phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-12-07 12:25 am
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TEST DRIVE - BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

Hello and welcome to Phantasmal Rift's Test Drive Meme!

Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.

Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.

This test drive takes place in the Bellmare Mountain range, a chilly environment even when it's not locked in the dead of winter. Considering that November is just starting to bite - or is it, with the Fissure's time-displacement effect in place? - that makes for an extremely chilly reception for all of the new arrivals. If you're a person at risk of frostbite, you'd better hunker down in one of the scattered mountain cabins or find someone with extra snow gear, and quick.

Once you're a bit more warmed up, exploration of the area will reveal that it's largely abandoned, but there's still some evidence of past human habitation. Old chair lifts stand guard over untouched ski slopes, the remains of what was once a resort, and a handful of hiking paths twist back and forth through the mountain forests, the snow melting off them due to the magical crystals in the gravel that lines the paths.

LET IT SNOW

Chances are that, upon arriving, you find yourself outside in the snowfall. Hopefully you weren't from somewhere too terribly warm, but chances are that unless you were specifically in a cold environment before, you're going to be feeling the chill now. (Unless, of course, you're not human and don't get bothered by the cold. That happens.)

Fortunately, there are plenty of paths scattered around that are warm enough to keep the snow melted off of them - it shouldn't be that hard to stumble across one. The question then becomes, which way to shelter and civilization? You'll have to take a bit of a gamble, but it's almost certainly better than staying where you are and freezing.

LOCKED IN

How fortunate, then, that you were able to find shelter against the cold - at least for the time being. The wooden cabin is the exact opposite of luxury, but there's a bed and wood to make a fire in the fireplace, so you can't ask for terribly much else. Especially once night falls - or when the snow outside begins to fall in more than flurries - it's far better to be outside than in. Even if you can't figure out how to start the fire, the dimly glowing crystals that serve as fire starter will at least keep your hands warm.

Of course, with only a limited amount of shelter to go around in these mountain trails, it's fairly inevitable that you would have to share with someone... Hope they're friendly, otherwise this place is going to get awkward fast.

FROSTY THE - OH, MAN!

And if you're still running around outside, sooner or later you're almost certain to run into a deep patch of snow that rises up to meet you. These giant snowmen, ten feet tall and aggressive, stand up in response to anything that isn't the local wildlife approaching - and their goal is quite simple. Better watch out, because these guys are your own personal avalanche, seeking to bury you under themselves until either the cold or the weight saps the life out of you.

One's dangerous, but it's not uncommon to find them in groups of 3-5, either, which is where things start getting to be a problem. Luckily, it's possible to melt them down to nothing, or just blast them apart with pure force - the scattered snow won't rise again, at least not any time soon.
reforgeries: (10)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-07 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I can hardly kick you out if you aren't in to begin with.

[But he moves aside, allowing her through.]

And is it considered "cute" to call yourself cute, these days? You may be jeopardizing your appeal.
maru_kyutie: (Default)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-07 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[She gladly enters the warm cabin.]

Cute is fine, it's calling yourself cool that's really dangerous.
reforgeries: (35)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-07 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, of course. Pardon me. I haven't had to worry about things like that in a long time.

[Once she's in, he stops holding the door for her and closes it firmly against the cold, then returns to the stove.]

I don't suppose you're hungry as well as lost and underdressed?
maru_kyutie: (Default)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-07 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I got dressed expecting Tokyo winter, not mountains! But I definitely wouldn't say no to something to eat.
reforgeries: (38)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I warn you, it's just stew. I did the best I could with the materials on hand.

[But here he is, ladling her a piping hot bowl.]
maru_kyutie: (Default)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-07 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Stew sounds great right about now.

[She takes a bite and makes an appreciative noise.]

Wow, this is as good as Senpai's cooking.
reforgeries: (53)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-07 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[That gets Archer to chuckle quietly as he returns to his cleaning. Senpai's cooking, huh?]

So I take it you're from Japan?
maru_kyutie: (Default)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-07 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep, Inaba specifically. I'm Rise Kujikawa.
reforgeries: Art by pixiv user 3416057 (74)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Rise, then.

[It's close enough to a name he's fond of that he leaps to use it instead of doing the polite thing. Oh, well.]

You can call me Archer. [It's not an entirely accurate descriptor anymore, but it'll do.] Do you have any idea how you got here from Tokyo?
maru_kyutie: (This is fine.)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Someone mentioned that some entity dragged us here by accident while looking for a missing piece of itself.
reforgeries: (07)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
...

Well, that's annoying. You'd think maybe it should look the last place it remembers seeing it.
maru_kyutie: (That's sad...)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think it's that simple. It doesn't seem like it even knows where to start looking.
reforgeries: (04)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
Like I said. Annoying.

[Sigh.]

And are we expected to aid in that search? It's far from my usual line of work.
maru_kyutie: (This is fine.)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think so, the people I've met so far didn't say anything about helping being mandatory.
reforgeries: (16)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
...And these people sent you back out on your own in this weather?
maru_kyutie: (Default)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
I left willingly. There are more people than just us here, and I'm really good at finding people. I want to help whoever I can.
reforgeries: (29)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[He's still for a beat.]

You should be careful with impulses like that. Because they seem so beautiful, it's too easy to chase them too far and destroy yourself.

They could have at least given you suitable clothing for the clime.
maru_kyutie: (That's sad...)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Akechi-san did give me snow boots.

And believe me, I've seen what happens when a desire to protect people goes too far.
reforgeries: (01)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
So you're aware.

[The line of his shoulders relaxes again, though he doesn't look at her.]

In that case, you should think more selfishly. This house could well have been empty, without the means to provide warmth or food. You'd be no good to anyone you found if in the next phase the both of you succumbed to the elements.
maru_kyutie: (This is fine.)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't have to worry about that, my abilities let me easily find warmth and shelter. I can even find people without much trouble as long as there's no interference.

I can help people without danger to myself or others, so I will.
reforgeries: (67)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
That's a reasonable enough approach.

I apologize if I sounded like I was lecturing. That desire to protect that you spoke of... I know more than most what results when taken to its extreme.
maru_kyutie: (This is fine.)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Like I said, I know what you mean. Trying to protect people without considering the circumstances or consequences can be just as dangerous as actively trying to hurt them.
reforgeries: (13)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah.

[...Anyway.]

I'm not sure what I can do about finding you a more appropriate outfit. The weather can be treacherous in areas like this and change for the worse without warning. I understand you're concerned, but you should head down the mountain as soon as you can and leave the search to those better equipped.
maru_kyutie: (This is fine.)

[personal profile] maru_kyutie 2018-12-08 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Alright, but I'll come back the moment I'm suitability dressed. See you, Archer-san.
reforgeries: (10)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd expect nothing less. Take care, Rise.