Fade Rift Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
faderifting) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
allthisshitisweird2021-02-07 07:33 pm
faderifting) wrote in allthisshitisweird2021-02-07 07:33 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE MEME!
TEST DRIVE MEME
While in some alternate, tidier timeline, the War against the Elder One ended years ago, you're not in that timeline. It's 9:46, and there's a war raging in northern Orlais, where the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, marshalling Orlais and the faithful of Southern Thedas into a new Exalted March against the army of demon-bound Wardens, Red Templars, Venatori loyalists, and darkspawn Corypheus has amassed over the last four years. Rifts are still scattered across the continent, periodically spitting out strangers from strange worlds with green-glowing anchors embedded in their hands. There's no Herald of Andraste to save Thedas. Someone else is going to have to do it.
You're part of (or allied with, recently hired by, imprisoned by, etc.) a new organization that's an offshoot of the Inquisition, dubbed Riftwatch, that consists mainly of the otherworldly new arrivals, rebels and Wardens, and other people who want to prevent the apocalypse without necessarily marching under the Chantry's banner to do it. Their headquarters is an island fortress called the Gallows—formerly a Circle of Magi, more formerly a prison for slaves, but its new occupants have done a good job removing the more grotesque reminders of that past and making the place livable.
Maybe you're here because you want to help. Maybe you need the money (though there isn't much of it). Maybe you acquired an anchor and sticking around is the only way to prevent your hand from falling off. Maybe you've been sent by the Chantry or some other entity to keep an eye on everyone—they're rumored to be a lot of weirdos and troublemakers. Or maybe you're a new rifter and just going where the nice people with swords tell you that you need to go.
OOC: We post Test Drives fairly infrequently! But current players are strongly encouraged to track new top-level comments to the post so they don't miss new arrivals, and new folks should not be shy about commenting just because the post has been up for a while.
I. KIRKWALL: Even when enormous evil darkspawn are trying to take over the known world and you and your colleagues might be the only ones who can truly stop him, you can't work all the time. And when you aren't working, Kirkwall is there for you, with its dingy Lowtown taverns, its flashy Hightown establishments, its market stalls and street musicians and underground network of old mining tunnels inhabited by the disenfranchised and a few violent criminals. Or maybe you can work all the time, and you're in the city to do some official shopping, keep an eye on a suspicious character, or show a potential financial backer a good time. The city is grey, cold, and in places vaguely sinister—but it's home.
II. SUNDERMOUNT: North of Kirkwall lies the highest peak of the nearby mountain range. In more ancient days it was rumored to be the site of unspeakable horrors, but at present prowled by more speakable horrors, like possessed skeletons, shadow warriors, and the rare revenant or varterral. And you've been sent to prowl along with them, inside the winding caves that cut through the peak or over the snow currently coating the paths that wind around it. The reasons vary: maybe you're in search of medicinal herbs, maybe you're tracking a party of suspicious travelers lurking outside Kirkwall, or maybe you just took a wrong turn off the road trying to travel in or out of the city.
III. ORLAIS: Further south, Orlais is weathering the winter and the invasion of its northern territories in its usual style—which is why you're here, in a snow-blanketed manor just outside Val Royeaux, representing Riftwatch at the invitation of a gathering of masked nobility who have gathered to discuss ways to support the war effort while not starving their serfs and alienages. And to play parlor games. Maybe have an occasional chamber concert. Your role may be to actively participate in the planning, or it may be to be charming and noncommital while observing, or it may be to provide an example of a well-behaved rifter/elf/mage/Qunari/Fereldan. Regardless: your best behavior is expected, but that doesn't mean you can't sneak into the Duchess' very well-appointed library at night or slip away to try sliding down the length of a frozen reflecting pool in the gardens.
IV. THE FRONT: Riftwatch is no longer part of the Inquisition or directly engaged in the war that it, the Chantry's faithful Exalted Marchers, and Orlais are fighting against an invading Tevinter and Ander force in northern Orlais. But frequently enough, Riftwatch's business—delivering helpful intelligence, spending quality time with prisoners of war that might have information, assisting soldiers with a rift they've found too close to their camps, or passing through on the way somewhere else—requires passing near or through the frontline drawn through northern Orlais and now northern Nevarra, where it's possible to encounter enemy bands of dracolisk-mounted soldiers, fire-throwing mages, or particularly nasty darkspawn with red lyrium growing from their bodies.
V. SEND A MESSAGE: Each member of Riftwatch (or rifter, or ally) is assigned a blue crystal, small enough to wear around the neck, that can transmit voice messages, as well as an enchanted book tied to that crystal that can be used to exchange written messages. They're secure enough to discuss the war, if you'd like to get down to business, but loosely controlled enough to ask a question or play a game with only a few rolled eyes from people who hate fun.
VI. WILDCARD: From the Gallows' library to the pirate islands off the coast, from Hightown's high-priced market stalls to the bloody frontlines of the war, Thedas is yours to explore.
While in some alternate, tidier timeline, the War against the Elder One ended years ago, you're not in that timeline. It's 9:46, and there's a war raging in northern Orlais, where the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, marshalling Orlais and the faithful of Southern Thedas into a new Exalted March against the army of demon-bound Wardens, Red Templars, Venatori loyalists, and darkspawn Corypheus has amassed over the last four years. Rifts are still scattered across the continent, periodically spitting out strangers from strange worlds with green-glowing anchors embedded in their hands. There's no Herald of Andraste to save Thedas. Someone else is going to have to do it.
You're part of (or allied with, recently hired by, imprisoned by, etc.) a new organization that's an offshoot of the Inquisition, dubbed Riftwatch, that consists mainly of the otherworldly new arrivals, rebels and Wardens, and other people who want to prevent the apocalypse without necessarily marching under the Chantry's banner to do it. Their headquarters is an island fortress called the Gallows—formerly a Circle of Magi, more formerly a prison for slaves, but its new occupants have done a good job removing the more grotesque reminders of that past and making the place livable.
Maybe you're here because you want to help. Maybe you need the money (though there isn't much of it). Maybe you acquired an anchor and sticking around is the only way to prevent your hand from falling off. Maybe you've been sent by the Chantry or some other entity to keep an eye on everyone—they're rumored to be a lot of weirdos and troublemakers. Or maybe you're a new rifter and just going where the nice people with swords tell you that you need to go.
OOC: We post Test Drives fairly infrequently! But current players are strongly encouraged to track new top-level comments to the post so they don't miss new arrivals, and new folks should not be shy about commenting just because the post has been up for a while.
I. KIRKWALL: Even when enormous evil darkspawn are trying to take over the known world and you and your colleagues might be the only ones who can truly stop him, you can't work all the time. And when you aren't working, Kirkwall is there for you, with its dingy Lowtown taverns, its flashy Hightown establishments, its market stalls and street musicians and underground network of old mining tunnels inhabited by the disenfranchised and a few violent criminals. Or maybe you can work all the time, and you're in the city to do some official shopping, keep an eye on a suspicious character, or show a potential financial backer a good time. The city is grey, cold, and in places vaguely sinister—but it's home.
II. SUNDERMOUNT: North of Kirkwall lies the highest peak of the nearby mountain range. In more ancient days it was rumored to be the site of unspeakable horrors, but at present prowled by more speakable horrors, like possessed skeletons, shadow warriors, and the rare revenant or varterral. And you've been sent to prowl along with them, inside the winding caves that cut through the peak or over the snow currently coating the paths that wind around it. The reasons vary: maybe you're in search of medicinal herbs, maybe you're tracking a party of suspicious travelers lurking outside Kirkwall, or maybe you just took a wrong turn off the road trying to travel in or out of the city.
III. ORLAIS: Further south, Orlais is weathering the winter and the invasion of its northern territories in its usual style—which is why you're here, in a snow-blanketed manor just outside Val Royeaux, representing Riftwatch at the invitation of a gathering of masked nobility who have gathered to discuss ways to support the war effort while not starving their serfs and alienages. And to play parlor games. Maybe have an occasional chamber concert. Your role may be to actively participate in the planning, or it may be to be charming and noncommital while observing, or it may be to provide an example of a well-behaved rifter/elf/mage/Qunari/Fereldan. Regardless: your best behavior is expected, but that doesn't mean you can't sneak into the Duchess' very well-appointed library at night or slip away to try sliding down the length of a frozen reflecting pool in the gardens.
IV. THE FRONT: Riftwatch is no longer part of the Inquisition or directly engaged in the war that it, the Chantry's faithful Exalted Marchers, and Orlais are fighting against an invading Tevinter and Ander force in northern Orlais. But frequently enough, Riftwatch's business—delivering helpful intelligence, spending quality time with prisoners of war that might have information, assisting soldiers with a rift they've found too close to their camps, or passing through on the way somewhere else—requires passing near or through the frontline drawn through northern Orlais and now northern Nevarra, where it's possible to encounter enemy bands of dracolisk-mounted soldiers, fire-throwing mages, or particularly nasty darkspawn with red lyrium growing from their bodies.
V. SEND A MESSAGE: Each member of Riftwatch (or rifter, or ally) is assigned a blue crystal, small enough to wear around the neck, that can transmit voice messages, as well as an enchanted book tied to that crystal that can be used to exchange written messages. They're secure enough to discuss the war, if you'd like to get down to business, but loosely controlled enough to ask a question or play a game with only a few rolled eyes from people who hate fun.
VI. WILDCARD: From the Gallows' library to the pirate islands off the coast, from Hightown's high-priced market stalls to the bloody frontlines of the war, Thedas is yours to explore.
no subject
[ Just don't think he's forgotten about that hesitation, that probably. He can imagine that the other version of himself would never extend his neck out for this man.
So clearly the first place to start in his Superior Loki Greatest Hits meets Thedas project is finding out more about how to protect Benedict. From a distance, unless direct intervention is required. ]
Ah, Asgard. The bastion of peace amongst the Nine Realms. What do you want to know about it?
no subject
Asgard is a place?
no subject
It's gone, now. [ More or less. ]
no subject
Tentatively, he asks:]
...how?
no subject
It doesn't work as well as he'd like. But he does feel... strange anyway. He blinks, slowly, taking another thoughtful pull. ]
Ragnarok. [ That's not an answer and he knows it, just... give him a moment. ] A prophesized end to Asgard, in which a Fire Demon named Surtur destroys the planet.
[ He's going to zoom right over the fact that it was his fault Surtur was resurrected on Asgard in the first place. He wasn't there, not really. He can avoid that neatly by the construction of time variance, right?
Right. ]
no subject
Huh.
no subject
My turn for a question: what convinced you not to remain a traitor for your homeland?
no subject
He thinks about the question for a moment, staring at the ceiling with smoke drifting up from his nostrils.]
...Colin, [he resolves, frowning, trying not to let it hurt.]
A healer. He's off to the front now. When I thought I'd be executed the next day, he sat with me all night, just so I wouldn't be alone.
[He purses his lips.]
I'd never known that sort of kindness could be... I don't know. Real. Expecting nothing in return.
no subject
If it's not, and he's say, dying, he doesn't want to know about it right now. Weird thought to have, but okay. ]
I hope Colin is the attractive sort, at least.
[ He opens his eyes and winks at Benedict.
That sort of kindness is often rather unreal, in Loki's experience. Either someone is lying, or someone is good. Either way? Unreal. ]
But I'm glad you left the experience with your neck intact. [ Otherwise they wouldn't be able to talk now. ] It's your turn for a question.
[ They're having a round-robin, apparently. ]
no subject
[A little smile twitches onto Bene's mouth in response to that wink, but it's too gloomy to be properly mischievous; Colin is attractive, but that's another conversation that takes a lot of unpacking, effort expended when all he has wanted to do for days is lie here, like this, and smoke.
His limbs have begun to feel heavy, his skin warm and electric, as the stresses of the day drift out and away.]
Here, you're the son of a Magister, like me, [he muses,] but a second son. Not the scion. Like me.
[He angles his head to look at him.] Are you still? Nobility?
no subject
[ He's getting confused by the placement of words, there, but then raises his eyebrows. ]
I'm a Prince. A god, by some humans' measure.
[ An easy shrug. ] I have been alive for a very long time for the record.
no subject
Yes, [he says slowly, and after several seconds' pause,] I am the. Scion. [Another pause, and then to clarify for both of them,] only child.
[He takes another hit, his eyebrows climbing in the meantime, intrigued.]
A god?
no subject
The God of Mischief. My brother, Thor, is the God of Thunder. Suffice to say, he is the favorite. Though perhaps I'm not the least favorite anymore, now that Hela exists.
Has existed.
It's hard to say, there's no one to ask anymore.
[ He blinks at that, and snaps his mouth shut before taking a pull on the hose and leaning his head backward. This time, when he blows smoke rings, there are also smoke horses that run through them, around Benedict's head, and whinnying into the relative quiet of the room before they evaporate.
Loki chuckles. He's forgotten it's his turn for a question. ]
no subject
[This is absurd. Enough so that he claims to be a god, but that--]
Thor??
[Benedict can't contain the laughter that bubbles out of him at the notion that Thor, heir to House Asgard and giant self-righteous blowhard, could be anything that important.
And then, because he's high, Benedict can't stop laughing. He lets the hose drop to clap his hand over his eyes, which have already begun to stream tears of mirth.
Mischief, Loki, sure, but this is... this is a lot.]
no subject
Besides, if he were mortal and someone he knew waltzed up and said 'by the way, I'm a god' he might have a hard time with it too. So. It's fine.
They're fine.
Benedict might be his new favorite though. ]
For the record, he's fairly terrible at it. Irresponsible, loud, boisterous, constantly causing trouble.
[ Sure, he was destined to get better, become a great hero in the Avengers and beyond them, but that was destiny. In the meantime Thor was Thor and while Loki loved him more than anything he would be the first in line to admit his brother had flaws. ]
no subject
What sorts of god things can you do? Smiting?
no subject
[ But Loki smiles; he likes to talk about himself, likes to show off. Benedict is being the perfect audience.
He starts ticking things off of his fingers. ]
I can change my shape to look like anyone and cast duplicates of myself that take up real space. I can teleport. I can call things to my hands with a thought, and summon them from a pocket dimension. I can hide my presence even in a one-on-one fight. What am I forgetting? [ He frowns a little. ] I can't be enchanted, my mind is too strong. Did I say teleport already?
no subject
That sounds... [He's high, give him a moment.] ...wonderful. Making duplicates of yourself. That would solve so much.
[He kicks his feet behind him, chin resting on his hands.]
I had a double once. Someone who looked so similar to me, I asked him to be my bodyguard.
[His smile fades-- then the double vanished, as Rifters tend to do.]
no subject
[ He frowns, because he is also high and has never been high before. It's very confusing. ] Duplicaters aren't permanent though.
[ Yep he sure said duplicators. More frowning. ]
It's like being drunk without the energy.
Oh? How'd that go? You look all... sad about it now.
no subject
[It means the same thing in his mind. At the moment.
He lapses into silence for several long moments, riding the high, smiling pleasantly to himself as all this new and ridiculous information washes over him. It makes perfect sense, at least for right now.
It might be a minute or a day later when he says,]
want a blowjob?
no subject
[ But he sits up and considers Benedict for a moment. ]
What about kissing?
no subject
no subject
Moving on hands and knees he crosses the space between them until his face and Benedict's are near enough to one another for him to reach out, put a hand alongside Benedict's cheek. He grins, still a little sharp for the amount of weight he feels in his body right now, before leaning in and kissing the other man.
It's open and wet and has a bit of teeth to it, but objectively? Definitely not a bad kiss at all. ]
no subject
The angle at which Loki approaches sends Benedict rolling onto his side and then his back, rather than crane his neck with improbable flexibility; it's important that they both be comfortable, seeing as neither of them has all that much muscle control.
Grasping the back of Loki's head, Benedict holds it by his own, breathing in the scent of him so strange and familiar all at once.]
no subject
Some time passes. Don't ask him how long, but his lips are swollen and he is very pleased with himself, thank you very much. He tilts his head a little, looking at Benedict with heavily lidded eyes. ]
Would you like a handjob? [ An offer for an offer, apparently. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)