TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Maybe you’ve been around for a while, or maybe you’re new to the Inquisition. Maybe you’re new to Thedas, having recently fallen from a tear in reality and been collected by uniformed rescuers. Whoever you are, you’ve been sent to Kirkwall, to an outpost where many of the Inquisition’s members and allies work on some of the biggest mysteries and problems the organization must solve if it’d like to keep the world from ending, where “ending” means “falling under the power of an ancient powerful corrupted being who wants everyone to bow to him as a god.”

And just to be clear, it would like that. It would like that a lot.

I. THE GALLOWS: The Gallows is an island fortress in Kirkwall’s harbor. It’s been home to, in order: Tevinter slaves, a Circle of Magi, a lot of creepy red lyrium, and now the Inquisition, which has occupied the fortress with the provisional Viscount’s blessing. There are walls that still need rebuilding and corners that still need dusting, but for the most part the Inquisition has gotten down to business. There’s space in the stone-floored courtyards to train or spar; or, if your skills don’t lie in the realm of hitting things, there’s a large library and several offices supporting the Inquisition’s areas of research and diplomatic efforts. If you don’t know what to do with yourself, then by all means, ask; someone will definitely be able to put you to work.

II. KIRKWALL: A quick row across the harbor will take you to Kirkwall proper. The city is built into the cliffs, from exclusive and wealthy Hightown at the top to impoverished Darktown in the abandoned mining tunnels below. In the middle is Lowtown, home to taverns, merchants, and plenty of trouble to keep anyone looking for it happy. You’re welcome to spend your free time and your money here—but try not to annoy the locals too much, please, in case their welcome runs out. It’d be a shame to have to pack again so soon after arriving.

III. QUESTING: Barely had time to make yourself at home, did you, before you were sent away from Kirkwall again—but this time on a mission. There’s a rift outside of Markham, pouring demons into the fields, and the Inquisition has been asked to lend a hand. Maybe literally. If you have an anchor embedded in your palm, you’re needed to close the damn thing. If not, maybe you’re here to fight demons or guard against bandits on the road, or to gather samples and take notes on the rift’s location once its closed, or to speak to Markham’s nobility afterwards to make sure that they fully appreciate the Inquisition’s efforts. Regardless, it’s a long trip, so we hope you like campfire cooking and sharing a tent.

IV. SENDING CRYSTAL: Joining the Inquisition gets you access to the very latest in barely-understood magical communication devices—namely, a crystal, small enough to wear around your neck, that will allow you to communicate verbally with anyone else who has one. Or everyone else who has one. Say hello.

V. WILDCARD: The whole of Thedas is yours to explore, from coast to uncharted wilderness. Choose your own adventure!

Comments

[bethamphetamine]

( She opens her mouth to snap something back, and closes it again. There's... a lot.

Sarah, train station. She remembers seeing a woman before she stepped in front of that train, but she'd been so desperate and everything had been so final. Beth's head is spinning. )

I didn't have to die. ( Slowly; quietly. ) Some woman was walking around calling herself Beth Childs and people didn't realise right away. I— ( A quiet breath of laughter, devoid of any kind of mirth. ) We could have had more time.

( She didn't have to die. Her fingers smooth over her hair, her jaw flexes. Art, Paul, all of them. God, Sarah even has a kid. Sarah has everything, she thinks, in a spiteful, furious moment.

Beth should say sorry. She knows she should say sorry, and there's a whole lot more she knows, but her mind is caught on this: that she killed herself to protect her sisters, and they didn't need her gone at all. )

[youwonscience]

I could have told you that before you did it, [Cosima says, quietly heartbroken.]

I wish you'd called. I feel like I failed you. I didn't know you felt so trapped, I thought we'd have more time.

[She loves Alison, for all they have so little in common. She's coming to care about Sarah, for all they find each other endlessly frustrating. But Cosima's not a leader, and they'd all looked to Beth.]

She couldn't ever replace you. No one could.

[bethamphetamine]

( For a time, Beth is silent. She doesn't know what to say, what to do. It feels like she's right back on that platform at Huxley. The din of the tavern is the rush of an oncoming train, the clatter over the rails—

Her breath comes in a quick, painful gasp, as she shakes her head, snaps out of it.

Cosima's here. Cosima is alive and real and solid. Beth's just not sure about everything else. Her jaw feels tense and slack at the same time, she looks pale and hollow, and she exhales shakily. )

I couldn't. If I spoke to you or Alison, I don't know if I could have gone through with it.

( And that was what she had to do, right? What she had to do to protect them? Tentatively, carefully, like one of them is made of glass and the other is hot coals, and shattering is the only possibly outcome of contact. She's honestly not sure which is which, when she finally lays a hand over Cosima's. )

I'm sorry.

[youwonscience]

[Cosima is the glass; or, at least, she's the one who breaks, as a couple of treacherous tears roll down her cheeks.]

I've missed you, you jerk, [she says, quiet, and not really meaning the second half at all.]

I'm even in Toronto now - well, not now, now I'm in Thedas, but you know what I mean. It felt like you should have been there.

[bethamphetamine]

( Beth's jaw trembles very slightly, before she shakes her head a little, like that'll dismiss it and she glances away from a Cosima.

It doesn't do much good. She's still not looking at Cosima, but a tear roll down her cheek as she stands, moves the short distance between them and tugs a Cosima up out of the chair. )

Come here.

( Don't make her say it, just let her pull Cosima into a hug. )

[youwonscience]

[She buries her head against Beth's shoulder, hugging her close. For all that she said she'd mourned Beth, she hadn't had time to do it well, busy racing the clock against everything trying to stop her and their sisters. There had been Sarah, and then there'd been Delphine, and Leekie, and it had all been a lot.

But losing Beth had hurt. It's been more than a year for Cosima, but suddenly now that Beth is in front of her, and telling her she did what she did for Cosima and Alison...

...it's too much.

Damply and muffled, she says] I wished for you to be here. I thought you couldn't be, but I wished for it anyway.

[bethamphetamine]

What happened to the objective scientist, huh?

( Its a joke, because she'd fairly sure Cosima is one of the least objective people she knows. So many feelings. Her arms tighten around Cosima a bit, and she's silent before adding, )

I never wanted to hurt you. Either of you.

[youwonscience]

The objective scientist figured the cop would be way better at all the running and fighting living in a real-life fantasy adventure involves, [she grumbles, a bit thickly. Then:]

I know. But I didn't want you to feel like it was all on you, either. That you didn't have anyone else to turn to.

[bethamphetamine]

Oh, yeah. We did a great unit on bows and arrows in basic training.

( Sooooooo dry, but she adds a quiet, ) Sorry.

( Gently, Beth eases back and shrugs, a little lost. Dazed, maybe. ) Does it even matter anymore?

[youwonscience]

I mean, you can run a mile and you aren't blind when someone takes your glasses away, so [with a wavering smile.]

It matters to me. And you're here now, however that works.

...on the bright side, there is literally no way Neolution can get to us here.

[Is that a joke? If you squint, maybe it's a joke.]

[bethamphetamine]

I can run twenty. ( JUST you know, that she can do.

Beth looks at Cosima for a moment, expression turning darker, shuttered. )

Don't. We don't know that. ( And then, snapped out: ) Stop looking into the Neos, Cosima.

[youwonscience]

Okay, A of all, even if one of them comes through the Fade the way we did, they don't have resources here. People here have fought actual dragons, I have friends that can do things I don't have good explanations for but, of all the things I am worried about in Thedas, Aldous fucking Leekie isn't one of them.

[She exhales.]


...he let me see my genome. Before I came here. And he's a raging asshole and I will enjoy him going down one day, but information is the only thing I can contribute to Clone Club. I can't make us a cure with no access.

[bethamphetamine]

Aldous Leekie isn't the worst one.

( Her voice sounds hollowed out, and she leans against the table. Not quite a marionette with strings cut, but one whose threads have been allowed to sag in parts while they are pulled too tight in others.

Leekie giving Cosima information when it was information death had to die for is making her skin want to crawl right off her bones. )

You don't know what you're getting into, Cosima. It's a rabbit hole. Any time you think you're in control is a delusion.

[youwonscience]

Well, if you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of an extended Renaissance faire, so I'm not doing much of anything with Neolution at all as long as I'm trapped here.

[She resists the urge to say that, however much Beth thought she was keeping them safe, they weren't safe, and Cosima couldn't just sit there and do nothing. It's not helpful, especially not when they're here. She makes a mental note to avoid bringing up Delphine any time soon. (Possibly ever.)]

I'm trying to bribe someone to bring me enough real glass to make a rudimentary magnifying glass, the science has gotten real slow.