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October-November Test Drive!

TEST DRIVE MEME

➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!

NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | and | KANTO

ALSO, AS PROMPTS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, and in the spirit of Halloween: August's GHOST TRICK event!

O-Bon festival: The streets are lined with NPC-run stalls for food, games, and the assorted tchotchkes of every summer festival you’ve ever seen in your animes! There’s Goldeen Scoop, heaping cones of Swirlix Candy, Test Your STRENGTH (there are two different machines for people and Pokémon; HM04 not required); basically, if you can think of it, it’s there. There will also be a yukata rental stall if you want to go full hog on the cultural side of things. Ecruteak boasts a small stage where the Kimono Girls give a short performance once every two hours; the festivities in Lavender Town are a little quieter, but they also have Haunter-shaped ice cream treats. When you lick them, they Lick you!

On the last evening of the festival in either location, there will be a large bonfire and traditional bon-odori dance in which everyone is welcome to participate. In Lavender Town only, they also set paper lamps afloat in the water past the cliffs.

Who you gonna call?: Remember “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak”? Well, some of the local Gastly, Duskull, and Yamask seem to have gotten it into their heads that this kind of tomfoolery is somehow good medicine. If your trainer had someone in their life, someone now dead, that they have unresolved business with, these ghosties may take it upon themselves to play a little dress-up and follow your trainer around in the guise of said dead person until the issue is resolved. It’s their way of saying thank you for all the spiritual appeasement of the festival.

These ghosts won’t speak; Pokémon don’t talk, after all. So yes, your trainer is going to be followed around by some silent echo of their past who will not leave them alone.

Or, of course, write your own!

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Not a hole just...

[Hold on-- Did he say the champion. Immediately her hackles rose. Her expression grew dark, while the pounding in her chest kicked up even further.]

The Champion... I heard she disappeared after the explosion in Kirkwall. [That was what happened, right? The Chantry fell to pieces, and she woke up here. Did that mean that someone was posing as her? It seemed unlikely, if Varric was involved. Surely he would have set the record straight (preferably with Bianca and an arrow through the chest of the impostor).

She? [Krem's pretty sure the person he had met was male, both biologically and in presentation. Not many human women could grow a beard in any case. That was a talent usually preserved for dwarves he was sure.] The man Varric claims is the champion seemed pretty close to any stories I had heard.

Garret Hawke...Has a sister in the circle? Or, well. I suppose there isn't much of a circle left at the moment.

[No. No, no, no. It had to be some sort of demon. There was magic afoot, a glamour bewitching enough to fool Varric and her other friends.]

You don't understand. My name is Hawke. Marian Hawke. I am the goddamned Champion of Kirkwall, not this- this... Garrett fellow.

[And a sister? Bethany had died outside of Lothering, brutally killed by a darkspawn Ogre.]

Is this some kind of game to you then? Tell lies about Thedas until I'm driven mad? [If it was, it was working.] Perhaps a joke. Haha, joke with the jokester. Give her a taste of her own medicine.

[Truth be told, she was having a bit of a crisis. The idea of someone replacing her, potentially tarnishing her name. Fuck the rest of what the man was telling her about-- about the world being in chaos. What of her reputation?]

[Not that Krem thinks it's relevant, but Hawke had a brother who died outside of Lothering. It was a rather sad story, really. But what hits him more is that this woman is claiming to be the Champion of Kirkwall. And she knows nothing of Corypheus. Or the rifts.]

I'm...honestly not sure what to say to that. I'm not playing any games, the world state is a damned nightmare, and some fanatical Tevene bastards following that monster aren't giving anyone time to breathe with all that they've destroyed, all the people they've killed.

You of all people, if you're who you say you are, should know just how bad red lyrium can be. And they're force feeding it to people. Why would I make up such a cruel reality? [He could hardly stomach it himself when he saw the abominations that were created from abusing the toxic substance, and he had seen some shit in his time.]

Red lyrium?

[Of everything, that was enough to make her stomach bottom out. She didn't understand it to the extent that Krem might have, but she didn't need to. She had seen it at work, seen it destroy the mind of another man.]

[But that was supposed to have been a localized incident. She'd paid good money to have any information regarding the thaifg and what was found there wiped from the record. The last remaining piece, aside from the still missing idol itself, had been destroyed for Varric's own good. And the idol itself wasn't enough to force feed to people, at least not enough to make the kind of impact that Krem was implying.]

So, if I am understanding this. The world is at war. Some creature named Corypheus is destroying everything, and people are being forced to consume red lyrium.

Oh, and I am, apparently, a man.

Am I missing anything?

[Maker, was it a lot to take in.]

According to Varric, you both met him before and killed him. But I suppose he didn't really die.

[Krem has to think a moment, if there was anything else earth shattering to come to terms with...] With the inquisition now allied with the free mages, there is hope for the future to remedy the problem of the southern circles and their tie with the templars and the chantry. And...from what I've heard, Garret ran off with Anders after the disaster in Kirkwall and was in hiding before Varric called him to Skyhold to help with Corypheus.

[He is a little curious to see if that part holds true. Also perhaps he's a little curious as to the varying gender of the Hawkes he's now met as well.]

Anders... lived. [Whether or not what the man said was true, Marian still felt a wave of guilt crash through her. Someone had thought Anders deserving of mercy. She had not. She'd been so willing to run him through, to let him suffer for his crimes. It was the right thing for the Champion of Kirkwall to do, after all.]

[But then, that was the blighted problem. She'd ignored what Marian Hawke had wanted, and was instead resolved to sacrifice everything for the good of her city.]

Anders... destroyed the Chantry. That is all I remember before waking up here.

[Was it really all true? Had the world fallen to pieces after everything was said and done?]

One last question. Varric... didn't seem possessed, did he? He still had Bianca, and he still spins unbelievable tales? [If Varric could trust this other person, then she could-- there was no way about it. There was always the chance that Krem was lying, of course, but what did that matter now. There was nothing he could do to harm her here, and whatever lies he spun would have little effect on Thedas.]

I'm not aware of his location, but the champion seemed a little anxious to leave him by himself for too long. [After what had happened, he was sure that was for good reason, but perhaps not just in the way most people would think. If he had heard most of Varric's story right, about Kirkwall, there was more to the mage than just his affinity for blowing up religious buildings and starting wars to try and save the majority.]

But, no. Varric was questioned by the Seekers for some time before he was released. If he was possessed, I doubt he would still be alive. Dwarves aren't really very susceptible to that sort anyways from what i've experienced. And if he can get Commander Cullen stark naked in a game of Wicked Grace, i'm sure that he's still the man you know. At least if how he told that story is any dead give away.

No, they aren't but... [If red lyrium was a problem, then could she truly trust Varric to keep his nose out of it? Demons might have avoided him, but she couldn't say the same of the dwarf when it came to that particular intrigue.]

I suppose it doesn't matter. I trust your judgement. [She wasn't sure why. She still had no idea if she truly could trust the man. But as she had concluded earlier, there wasn't much damage he could do to her here.]

[At the very least, she could allow herself some small amount of amusement. She snorted at the idea of Cullen (the Cullen she remembered, she hoped) naked. She couldn't say she was surprised that Varric was involved. Maker only knew the sort of messes Varric had gotten her into.]

So. The world is falling apart and Varric can still strip a man down? Some things never change, do they?

Thank you- [He pauses a tick, unsure of it himself, but adds after the slightest hesitation.] Champion. I can't say I will be of too much use to you here, but the Chargers were paid for back home, can't say I wouldn't feel a little bad if I skimped on my duties here either.

[Even if it was the inquisition that paid for their services, he can offer them to the...champion of Kirkwall. As strange as two of them existing may be.

He can smile at the idea of Varric never changing though, He's not as close to the Inquisitors companions as The Iron Bull is, but he hears things, keeps his eyes open. He knows that the whole business has effected everyone, it's impossible not to feel the pressure of it. He's glad that Varric can still find small joys.] He's writing a new book I hear. Swords and shields maybe. Cassandra's been after his manuscripts, though I can't imagine they're more than smutty drivel. How he even manages to pen anything right now is a mystery to me, but perhaps that's his escape.

Personally I'd rather just hit things.

[Admittedly, her eyes glazed over once more as Krem continued on about things she couldn't quite understand. Who Cassandra was, she'd never know. The books she did recognize, but she made a point of giving them a wide berth. Given Varric's propensity for writing outrageous things about her, Hawke wasn't going to get anywhere near his work.]

[Still, it was good to know he was still keeping on, even if the world seemed to be ending.]

Spinning tall tales always was his favorite way to spend the evening. [Even though Hawke sounded bitter, she was still smiling.] I'm with you, however. Hitting things is much more pleasant.

He spun a good one for the seekers when they were looking for Garr- You. [He slips up, but it's hard. Perhaps he should just use Hawke. It's easier that way.] Cassandra wanted to kill him when Hawke did show. He said he had no way of contacting you.

[That had been kind of funny to hear, them yelling at each other from below.] He's a good friend if he's willing to lie to the seekers.

[To her credit, Hawke was getting at least slightly better about not reacting to that odd name. It was weird to think that there was another version of her running around in a world she didn't recognize.]

[Fucking magic.]

He is a great friend. He pulled me from nothing and stood by me when I was something. Of all my friends [And that included Anders] he is the only one who hasn't hurt me.

[That got him to sober a little bit.] Those are hard to come by.

Usually when they do it's like a casual hello, a selfless act and then they're there forever. I wouldn't ever let go of that. I hope he doesn't have to either.

From all I've heard of you, perhaps he can say the same about you.

Don't be silly, man. [Her laugh felt only slightly forced.] Of course he feels the same about me.

[If only he was there. It might have been easier to work through everything if she could hear his snarky voice telling her all about the messes she found herself in. If it wasn't for blondie, you'd be sitting pretty on the Kirkwall throne, Hawke, he'd probably say. She would laugh, buy him another pint, and secretly mull over his advice.]

[She felt a little selfish, thinking about how much she needed Varric, when it was more than likely that he needed her. Perhaps not this Varric, the one who apparently had a Garrett Hawke to tend to him. But what of hers? Was he warring with his own battles against the red lyrium?]

[Grateful as she had felt for the distractions, even for the moments of clarity, she still found herself worrying over the people she had left.]

That all does sound like Varric, though. Perhaps not the selfless part but... what's the difference between a crossbow bolt and a hello, really?

[He laughs to, if only thinking about his own 'hello'.]

My hello was a sword stopped short by another man's face. They're good for you, right? Keeps you grounded. Guess in a place like this all you've got is the memories of them.

Maybe that's good enough. Sure hope so.

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October-November Test Drive!

TEST DRIVE MEME

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