here, and will they be inclined to burn either of us at the stake for using magic?" It certainly won't stop him from fighting the demons right now, when survival is the priority. But it'll be nice to know if he might have to make a run for it afterwards.
no subject
"There are others. Humans of the largest faith in this world tend to place their mages in towers so that they can learn and be observed in case they are dangerous, but that system has broken, recently." And much of Thedas with it, though the Circles were hardly the only problem. At least, that's the understanding the Outsider has. "Some may think you're a demon yourself, but you are allowed to defend yourself."
He made certain of that for himself, and as Cassandra has some title and power, he imagines her word is at least Good Enough.
"But they are not like the Abbey, no; magic is common here." That, he supposes, is really the root of the question -- and this is all said as he fights, beheading a wraith with one quick stroke and leaving it to crumple into ash.
no subject
Corvo is pretty sure that even towers are a step up from being burned alive, but as that is apparently not an issue anymore, he doesn't bother to comment on it. He does raise an eyebrow at the idea of being called a demon, turning to the next one he was fighting. An unsettling fellow, floating around in rags. And that was ice that was being shot at him. This time, he waves his hand, and a gust of wind blows the shards away. The irritating foe is dancing around the field, but Corvo has had enough experience with Daud and his bothersome assassins. He grabs his crossbow, firing shots off as he walks backwards towards the rift.
"I fail to see the resemblance." He mutters. Sure, they both fell from a rift, but he isn't a giant lava monster, now is he? "But I am thankful that magic isn't outlawed. I'd rather not be jailed again." Because, really, if one more person tries to lock him up, he's going to get really irritated. Once he's sure that he's lobbed enough crossbow bolts at the demon, he stows the crossbow to raise his hand and jumps, blinking behind the demon and using the momentum to cleave it.
no subject
"Humans are afraid of what they do not understand. That has always been true."
Even Corvo, a human himself, should realize that. His life since the death of his Empress has been such as it is because, in part, of fear. While it will not be as full of masked sneaking about in Thedas -- well, probably not -- there is still that current of fear that runs through the world.
There is none, presently, from the Outsider, who almost happily decapitates another demon.