#tualon

[inquisitorius-sin-bin]

The Imperial Inquisitorius

Nearly 66 hours over 20 days and 1 burst sclera blood vessel later, they're here.

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[archfey-edda]

Version 1 - Imperial puppets

[wookieejamcrew]

a pointed cod

[legomocfodder]

Some assorted Imperial minifigures.

Terisa Kerrill, Tualon Yaluna, Eli Vanto, Iskat Akaris, and Dedra Meero.

These figures are mostly purist, with the exception of Tualon's lekku, which I painted

[ct-hardcase]

maybe I'm off my rocker but I can see in a roundabout way how the inquisitor number system could be in induction order (to be clear, I don't put that much time into understanding it anymore, this is just the amalgamation of years of theories and being not normal). I'm assuming a lot based on headcanon and there are some asspulls/inconsistencies in there, but as follows, I think there are a few "cohorts" of inquisitors:

The First Brother through the Fifth Brother, to me, make up Cohort One. I assume Cohort One also is primarily made up of Inquisitors that were either volunteers, or assumed that they would be:

We don't know much about the First Brother, yet, but given his whole design and some verbal clues, I'm assuming he's a fanatic and was the first to turn, if not the first recruit as a whole.

I have a theory that Trilla was not originally supposed to be the Second Sister—Cere was, given her on-the-record doubts about the Jedi and her skill as a Seeker. However, Cere Junda, though she did think the Order was flawed, did not turn as easily as assumed. Trilla Suduri, who imo was originally a Tualon-esque bonus inquisitor, got the title after Cere made a break for it/it was clear she'd be harder to turn.

I also think that Reva Sevander was not the original holder of the Third Sister title. Barriss was. Though I'd assumed her to be the First Sister, she fits in this cohort's theme of "people the inquisitors believed to be voluntary recruits", and is the number most open to the type of replacement that I think happened with Reva and Trilla. After Barriss defects, the number remains open until Reva is recruited.

Given that the Fourth Sister was already acting as an Inquisitor at the time of Order 66, we can assume that she was an early, and voluntary, recruit.

Though the Fifth Brother is not on Nur with the rest of the aforementioned group, it's made clear through his internal monologue that he did not think highly of the Jedi, even before the Purge, and that his being an Artemesian could have set him up as a target for early recruitment. His flashback in the Inquisitors comic series also implies that he may have killed his Master during Order 66.

Cohort Two, if I had to define it, is made up of Inquisitors who were previously slated for the Inquisitorius, but needed more intense conditioning/torture before getting there, given that they were all present for Vader's introduction to the Inquisitorius. In my opinion, this is the Sixth Brother through the Ninth Sister.

The Sixth Brother's position here is an assumption, and it could go either way. However, there are narrative clues imo wrt him needing to go through the conditioning process (Ahsoka wondering who 'twisted his potential for good', his own 'but lord vader, we saved you' before the novel, etc.).

Though we don't know much about the Seventh Sister either, we can guess from Iskat's narration that she went through conditioning as well.

Much like the Sixth Brother, the Eighth Brother is an assumption. However, given his place with the other characters, we can guess that he needed more intense conditioning.

The Ninth Sister's initiation process has been extremely confirmed by her. "Torture, isolation, mutilation," says it all, I think.

This next cohort is more nebulous, since it's made up of characters I think had a variety of motives and levels of volunteerism. I'll go through my reasoning for why someone might have the number they do, but it starts to fall apart here.

The Tenth Brother, though I would thematically put him with Cohort One, may have taken longer to condition, or, like Cere, did not take to the idea of the Inquisitorius as well as expected. He was on Coruscant a short while after Order 66, but not with the group from Cohort Two (though I don't remember exactly when; I'd have to reread RotRB).

The Thirteenth Sister's higher number, I expect, comes from her taking longer to accept her Inquisitor title, even though she was a volunteer. Interestingly, she joined at about the time I'd guesstimate the Inquisitors from Cohort Two did, but she seems behind them, which confuses even Iskat narratively.

Tualon doesn't have a number, but given that he arrives on Nur after Iskat (who's on the later end as-is), I assume he's the Fourteenth Brother, or something close. I guesstimate he took longer than the Cohort Two Inquisitors given that he was not previously slated and needed more time to break.

Marrok I assume is Eleventh or Twelfth. He's a bit of an enigma, because other than the fact that he was on Nur at the outset of the Inquisitorius (making him the odd one out here) and a general deference to Vader, we don't know much about him when he's not a cloud of Nightsister Magick. Given where he is, I also assume he was a voluntary recruit, but have no clue why he wouldn't be grouped with Cohort One.

[tremendouskoalachild]

there is not enough about iskat/tualon. official or fan works. they have such an interesting and fucked up relationship! i want more evil romance!

[apas-75]

So last night I finished reading Rise of the Red Blade for TotE Vibes Research purposes and the two Inquisitor characters in it really illustrate exactly why I think Barriss is going to survive and escape them.

Because the thing is that there are two kinds of Inquisitors! The ones who volunteered, and the ones who...didn’t. Iskat (RotRB’s focus character) perfectly exemplifies the first type: she had some traumatizing experiences at a young age, fell through a number of institutional cracks in the Order, had a really terrible master (meet me in the pit, Sember Vey), everyone was too busy to give her the follow-up they would under normal circumstances, Palpatine had an agent actively gathering information about her and pushing her to become Worse—she was a pre-selected candidate who was offered the choice to come quietly when Order 66 hit, and she took it. By that point all of her issues and doubts had been exacerbated to the point where it wasn’t hard for her to make herself hate the Jedi, and then she rationalized her way through any indication that her freedom was a lie and doubled her way down right into hell.

By contrast: Tualon, Iskat’s crechemate situationship guy. He had some issues but was not someone on Palpatine’s radar; Iskat left him to die in Order 66 and he survived getting shot by darksiding out about her betrayal. Because of that he was taken alive and they did some shit to him. When Iskat runs into him at the Inquisitor HQ after he’s freshly-inducted he can barely remember why he hates her, or anything else from before he was taken. He woke up in the room where you fight Trilla and they fully shattered him and glued a semblance of a person back together out of the wreckage, just COMPLETELY Winter Soldiered the guy, and the only way he had to cope with it is to lean into a weird codependent situationship with Iskat.

And that distinction’s always been there with the Inquisitors; you have the true believers who ended up hating the Jedi or wanted to go on a power trip (or had the kind of revenge plan only a 12 year old could come up with and then stick to for a decade, in one case) and didn’t need any additional coercion to volunteer, and you have the ones that they broke. In the former group you’ve got the Grand Inquisitor, Reva/Third, Lyn/Fourth*, Fifth, and Iskat/Thirteenth. For the most part they’re certified freaks, but they came by it naturally. (Reva’s a different flavor.) In the latter, you’ve got Trilla/Second, Seventh, Masana/Ninth, Tualon, and probably most of the others. They all got disassembled and reassembled without much care given to the process and are all Coping with it badly in different ways, whether by deciding it’s Empowering, Actually (Trilla & Seventh) or by becoming completely jaded about everything (Masana & Tualon).

(*We obviously don’t know a lot about Fourth yet, but the fact that she shows up to recruit Barriss while rocking yellow dark side eyes before ROTS is even over tells me she’s definitely a volunteer.)

All this is to say: The Grand Inquisitor is making a colossal mistake with Barriss from the drop, and it’s why I think she’s going to win their battle of wits and escape. Because he is treating her like she is an Iskat and she could not be any farther from it.

He sends Lyn to get her to come quietly! They actively withhold information from her about what happened to the Jedi and what her expected role in it is! That’s not how they recruit the ones they think will be a problem; if that were the case she would have been stunned out of hand and woken up on a rack.

Instead, he’s giving her special attention,, he’s training her—he doesn’t think they need to break her. She’s just got a few...pesky hang-ups from her time as a Jedi that need ironing out**. He’s projecting on her; he doesn’t just want an empty shell holding a lightsaber—he wants Barriss Offee, loyally kneeling at his side, fully believing in their mission. She’s his favorite.

(**That “mercy only breeds defeat” line isn’t just a generic darksidism; I’m pretty sure he’s directly critiquing how Barriss got caught because she showed mercy to Asajj Ventress.)

And surely that's something he can turn her into, right? Because she hates the Jedi, right? She attacked them, she outsmarted them, obviously she’d be down for wanting to wipe them out! He was there when she confessed and, like pretty much everyone else in the room save for Ahsoka, he didn’t hear a single word that she said—just what he wanted her to be saying. He’s got a deeply incorrect idea of her, and that idea is “she’s just like me for real.”

And he’s wrong, because the Inquisitorius is everything she feared the Jedi Order was becoming—literally, an army fighting for the dark side—and the Empire is everything she knew the Republic was becoming. She might be prone to despairing, it might in some hypothetical be possible to get her into the same resigned despair trap as Anakin, but she would never actually want to serve the Empire, and they don't think they'll have to try hard to convince her to.

She loves the Jedi, she loved being a Jedi, she wanted to save them. She wants to be one again more than anything even though right now she thinks she doesn’t deserve it, thinks that she’s already too broken to reclaim what she was. But I think being surrounded by actual fallen Jedi and being told over and over again that she’s like them is, in the end, going to be what reminds her that she never stopped being a Jedi in the first place.

And as long as she can make sure her captors don't realize that's true until it's too late, she'll be home free.

[phantom-wolf]

Might I propose a discussion about the timeline:

Good now that I have your attention I wanted to discuss and hear people's opinions on it. What do you think the timeline is for when Fortress Inquisitorius was built?

We know Iskat was recruited by the Empire during Order 66. From then on she spent weeks or months in a cell (As far as I'm aware the book doesn't specifify a time frame). We know that the reason that the Fortress was built was because her and Tualon ended up causing damage to Coruscant trying to escape Vader. She seemed to be with the Empire and Inquisitors for a decent amount of time at the point in which she died.

Seems very cut and dry right?

Well maybe? But we also know Fallen Order takes place 5 years after Order 66. The Fortress is built by then so it must've been built some time after Order 66 and before Fallen Order.

However, we see when Trilla is captured. During that time Cere and the youngling she was with (plus Trilla herself) seem to be wearing their Jedi apparel. That paired with the fact that they're being hunted make it seem like that happens during Order 66. Unless I'm wrong about this and they were captured a few weeks/ months after the order? Maybe they had been stuck on the mission planet with no way to escape and had just been hiding from the Clones for a while?

Regardless Cere is held at the Fortress. I'm not sure how the Fortress would have been built by the time Cere and Trilla were captured if it took Iskat a bit to even become a full blown Inquisitor.

Perhaps Iskat was only held for a few days in a cell and it seemed like longer to her? Then everything else happened pretty quickly?

Maybe its just a continuity error? Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Thoughts?

[jewishcissiekj]

reading Rise of the Red Blade and do Iskat and Tualon have a shipname? love em and I want to know

[nerdyornothing]

I've been reading several other peoples reviews on Star Wars Inqusitor: Rise of the Red Blade, and I can definitely say there are certain points that I had a very different perspective of then some of them. As a bit of background on me, I am a queer neurodivergent person who grew up in a cult (christian fundamentalist type), so hopefully that explains some things. I can empathize with Iskat's anger, and I have an intimate knowledge of how hard it is when you feel like you're inherently broken and no one seems to care. I felt rage when she admitted this to the Jedi master and his reply was essentially you're not broken; you just need to try harder. I have been the child who hid and broke off pieces of themselves to fit in a mold that they were never meant to. The Jedi Order was messed up they tried to create black and white in a world of greys, and Iskat's story shows how it did damage. They weren't as bad as the sith, but they weren't good either. Both systems are inherently flawed. This book did a wonderful job of highlighting that. I wish Iskat could have found healing in the end or at least moved past the anger stage of grief, but that wasn't meant to be. I would love another book on Tualon and his journey from Jedi to Inqusitor as a companion. One final thing I'd like to highlight is that Iskat endured emotional neglect(at the least) and dealt with many of the same situations that cult members do, especially since she was indoctrinated from childhood keeping this in mind. It has been proven that abuse survivors (religious,emotional,domestic, etc.) will often seek out similar situations because they are familiar and "comfortable." (I am saying this as an abuse survivor) so her switch to the dark side makes sense on that level as well. She is a terrible person who enjoys being cruel and shows what can happen if you use trauma as a free pass to hurt others. Sorry for the long post. (No one's going to read this, so why am I apologizing?(probably trauma response(should I text my therapist..... probably)))

[generalpierrotdameron]

Iskat Akaris has spent much of her time as a Padawan traveling the galaxy with her Master Sember Vey, collecting artifacts and lost knowledge for the Jedi Archives. But after being recalled to the Jedi Temple, Iskat and her master are sent on a rescue mission. One that will change the futures of the Jedi Order, the Republic, and Iskat herself.

As the shuttle thundered through the atmosphere of the arid planet Geonosis, Iskat struggled to shut out the staggering cacophony of sensory input and focus on finding her center amid the chaos. This wasn’t just a rescue mission — it was a military operation. The Jedi were soldiers now, but they weren’t fighting alone. Thousands of clone troopers had appeared, seemingly overnight, to join them in supporting the Republic; there was even a clone flying their ship. After years of relative peace throughout the galaxy, the Jedi had swiftly mobilized to do their part as protectors of democracy, justice, and freedom.

Iskat was thrilled . . . and also overwhelmed.

She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes, one hand wrapped around her amulet, and the rest of the Jedi around her faded away to stillness.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

Master Klefan had urged her to turn to this mantra in the early days after the accident, and Master Sember had repeated it with her many times. The words were stamped on her brain, on her hearts. They transported her to the quiet within, made her feel as if she were the Jedi she was meant to be: calm, cool, collected, peaceful.

Reflecting on the Jedi Code almost made her forget Tika, but did she want to forget—?

No. She couldn’t think about that now.

That was years ago.

It hadn’t happened again.

Her teachers had seen to that, as had Iskat.

She’d studied. She’d practiced. She’d gained the control demanded of her. And now she was on a rescue mission, surrounded by Jedi Masters, Knights, and Padawans. She’d never drawn her lightsaber in real combat before, but it wasn’t her courage or proficiency that worried her, that made her two hearts beat so loud she was certain Tualon could hear them from beside her. She risked a glance at her fellow Padawan, with his glossy black lekku and look of determination.

“You ready?” he asked with an encouraging smile.

“As ready as anyone,” she answered.

Which wasn’t entirely honest. She felt more than ready. But Jedi were supposed to be humble and modest, and she knew that Tualon was a stickler for that sort of thing and didn’t want to appear too cocky. She admired him for his humility — as well as for his outgoing nature and genuine altruism. Tualon was the sort of Jedi she wished to be, the sort of Jedi she admired.

If she was truly honest with herself, Iskat had to admit that while she had no doubts about her dexterity, skill, or bravery, after yesterday’s duels with Charlin and Onielle, she had new doubts about her ability to handle herself when the stakes were high and a weapon was in her hand. She’d expected better of herself. And although no one had mentioned the incident with Onielle, she could feel the stares of her fellow Padawans as they sat beside their masters, buckled into place while they hurtled toward the desert sands of Geonosis. She could feel their eyes on her, sense their uncertainty.

Seated across the ship, Master Klefan Opus caught her eye and offered a nod and an encouraging smile. Iskat returned it, grateful to know that one master, at least, had faith in her.

She hoped that faith would not prove misplaced.

“Have you seen combat before?” she asked Tualon quietly. “On missions, I mean?”

He turned toward her to whisper. “A little. Master Ansho usually handles that sort of thing himself, but I helped fight off some bandits when we were escorting a senator on a diplomatic mission. Thankfully all our training — it just falls into place. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but we had to protect the senator. How about you?”

“We’ve never even drawn our lightsabers,” she admitted. “Usually, Master Vey and I either stand over a counter to haggle like normal customers, or some old adventurer invites us into his tent for tea. It’s all been very peaceful.”

She looked around the ship, which juddered and shook as it plummeted toward the planet’s surface. The air was thick and still, reeking of fuel and sweat. There were nearly twenty Jedi altogether. She wondered what sorts of adventures the other Padawans had experienced, if it was unusual for a Jedi of her age to be this inexperienced with actual combat.

“Do you think—” she began.

“That’s enough chatter,” Master Vey murmured from her other side. “It’s almost time. Remember your mantra. Concentrate on your breathing exercises, my Padawan. Don’t let the chaos in again.”

Iskat’s skin didn’t show a blush, but she felt the heat of shame at being reprimanded in front of Tualon and the others. Considering what they were about to face on the planet below, a rousing speech would’ve been more appropriate than public censure, or even some whispered reassurance. Tualon went silent and looked politely away so as not to entice her with further conversation.

Iskat’s long, red fingers wrapped around the cold metal bench as she closed her eyes and silently recited the Jedi Code again.

There is no emotion, there is peace . . .

The words became a comforting rhythm in counterpoint to the ship’s engines, a focal point that brought her consciousness into a state of calm where she was beyond shame, beyond worry, beyond fear.

“Landing in T minus three minutes,” the clone pilot announced.

Although she knew there were thousands of clones just like him headed to Geonosis, the pilot was the first of the Republic’s new troopers that Iskat had encountered. She had no idea what he looked like under his armor. How old he was, what color his eyes were, if he was more prone to smiling or frowning. All she knew was that his voice was sharp, his skills as a pilot were immaculate, and they would soon fight side-by-side.

The Jedi had surprisingly little intel regarding the mission; they only knew that Obi-Wan Kenobi had been ambushed by the massing Separatist army. Every available Jedi in fighting form was on a ship right now, just like Iskat. Unlike her missions with Master Vey, she had no way to know what role she would play, but she was excited to be among her fellow Jedi and pleased that the masters had deemed her skilled enough to take part in such an important undertaking.

She would prove worthy of their trust. She would follow their orders and embody their teachings. She would be part of the team that saved the day.

And yet, there was this persistent thought that kept breaking past her barriers, a pesky unwanted whisper wondering what might happen if instead of calming herself and quelling her emotions, Iskat relinquished the control for which she’d fought so hard and allowed the Force to fully flow through her. What strength might she find in that surrender? What power might she find beneath layers of repression? What might she accomplish now that she was facing actual adversaries instead of other children on a training field?

She clutched her amulet and banished the thought with the same energy she’d used to silence the cloying voice of the Sith artifact. This was a dangerous way of thinking. The Jedi Code existed for a reason, and history taught that those who stepped off the path often found tragedy. True greatness came from peace. From knowledge, serenity, and harmony. Iskat wanted to be great, and she wanted to do honor to the Jedi. In addition to Sember, other masters would be watching her closely during this mission. Her performance here might influence her future within the Order.

The shuttle whined and shook as it slowed, gravity pulling at Iskat’s bones. The metal under her boots trembled, and as if she could already feel the hot sun outside, sweat beaded on her lip. They were close to the surface now, and she imagined that if she could see through the viewport, she would look upon a world of sand and spires, bright orange striped with harsh black shadows.

It was almost time.

They were almost there.

It felt as if she were about to cross some important line, like this rescue — now seeming very much like it would become a battle — would change things forever, both for the Jedi and for Iskat herself.

She could not forget how close she’d come to washing out in the Jedi Tournament, how horrible she’d felt waiting for a master to claim her as a Padawan until Sember Vey had, to Iskat’s great surprise, stepped up in what felt like the last possible moment. She sometimes worried that between the distracted teachings of her master and the mistakes she made in the past that she required more observation and guidance than other Padawans, that everyone was all too aware that Iskat was lacking as a Jedi and might ultimately wash out for good.

There was no way she would let that happen.

The shuttle’s thrusters went to work as they landed, and Iskat’s stomach swooped with excitement. If only she could see out the shuttle’s viewports and begin to take stock of the battle to come. They’d been briefed on Geonosis, on how the hive mind worked, but they wouldn’t know what they would face here until they were on the ground and received more specific orders.

After a bouncing thump, the ship went still. The door slid open, harsh light burning into a space packed with nervous bodies clad in brown robes. Iskat struggled to release her chest harness but managed it before Sember had to unbuckle her. Her feet were numb as they hit the metal floor, but her fingers were already wrapped around her lightsaber.

As the Jedi all stood, Master Klefan Opus blocked the open door. He was an Askajian, and he usually kept himself overhydrated so that his epidermal sacs would swell, making him seem jolly and giving his eyes kind wrinkles in the corners. Today he had chosen a more slender and agile form, and Iskat was fascinated by the change in his demeanor. Usually a mild-mannered center of calm, he now clasped his lightsaber at his side and gave off a determined air. He held out a holoprojector, and an image of Mace Windu appeared, lightsaber ready in his other hand.

“Klefan Opus here,” the master said. “We’re on the ground, to the northwest.”

“Welcome to Geonosis. We need your detachment to help secure the arena where Count Dooku is preparing to execute Obi-Wan, along with Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala.”

There were gasps and whispers around the shuttle. Why was Skywalker here? And how had a senator become involved?

[inquisitorius-sin-bin]

Inquisitorius Draw-A-Thon Day 12: Tualon Yaluna

Back from break, and ready to power through our remaining Inquisitors this week!

[archfey-edda]

Imperial puppet.

Still a WIP. I just liked the look of Iskat alone - now time to draw Tualon.

[wookieejamcrew]

forgot to post these over here! from the dk pocket dark side book. no huge revelations but some of note: seventh, ninth, and fourth are specified to have escaped or survived order 66 and then fell to the dark side. the grand inquisitor was one palpy's easiest marks. for some reason only seventh and reva are specified to have trained under yoda (despite at one point or another everyone has). unfortunately no mention of iskat or tualon, but it's now officially one month until rotrb's release!

[thesuperiorfoe]

SPOILERS FOR DARTH VADER (2017) COMICS AND POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE RED BLADE

As my fellow SW fans may know, there's a upcoming book from Delilah S. Dawson focused on a little known Inquisitor. One that only appeared in Charles Soule's comics.

So, the story concluded with the red skinned Inquisitor and her Twilek crush (identified in the novel as Iskat Akaris and Tualon, respectively) anti-climaticaly dying at Vader's hands. Not exactly a good promotion for a spin-off book.

However, the released Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade excerpt makes an interesting revelation one might overlook in a first read.

ISKAT HAS 2 HEARTS!!! ❤️ ❤️

This isn't just a Doctor Who Easter egg. Iskat supposedly died after being stabbed in the heart by Darth Vader. If she had 2, it's likely they're going to retcon her into surviving.

What's next? Rejoining the Inquisitors (unlikely)? Being assigned to a new Imperial post? Defecting from the Empire?

We'll find out July 18.

[ct-hardcase]

In terms of Inquisitor stories I'm hoping that we potentially get someday, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother's dynamic got established. While we don't know much about them as a duo before rebels, it's been established that if they're in the same room, they're near each other (be it fighting or just in each other's presence), and they also hate the other's guts. We also know, based on their sparring together in Vader (2017) and their appearance in Rise of the Red Blade (also sparring together and/or Seventh heckling Fifth while around Iskat) that they've been at it since 19BBY and kept it up until 3BBY, which, especially considering the backstabby nature of the inquisitorius, is a long time!

I do ship them, so clearly my questions about/view of them has a bit of a romantic and/or sexual tinge to it, but even completely in the context of a platonic relationship, the question of why those two gravitate to each other fascinates me, given everything else we know about them as characters and how they interact with the other inquisitors.

There's quite a bit of evidence for this on Fifth's end—he doesn't take shit from Reva or Iskat, and the only inquisitor he shows true fealty/respect to is the Grand Inquisitor. Seventh, whether or not you take stock in the numerical rank system, doesn't outrank him, and she'll also openly confront him, so there are similarities among her, Reva, and Iskat in that none of the three of them are doormats. Notably, one could also assume Fifth's attitude skews a bit misogynistic, as he doesn't seem to have the same issues with Eighth or Tualon based on what little we get of those dynamics, but that's a different post.

We've gotten less of Seventh's dynamic with a variety of inquisitors given her comparative lack of content compared to him (not that I'm bitter), but she's clearly headstrong, smart, cruel, and isn't afraid to push others under the bus in order to gain the upper hand in a situation for revenge. Given all this, it's notable that despite their arguing, she consistently works with Fifth and spars with him (which, even Iskat notes that sparring with Seventh is sort of terrifying). Clearly, Seventh's willing to put up with him as much as he's willing to put up with her. Since she isn't that different from Reva and Iskat, all things considered, what was The Thing that did makes Seventh and Fifth tolerate, and even gravitate toward, each other?

Obviously, I have my own ideas for why (up to and including "they want to jump each other's bones about it"), but in terms of guessing what canon may do? I'd estimate that when the two first meet (and they're probably among the earliest to do so/the earlier initiates), Seventh takes Fifth's surliness less personally than the other inquisitors and makes it more into banter, keeps pushing him back. This pisses him off, but the fact that she doesn't back down draws him in, both as a rival and otherwise. Given the fact that he's dyed-in-the-wool committed to the inquisitor cause and less fazed about evildoing, her propensity for cruel and unusual violence may not bother him as much as it would the others. The two of them coming as a set may be process of elimination as much as it is being drawn to the other, honestly.

This bit also didn't really fit anywhere else, but what cements their dynamic as different to me is something I noticed while watching Rebels, where despite the fact that Seventh almost always takes point on missions (and in notable contrast to owk, he usually lets her), the two have what seems to be an unspoken agreement that Fifth is the one interacting with imperial leadership and Vader. By the end, they clearly know each other, even through pointed barbs.