allthisshitisweird | TEST DRIVE MEME!

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TEST DRIVE MEME!

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.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TDM FEATURES SNOW.

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, currently covered in snow and ice; 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, currently very cold. 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. In the snow!

II. KIRKWALL: A quick row across the near-freezing harbor will take you to Kirkwall proper. The city is built into the cliffs, from exclusive and wealthy snow-dusted Hightown at the top to impoverished Darktown in the abandoned mining tunnels below, where discarded waste is presently frozen into slushy brown ice. In the middle is Lowtown, home to taverns, merchants, and plenty of trouble to keep anyone looking for it happy. And a lot of snow. You’re welcome to spend your free time and your money here—but try not to annoy the locals too much, please, in case the Inquisition's welcome runs out. It’d be a shame to have to pack up and leave in all this snow.

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 Denerim, in the snow, pouring demons into the snowy 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 snow-covered road, or to gather samples out of the snow and take notes on the rift’s location once its closed, or to speak to prominent locals (in the snow) 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. And snow.

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.

There is no snow on the crystal, unfortunately.

V. WILDCARD: The whole of Thedas is yours to explore, from coast to uncharted wilderness filled with bears, and did we mention that there is snow? Anyway: choose your own adventure!

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Rey exhales a laugh, though it's entirely humorless. She doesn't find this situation funny, it's making her stomach hurt. But she can feel the conflict in him even now, rolling off him in waves.

"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me. I know what's in your heart, Ben." She didn't want to do this, not here, in this place. She'd left him on the Supremacy because she had felt so betrayed by his choice. There had been the briefest moment when she'd seen what they were capable of together, how strong they really could be, and then he'd turned and stubbornly continued down that path that was so fraught with danger.

He steps closer, wary of her dog as he does. If the dog doesn't try to tear his leg off before he gets within touching distance, he approaches enough to lean into her space.

"Do you? I made the mistake of letting you in once, but that doesn't give you permission to claim to know what's really in my heart." He could reach out and touch her if he wanted to. Instead he leans in close like he'd done during one of their earliest moments during their connections with the Force. She'd called him a monster, telling him she knew everything she needed to know about him. He still didn't think she knew nearly enough, even if he'd let her see glimpses.

Padawan growls again, low and dangerous as Kylo gets closer, but again Rey waves her off. She isn't afraid of him, not anymore. She holds her ground as he leans into her space, lips pressed together over clenched teeth. Her gaze holds steady on him, remembering when he'd advanced on her like this before. She couldn't see him as a monster, not anymore. He had pain in his eyes, even when they were angry, that angry originated from so much pain. It was something she'd never be unable to see again.

"You let me in more than once," she finally replies, evenly, despite her own emotions wavering, threatening to give way both to anger and despair. "You fought at my side. I know you felt the same things then that I did."

"I did. That doesn't mean I let it cloud my judgement." Save for the one moment of weakness when he had asked her to be with him. That had come far too close to some sort of disgusting love confession and he hates himself for it. She clearly hadn't felt the same, given she had turned away his offer.

"I thought you saw things the way I do, but I was mistaken." He straightens to his full height again, taking a step back. This topic was making him feel disgusting and vulnerable and he hated it. He swallows and then clears his throat, gesturing to the dog at her side.

"Where did you find this creature?" A change of topic that was hopefully safer than his conflicting emotions.

She wants to point out that yet again, no, he'd let his hatred and pain cloud his own judgement, taking him down that path that she couldn't follow. Maybe they'd both just been wrong about one-another, and they were still entirely alone, separated.

She doesn't though, when he changes the topic. Frowning a little at him referring to Padawan as a "creature, she rolls her shoulders. Padawan's ears which had been perked up before, listening carefully to the exchange between the two humans, went back as soon as she was referred to in a manner she didn't appreciate.

"Careful. She can understand every word you're saying. She was a gift from Obi-Wan. He named her Padawan, and she became mine when he left." A constant and faithful companion. Rey likely would have been much worse off when Obi-Wan disappeared, if she hadn't had Padawan with her.

"Is that so? Well, she's doing a good job of it - looks as if she's attached to you at the hip." He didn't have pets, but he'd enjoyed meeting a fair few on various travels when he'd been a child and his father had taken the time to show him such things. He remembered playing as a child, rough housing with friends and getting covered in dirt, but such carefree memories were long gone along with any desire to have something as frivolous as a pet - whatever this was. It looked like a dog.

In a rare bit of show that betrayed who he was beneath the mask of Kylo Ren, he actually gets down on Padawan's level, curious and wanting to make a study of her. If she wanted to attack him, he'd defend himself, but for now he takes his gloves off and holds out a hand.

Padawan looks entirely confused by the sudden change in this hostile human in front of her, and looks up at Rey, letting out a curious whine, as if she's asking Rey "what the hell is with this guy?" Rey on the other hand is watching Ben carefully, because she's seeing the cracks in the mask again. If she can just reach in and pull, she feels like she can reach him. So she takes a hand off one of her lightsabers and gently pats Padawan's head.

"You can say hi. I won't let him hurt you," she gives him a sideways glance, because she's serious about that. Right now she likes the dog more than you, Ben. After that, Padawan looks back at Ben and lets out a huff, stepping forward to sniff his hand, before nosing her way under it looking for more rigorous petting.

He was curious at the dog's presence. She was large and bulky - more like a miniature bantha, minus the longer fur and the horns, than any dog he'd ever seen. He hesitated at first, his hand flinching away when she began pressing her nose under his hand. For a moment he felt fear, knowing that this dog could tear him to pieces if he did something wrong. Carefully, he brings his hand over her snout, along the side of her face to her neck. His other hand follows the same trail on the other side.

"She's native to this place? I've never seen anything like her." He looked down at the creature in his hands, his brown eyes covered over by long lashes from Rey's view. Dare he say he was in awe. She looked like a powerful beast in her own right and if there was one thing he respected it was power.

Cautiously, Padawan's tail starts wagging when she realizes that this human is clearly just badly in need of some affection. She leans into him, turning her head to lick his chin.

Rey can't help the smile on her face at this and she nods her head at Ben's question.

"She's called a mabari. They're bred as warhounds, here. Fiercely loyal, and steadfast in battle. They choose who they're bonded to, not the other way around."

He makes a face, trying to respond to what Rey is saying to him and failing as he's being showered with dog kisses. His hands move down her back, scratching the fur there too, before coming back to her ears.

"Ugh." It was all he could manage while being showered with attention. Hastily, he wipes the slobber from his chin.

Well, Padawan knows that noise and she stops licking him, letting out a little wuff and sitting down, looking at him with an expression that clearly says she thinks he's rude for making a face when she was being nice.

"You don't have much experience with animals, do you?" Rey comments, tilting her head down a little.

"Not since I was a kid, no." When one was one of the most feared people in the galaxy - animals and people kept a good distance. He looks from Rey to Padawan, petting the dog's ears some more. It wasn't his fault, he thought. Not entirely.

"I'm pretty sure my mother wouldn't have wanted any pets around - maybe a dog if she wasn't too busy to care for one. One of those ones with pointy ears that can sit in your lap."

"I could see her with a mabari," Rey replies, looking down at Padawan with a fond smile. The dogs were strong, tenacious creatures, which seemed to be an earmark of their breed. They'll fight until they can't anymore.

"She's tough, like they are."

"I couldn't picture her here. Dog aside - I don't see her being able to sit still here." Both of his parents would have a problem with it, honestly. It had been part of his problem with them - neither knew when to take a step back and just see him. He had given up on any notion of that a long time ago, until it was too late to repair things.

"I'm not surprised you've done so well." He clears his throat, rising to his feet again when it became uncomfortable kneeling on the ground for Padawan. "Any theories you want to share? We don't belong here."

And he might be in a hurry to leave, honestly. The longer he's this close to her the harder it is to keep up his usual presence. She made him softer, weak. It made him uncomfortable.

Rey can't see Leia here either, really. She wouldn't want to. The galaxy needed the general, needed her strength. She wouldn't have said she could see Ben here either, and yet here he was. Sticking out horribly, but he was here.

She can only shrug at his question, shaking her head.

"I've been here over a year. Rifters have left, but we don't know if they go home, not really. I would think they do since Obi-Wan was from so far in the past, but..." she frowns, shaking her head. "There are people studying the rifts and the Veil, but I've only been involved with them when they've asked for information."

"Then we just stay?" He feels frustrated all over again, bits of his usual mood leaking out into his presence. "There has to be someone to get better answers than that from."

And if he had to force it out of someone and risk this Inquisition's ire - well he doesn't really give a damn. Tense, he crosses his arms again, clearly not pleased. Rey may be complacent with this place but he isn't. He had things he was doing back home and he'd been quite busy with those things.

"You can ask the people who have been studying the rifts," Rey replies, looking a little annoyed at his dismissal of her experience. Though maybe she was complacent. She had had Obi-Wan for a long time, and having him here with her had profoundly helped. He had been able to teach her, and as tumultuous as the state of Thedas was, it was a more peaceful place to learn than her own galaxy had been.

"They might even let you work with them, if you have better ideas on how to get us back to our homes than they do."

"I don't. I have no ideas. That's the problem. I don't deal in space anomalies anymore than you do. I pilot things. That's it." And kill people but that goes unsaid. "We can't even do that here."

He didn't mean to sound angry at her. This wasn't her fault anymore than it was his. It just frustrated him how she wasn't as angry about it as he was. She had the time to accept her situation and he had none of it.

"I know that Ben, I've been here longer than you have." She doesn't yell at him, but her voice gains a bit of an edge, her frustration slipping through. "I didn't even remember what happened between us until a few days ago. I woke up and suddenly it was like I had extra time in my memory that wasn't there before."

She's still sort of processing that, and she's angry about it. She'd been happy before, thinking that the galaxy was probably fine without her, and while she had never at any point suffered any illusions that Kylo Ren had died on the Starkiller Base, she also hadn't known what had happened to him. She certainly hadn't cared about him. Now all of a sudden she had these conflicting feelings that she didn't have before.

He makes an effort to calm down, to relieve the tension inside him from this worry and fear that they were actually stuck here forever. He has to remind himself this isn't Rey's doing and he can't force answers out of people, as much as his instincts dictate that he very much can. It wouldn't get him anywhere. He needed to be more strategic about it.

"You forgot...?" His eyes meet hers, surprised and, deep down, a little hurt. They might be at odds but he still felt for her - something he tried hard to repress even as he'd told his uncle with such confidence that he would kill Rey. He didn't know that he could.

"Maybe it was better not to remember."

Self depreciation was his default. He kept his thoughts to himself, only showing them through action - often times anger being the one that showed itself the most. He wasn't angry that she had forgotten the Force Bond, only a bit sad due to how much they had shared with one another. He'd understood her and she him, even if he was a difficult man to understand most of the time.

"I didn't forget, it was like... it hadn't happened to me, yet." It's hard to describe, and she's still trying to work it out for herself. She regrets telling him as soon as she sees his face, and she almost moves towards him, but holds herself back.

Her feelings are just a little too conflicted right now for her to give in to.

"It's better for you that I remembered. If I hadn't I'd be dragging you to the Gallows prison, right now." Part of her wonders if she shouldn't do that anyway.

"Right. LIke you meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi. Time flows here differently, like a wormhole." A strange one at that. At least she made him feel a bit better. He didn't want her to throw him in jail. He didn't see his actions as wrong, for a start. If the Resistance wanted to fight with him, if any number of planets wanted to fight with him, he would conquer them just as his grandfather had. He would be greater than his legacy, far reaching until not a single person could hear his name without fear inside their hearts.

"I'd love to see you try." He smiles a bit, finding the idea of it humorous. It was true, however, that she had bested him. He wasn't currently suffering a bow shot wound at the moment and that made plenty of difference.

Rey raises her eyebrows at that, trying to decide if he means that as a challenge or not. straightening her back a little she tilts her head to the side, her hands going back to her lightsabers. They'd drifted away in the course of their conversation, but now she rests them there deliberately.

"I have a year and a half of training I didn't have before, two lightsabers, and a warhound. You think I couldn't?" She knows he's got more training than she does, but when it came to power with the Force, she's confident she's his equal.

"A year and a half? Amazing. So much experience, how could I ever hope to match against it?" Now he was just being mean, holding up both hands on either side to show that he had no use for his lightsaber in its current state and that he was attempting not to be a threat to her. Though he was showing he wasn't a threat, he knew he could still very much challenge her in other areas.

"Though, I suppose us fighting does no good. We'd tear this place apart trying. I doubt the locals would appreciate that." Not that he cared. He didn't want to fight with her but recent events had proven they would be at odds in a lot of ways, even as they were on even ground in others.

He's trying to get under her skin, but oddly enough it isn't quite working. She actually smiles slightly at him, a corner of her mouth lifting.

"I beat you with no training. Imagine what I could do with that year and a half." She knows he was injured, and that's the only reason she won. But if he's going to be an asshole, she can dish it right back to him.

She has no intention of fighting him, of course, and her posture doesn't change, relaxed, but alert. She's aware that needling him isn't the best of ideas, but she can't bring herself to be afraid of him.

"There's miles of open land outside the city, if you really want to fight."

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