TEST DRIVE - BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

[phantasmods]

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.

Comments

[maru_kyutie]

Pfft, what was that? All that flair for one snowman?

[foolishjustice]

[She chuckles, stowing her weapon and adjusting her gloves.]

It's a Phantom Thief tradition, we do things like that every time we end a battle on an all out attack.

[maru_kyutie]

Okay, but in all seriousness, we should probably get somewhere safe before we start that conversation back up.

[foolishjustice]

I think I saw a cabin nearby, we can rest there. But first, you might want to put these on.

[She reaches into the same nowhere she got the blanket from, and holds out a pair of fur-lined boots.]

[maru_kyutie]

Thanks, I definitely need those.

[And Rise will just equip those, gotta love video game logic.]

[foolishjustice]

[Where do you think she's even keeping all this stuff? She even has a chair if Rise does need somewhere to sit.]

I figured you might appreciate shoes that are a bit better at keeping the snow out. Now then, the cabin I saw was this way.

[And, turning to head back the way she came!]

[maru_kyutie]

Alright then, lead the way.

[Himiko already told her where it is, of course, but she's not going to say that out loud.]

[foolishjustice]

[Hopefully Rise won't mind if Crow cheats by floating above the snow, instead of plodding through it. Her Phantom Thief clothes aren't really designed for wet.]

[maru_kyutie]

[She definitely minds, but she's not saying anything. She's just staring jealously as she walks.]

[foolishjustice]

[At least she's not speeding ahead? She even opens the door to let Rise in.]

You go ahead and sit down, I'll start a fire.

[maru_kyutie]

I'll do that. I could start it, but definitely not as easily as you.

[foolishjustice]

[She chuckles as she tosses a few logs into the fireplace and lights them with a fireball.]

Elemancy is useful for things like this, as long as you're careful. It's not as precise as Persona skills, but at least I don't have to deal with my fire using Persona getting irritable about being used for such mundane things.

[maru_kyutie]

So, how does this stuff work if it's not your Personas?

[foolishjustice]

It's magic. I can pull fire, ice, or electrical energy out of things like these crystals...

[She holds up one of the fire crystals for lighting the fireplace.]

And store it to use for elemental spells.

[maru_kyutie]

Sweet! I'd like to learn how to do that. Himiko doesn't have any elemental skills.

[foolishjustice]

It's...not something that can really be taught. It's an ability one of my fiances can share with others, but it requires a constant investment of energy, and can't be taken back. There are a few people here who can give it to people, but I'm fairly sure all of them reserve it for people close to them.

[maru_kyutie]

[!]

Fiances? Are you engaged?

[Goro you Fool, what have you unleashed?!]

[foolishjustice]

Twice over.

[The Crow outfit changes back to the biker clothes, and she takes off her left glove to show a black ring studded with black and red gems.]

We can't get officially married for...several reasons, but that's really not the important part.

[maru_kyutie]

[Rise muffles a squee with her hands when he shows the ring.]

I'm so happy for you!

[foolishjustice]

I'm a little surprised you're not reacting...a little differently, though.

[She sits down, replacing her empty cup of coffee with a mug of hot chocolate.]

This isn't exactly how most people back home would approach having multiple partners.

[maru_kyutie]

Well, I'm not most people. I don't see any problem with it so long as all involved parties know and consent.

So, uh, sorry if this seems a bit rude, but in my world you're, as far as I'm aware, a guy. Is this a different worlds thing, or were you just pulling a Naoto-kun?

[foolishjustice]

Neither. I've learned some shapeshifting magic here, and I tend to switch between male and female forms pretty much on a whim.

[Her face shape changes slightly, matching what he looks like on television. His voice also seems a little deeper, less like the falsely sweet tones he uses for public speaking.]

Is this what you were expecting me to look like?

[maru_kyutie]

Yeah, that's more like what I remember. Though not much changed, really. Is being androgynous a prerequisite for being a Detective Prince?

[foolishjustice]

I do wonder.

[He chuckles, idly removing his second glove now that the room is starting to warm up.]

Well, I don't exactly mind. I prefer having both of my forms look fairly similar.

[maru_kyutie]

I don't think I'd like being a boy, but I have to admit: It'd definitely come in handy about once a month.