faderifting: (Default)
Fade Rift Mods ([personal profile] faderifting) wrote in [community profile] allthisshitisweird2017-12-20 08:53 pm
Entry tags:

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!

youwonscience: (Lies divide)

Tavern - lmk if any of this needs tweaking!

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-17 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
It takes a while for Cosima to hear that one of her sisters has arrived. In fact, that's not what she hears first at all; she hears that she herself has been possessed, which led to some digging...

...which has led her here, to a tavern she's not visited before. She'd thought of asking Herian to come, but the truth is, she wants to do this on her own. From the description, she's almost positive it's no one she's met. (Sarah can be obnoxious, but not people think she's possessed obnoxious. Probably.) And until she knows who she's dealing with, she wants to keep it in the family, so to speak.

(That said, she's wearing her small dagger. Just in case.)

The mound of furs at the bar doesn't immediately register, so Cosima's approaching the bartender to ask if her face looks familiar when Helena turns to try to pawn the shot off on the person next to her. She looks startled -- not to see her own face, that's getting less weird (though it's been a while), but at this particular iteration. "...hey," she says, cautiously, because it's almost certain she's been seen as well.
Edited 2018-01-17 19:05 (UTC)
strangel: (pic#)

it's perfecto

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-17 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
When Helena moves there's something disjointed and fluid about it, at the same time. Her head and neck turn, and then the rest of her body follows. She's wearing a t-shirt advertising The Clash under the furs that she's, and though the blood is gone, there's still a bullet hole in it. Less noticeable in the poor light of a tavern, but there all the same.

At first her eyes widen, then narrow, and the corner of her mouth jerks downward sharply for a moment.

"How did you get here?"

A clone, an... abomination, Tomas had said and she had believed, but Sarah said they all had a light in them. Helena was not the original, she was science baby too. And she had wanted Sarah to make her family, them to be family, and Sarah had shot her. Then she had wound up here, so...

She grabs a shot that smells better, drinks it, and asks the logical question.

"Did sestra shoot you, too?"
youwonscience: (Every little bit’s got a billion bits)

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-17 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um, no. Nope, never been shot." (Immediately she curses herself for giving the universe that opening.) "I'm Cosima. I came here through a rift - one of those big green lights in the sky? I'm guessing that's how you did too, huh."

It's not... really a question, but sort of. Clone club aside, Helena's pretty clearly a Rifter unless The Clash is secretly from Ferelden, but what she remembers about her arrival is less of a foregone conclusion.

"Were you shot... recently? Do you need a doctor?"
strangel: (pic#)

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-17 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes." A nod, certain. "We are demons being sent to hell, through the rifts."

It fit with what Tomas would say, what the nuns would say. She was an abomination, and she had fallen through the sky into hell. So far as hell went it wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

"Our sestra Sarah shot me." It's a compelling reason for why she hasn't lunged at this stranger, yet. One is the seed of doubt, yes, and that if she is dead then logically this other clone is dead too, but the other is because she is sore. It wasn't as bad as when she was first shot, but she hooks her fingers into the collar of the shirt and pulls it down. Modesty is not a concern - she shows off the raw wound. Not quite healed, not okay, but Helen is used to functioning with pain. If she is already dead then it doesn't matter. "I dreamed I was able to walk and move, and I arrived here without having to lie down and bleed so much."
youwonscience: (Every little one’s got a million things)

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-18 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Sarah shot you?" There's ... a lot to unpack there, frankly, but her first instinct is still to help, even faster than her brain can catch up to why would Sarah shoot one of us. "Do you mind if I take a closer look a that?" There's not much she can do here, but at least she can get a sense of whether it's infected.

"I don't think this is hell, for what it's worth. And I've seen demons, they're usually, uh. More like made of lava or covered in goo."

This may or may not be comforting news, but this is a lot for Cosima to process all at once.
strangel: (pic#)

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-18 09:22 am (UTC)(link)
An affirmative sort of grunt, as she reaches for another drink, though she doesn't drink this one. Just swirls it around the glass experimentally, sniffs it, and sets it down before dipping her fingers into it and letting the alcohol drip from her fingers onto her tongue. Her other hand reaches out, and smartly taps on the arm of Cosima's glasses.

"Your eyes are not making good sight," she points out. "Should it be trusted?" Lava or covered in goo probably not the sort of thing that it's possible to get confused about because of glasses, but she thinks she still makes a good point.

With a sniff, Helena rubs her nose, and compliantly tugs the shirt down again - though she's watching Cosima carefully, almost not expecting her to come close after Helena just tapped the side of her head not entirely gently. The skin is inflamed, the wound dark and puffy; it's certainly not healing well, even if Helena's trip through the rift has done enough to make sure she doesn't die from internal injuries. Her body may be a little better at healing than that of other clones, but she's still human.

"I thought we had connection."
youwonscience: (oh my love it's time)

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-19 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
"I do just fine with the glasses," Cosima assures Helena, firmly but not unkindly. She leans in, willing to risk being this close, to take a better look at the wound. A sharp exhalation, then her brain catches up.

Glancing up, Cosima asks, "You thought you had a connection... with Sarah?" Suddenly, she realizes who this almost certainly is. Her eyes widen, a little. It's subtle, but Helena knows what fear looks like. Even so, Cosima doesn't jerk back. "She disagreed," she adds, of Sarah, a little dry to cover her nerves.
strangel: (pic#)

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-19 02:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Yes." Yee-eee-ees; slow, a little drawled, almost. She sees the fear. Fear is an expression she is very familiar with, in this face. Not always from the abominations, either. "Don't worry, little sheep. I know we are all the same flock."

Her smile is somewhere between sad and mocking.

"Sarah and I are twin sestras. The science mother said so. She cannot disagree."
Edited 2018-01-19 02:46 (UTC)
youwonscience: (There’s a million billion trillion stars)

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-20 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
You murdered Katja, she does not say aloud. And presumably others, though she'd known Katja a little -- at least via phone. Still. Either way, Helena's reassurances could be more reassuring. Instead of dwelling on that, Cosima focuses on:

"Twins. Wow, that's... I mean, I guess it's not totally shocking, under the circumstances, but. Unexpected." She'd ask how Sarah took that news, but... maybe self-evident.

"She's not here. Sarah isn't, none of our sisters are." That 'our' isn't emphasized, but it is a deliberate choice. "The Inquisition would have found them, I'd have heard by now if they were. It's just us."
strangel: (pic#)

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-20 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Just us. Just... them. Just her and this strange woman. Helena eyes her, cautious and intrigued, before glancing around them, and leaning a little closer. The glasses and the hair and everything make this woman strange and interesting.

"Why just us?" A moment, and— "What is Inquisition? More science people?"
youwonscience: (you're on your own)

[personal profile] youwonscience 2018-01-24 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Definitely not more science people," Cosima says, firmly. "You know the demons that attacked when you first came through the green rift? They're trying to keep them from hurting people. They've got some other goals too, but that's one of the big ones."

She holds up her hand, after a quick glance around to make sure it's not going to draw too much unwanted attention. "We can help them, because of this thing. I've been doing that. I don't know why we came through and none of our sisters have so far."
strangel: (pic#)

[personal profile] strangel 2018-01-24 11:26 am (UTC)(link)
Her gaze pans to the stranger's hand, and slowly back to her face. It is so different, and so familiar. She looks like a woman from a magazine.

"You are protecting people from demons?" Okay. Alright, she can process that. Dream way into another world, wake up with a glowing hand, fight monsters, meet one of the not-abominations.

Helena remembers something, and her mouth quirks with a strange smile. "Sarah said we all had light in us." Helpfully, she taps the strangers hand. "I think this is not what she was meaning—"

What did she say her name was? "— sestra Cosima."