phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-04-12 11:09 pm
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TEST DRIVE 003

Hello, and welcome to the third test drive for Phantasmal Rift!

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 Fissure known as Amesta Forest - a forest filled with silver mist and shrouded in eternal twilight, where your dreams become real! For a certain limited definition of real. This is significantly less awesome than it sounds. On the bright side, anyone within the mists will find themselves with no need to sleep, as though trapped in the same spring evening as the rest of the forest.

OPTION ONE: DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

This first option might happen to you just about anywhere. From the swirls of silver mist comes a shape - or perhaps more than one shape? Who knows, it's your dream -

Well, probably. It could also be someone else's.

Those who stay too long in any one part of the mist will find their subconscious minds influencing it into shapes - the exact sort of things that appear in their dreams. As with their real dreams, the details are sometimes strange - too much detail, or not enough, depending on where your focus is. The character who 'created' the dream specter will instantly understand what it's supposed to be, but other viewers might have some difficulty with it.

Fortunately for those of you prone to violent nightmares, these dream figures are incapable of doing harm - any blows struck by them simply leave behind the dampness of walking through thick mist. A hard enough blow will similarly disperse them - or, in most cases, you can simply move quickly and leave them behind.

OPTION TWO: THE MOVEMENTS OF THE TREES


A forest filled with mist is honestly a kind of spooky place, isn't it?

Well, it's about to get spookier, when you notice that there's a tree... somewhere there wasn't a tree, before. Or maybe it's that you were looking around and realized that a tree wasn't there here there was one before, instead leaving behind only a round, torn-up patch of earth from where the roots were buried.

Either way, there's only one conclusion to be drawn - the trees are moving.

Those who pay close attention will soon realize that it's only one kind of tree that moves - an absolutely unfamiliar kind, with mist-silver bark and thin, almost translucent leaves in large handlike shapes. They aren't very tall, and their branches split low to the ground, the structure something like a less crooked Japanese maple. The Wanderwoods seem prone to following specific people, usually only moving when out of sight, though you might catch them shuffling along if you have quick reflexes for looking over your shoulder.

What do they want? Well, nothing, really. They're just attracted to sapient beings and, especially, the way the mist forms into their dreams. So while they won't do anything in particular to the characters themselves, anyone with a dream-form hanging around them might find that manifestation suddenly papered in thin, grabbing leaves... and swallowed up.

OPTION THREE: WHAT NOW IS FOUND?


Not all of the forest is trapped in eternal spring. One part of it is held in exactly the opposite - a brilliantly colored autumn morning, just before dawn, with the trees overhead colored in brilliant reds and oranges. Leaves drift down in a slow breeze, and pile up in random places among the trees (which never seem to run out of leaves to drop), and silver pools of water gather at the bases of the trees and in any other depressions, their surfaces perfectly still mirrors.

The mist is quite a bit thinner here, too, which allows you to see... What is that familiar shape in the distance, between the trees?

While dream manifestations are uncommon in the region of Fall's Heart, it's not only dreams that manifest here. Instead, characters will see the figures of those they've lost - instantly recognizable, but unreachable and nearly impossible to catch, running through the trees heedless of how you call after them. It's impossible to catch up to them by mundane means, and those who use supernatural means to do so -

- will find that, at their touch, the vision crumbles into silvery mist-water, forming another of those perfect, reflective pools at their feet.
caduceusoncall: (Not Enough)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-13 08:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Angela's head snaps up at the sound of Robin's voice. She hadn't expected anyone else, especially someone unfamiliar, to be a part of her dreams.]

Oh, my apologies.

[Although her English is quite good, she has an accent. Swiss-German to the discerning ear. Clearing her throat, she wipes the tears from her cheeks hastily and rises to her feet. To be honest, she'd rather be alone with her thoughts for a while. But it would be impolite to tell someone to leave for no good reason, even in a dream.]

I did not think anyone else would be here.
matchmakes: (033)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-13 08:53 am (UTC)(link)
It's alright. I apologize for intruding.

[That was clearly a rather personal moment. Part of him feels like it may have been better to let her have some time to herself.]

My original intent coming over was to make sure you weren't injured. I didn't mean to overhear something so personal.

[It's not the full truth, the first part in particular, but the second bit is genuine. He coughs awkwardly into one hand.]

If you'd prefer, I can leave you to your thoughts...?
caduceusoncall: (Nothing Personal?)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-13 09:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Angela manages a weak smile, shakes her head.]

It's alright, I did not mean to have such a personal moment, truth be told.

[Even though he says he's willing to leave, she feels bad telling him to go. The curse of being too polite and putting others ahead of yourself. So instead, she offers a conversational piece.]

May I ask who you are? I didn't think one could see someone they've never met in a dream.
matchmakes: (037)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-13 09:18 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, uh. Call me Robin.

[He offers a smile in return, though it's tinged with sheepishness.]

This place certainly feels like a dream, but I'm afraid it isn't. It's a little difficult to explain...
caduceusoncall: (Default)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-13 10:11 am (UTC)(link)
Doctor Angela Ziegler, nice to meet you Robin. I apologize that you had to meet me under such circumstances. Being confronted by apparitions resembling patients I have lost has had a...[Her voice wavers a bit, but she steadies herself with a deep breath.] negative effect on me, I'm afraid.

[His words catch her off guard. She doesn't think he's lying, per se, but she has...doubts.]

It would be impossible for this to be anything but a dream. I'm seeing apparitions of the dead and I was in Gibraltar just moments before arriving here. The only alternatives are that this is an afterlife and I have been unceremoniously killed, or that I have been drugged. Both of which I personally find quite unlikely.
matchmakes: (002)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-13 10:26 am (UTC)(link)
Pleased to meet you, as well, though I do wish it could have been in better circumstances. This place has a way of messing with minds in unwelcome ways. I've been seeing apparitions of my own.

[Well, one specifically in this area, but he'd rather not talk about the ones he's seen before now... One's particularly embarrassing.]

I've kind of willingly walked into this place though, so that's on me. [He scratches the back of his head.]

You've been pulled here through an unstable part of reality called a Fissure--I'm aware it sounds unbelievable, but... well, there are multiple people even in this forest who can confirm what I'm saying.

[... If he's being quite honest with himself, he's still not expecting her to buy it.]
caduceusoncall: (Interest)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-13 10:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Angela raises her chin, less in defiance of what he's saying and more to show that she's listening. Her brow furrows at his explanation, but it...kind of makes sense? She was quite awake before she found herself dreaming, and the transition had involved a lot of color and motion...maybe she has been drugged.]

[Or maybe she's been pulled through an unstable fissure in reality. Who's to say.]


Let's say you are correct. These...Fissures. What exactly are they? And what causes them, do you know?

[Perhaps if she has a better understanding of what they are, she'll have an easier time believing it. Besides, the implications of such a phenomenon distract her from the tight knot in her chest and the continuous urge to cry. She's having a Time.]
matchmakes: (012)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-13 11:32 am (UTC)(link)
I'm afraid I only have relatively limited knowledge on the topic. I've only been here a month at most... What I do know is what I've already said--they're unstable areas in reality that bring in people and objects. This is only the second one I've experienced, but they tend to have... interesting effects on the surroundings and wildlife.

Supposedly they've been appearing for around a century and it's gotten to the point where there's more unstable locations than stable ones. I think the androids back at the research station could tell you more than I could...
caduceusoncall: (Default)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-13 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Now that she's thinking about it, Angela is kind of grateful for the distraction. The knot in her chest is fading as she finds a new thing to focus on. The emotional pain gets buried under curiosity and sheer force of will. Save it for later. (Later will never come, she will never address these feelings.)]

[But! Androids. Now that's at least sort of familiar - Omnics could be considered androids, really. Some of them, anyway. Not the war models.]


There's a research station here? So there is scientific documentation of this phenomenon. That is...comforting, actually.

[She nods slowly. Yes, if she has been pulled into a different world she would like there to be some science behind it. She straightens up, tightens her grip on her staff. It's the posture she takes when she wants it to be clear that she's serious.]

If I am to accept that what you are saying is true, I would very much like to meet these androids and learn a bit more about what these Fissures are. Is it possible to take me to them?
matchmakes: (007)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-14 01:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, there is. The androids there have been kind enough to offer it as a place to stay to everyone who's been displaced.

[Ah, it looks like she means business. Robin stands a little straighter in response, giving a firm nod.]

Absolutely! Although, I do have something of a job to do while I'm in here. I'm helping the androids out with stabilizing some of these Fissures for study, and I still have some to place...

[He holds one out to her in case she wants to examine it.]
caduceusoncall: (Interaction)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-15 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
[Angela leans close, inspecting the object critically. Past being told that it's for stabilizing the Fissure, she can't possibly begin to discern what exactly it does.]

[When she straightens up again, she tilts her head inquiringly.]


Do you need assistance? Either in rounding up other displaced people, assuming I am not the only one, or in placing these devices? And if I may ask, what exactly do these do?
matchmakes: (019)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-15 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)
There's at least a few more people around here that I've seen that have been displaced, so someone rounding them up might be a good idea.

I don't know how they do it, but setting these up and pressing the buttons along the side activate it. [He turns the device over to point those out.] It takes about an hour to get to working properly... The androids have more idea than I do, this technology is... far above the level back home for me.
caduceusoncall: (Default)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-17 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Angela considers this for a moment before nodding slowly. Yes, these were stabilizers, and through some currently unknown mechanism, they fortified weak spots in reality. It wasn't really her area of expertise, but if she could understand it better she could probably apply herself to helping out on the whole "getting back home" front. More questions for the omnics - er, androids - back at this mysterious inter-dimensional station.]

We have the ability to stabilize and manipulate time, back home. I suspect this tech is similar, but for space. I wish Winston were here, he could probably replicate these or improve their functionality.
matchmakes: (002)

[personal profile] matchmakes 2018-04-18 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
Well, knowing these Fissures, he very well could show up at some point...

[Honestly, Robin's certain the androids would appreciate this Winston fellow's help.]
caduceusoncall: (Thanks)

[personal profile] caduceusoncall 2018-04-19 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
It would be interesting to see how a gorilla from the moon adapts to such a strikingly different setting, I admit.

[Mercy laughs quietly at her own joke. It's not a great joke since it's just a statement of fact, but her sense of humor has always been a little stiff.]