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phantasmemes2018-04-12 11:09 pm
phantasmods) wrote in phantasmemes2018-04-12 11:09 pm
Entry tags:
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.
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.
no subject
He'll have to use more care, now. Prompto is too important for callousness, even the unintentional.]
He sounds like Noctis. [He speaks carefully, weighing every word before he speaks.] Older, perhaps, but Noctis nonetheless.
[Does he believe it's really Noctis? No, of course not, but it seems easier to pretend than fight something you very well might have conjured up in a strange forest.]
no subject
[And the fact that Prompto of all people can't tell says a lot about that figure.]
Ignis, listen. I... I'm not sure if you're real or not because this forest is really messed up, but if it is really you, then. Then you need to know, this is, like. A totally different world from Eos. I know that sounds crazy, but I'm not making it up, I promise, you know I wouldn't lie to you. And... and Noct's here. He's been with me, here.
[He breathes in, then breathes out again, incredibly nervous.]
So that's not Noct.
no subject
That's...well, it makes him wish he could see for himself who was hovering beside them, but that wasn't exactly a revelation.]
I figured as much. [Well, not the bit about this being a totally different world. That's not something that occurred to him and it's not something he could imagine Prompto fabricating. So it must be true, or at least an experience that makes it seem true.]
The nose knows, after all.
[nyehehehe]
no subject
[There isn't a big enough number in the universe to quantify how relieved Prompto is to hear Ignis's stupid, awful puns. After a pause, he finally sprints the rest of the distance between him and his friend and practically lariat-strikes him around the shoulders, he's one-armed hugging him so hard.]
Oh, man, Iggy, I missed you so much. Are you okay? Have you been here real long?
no subject
[Bring it in, Prompto.
He's braced for impact, an arm coming up to bump against and around Prompto's shoulder. The hug is as reassuring for him as it is for his friend, as if he didn't realize how tense he was before now.]
I've been doing just fine - but no. I've only been here for a matter of hours.
[Or days! Time's kind of hard to tell when there's no sense of things changing.]
no subject
[The emotional turnaround is too real. Ignis is here, and that means they just need Gladio. Once Gladio gets here--and Prompto practically feels optimistic about this now, with Ignis here, solid and reliable and more capable than anyone else in the world--they'll all be together again, and this place will be perfect.]
I gotta bring you back to Noct! The real Noct, I mean. Uh, no offense to dream Noct, I'm sure you're... uh, a totally great conversationalist. [Now he's talking to Ignis's weird, poorly-defined companion.] Sorry, dude, but we need this guy, like, yesterday.
no subject
[Because he's not just going to let Prompto think he wasn't missed, hasn't been needed. That's just rude.]
His company isn't as great as the real Noct's would be.
[A dream is no replacement for the man he's known for most of his life.
And the dream doesn't seem offended by the words, at the very least. It seems Ignis is one of the few who hasn't been plagued by nightmares Which is probably good because do we really need more monstrous Ardyn's running around?
No. Let the man live.]
And while you lead the way you can tell me about your time here.
[Because you've clearly been here for a while and there's definitely no way nothing's happened.]
no subject
With his hand at Ignis's back like he's gotten used to doing--like there've been no weeks intervening--it's easy to tell when Prompto twitches a little, surprised to be read so easily.]
Uh... [But, well, he shouldn't be surprised. It's Ignis. He laughs.] That obvious, huh? Ehheh.
[Prompto glances away for a moment, clears his throat, then nods.]
Yeah, I've been here... maybe three months, now? Time gets kind of wonky in the Fissures. Uh--the weird, magical places, like here. Sooo, I was here first, and then Noct came about a month ago, and now you're here! So that's exciting news. Oh!
[He practically bounces at Ignis's side.]
And I found a chocobo egg! I'm gonna have my own baby chocobo, Iggy!
no subject
Subtlety has never been your strong suit.
[But it's endearing! Wearing your heart on your sleeve isn't something many can do, but it's what makes it so easy to exist around Prompto. You never have to wonder how he feels.
But, gods. Three months? And two all alone? Well, perhaps not alone. But without Noctis and himself and Gladio.
(Gladio...He hopes he's out there, in the forest. He hopes their merry little band will be completed.)]
How on earth did you find a chocobo egg? [The information about the Fissures is filed away, put away for further questioning. There is a time and a place to peel this place apart and find what makes it tick, but that can be done later, when they're not in one of those weird, magical places.
Plus, chocobos.]
no subject
[His child now.]
So now I've got it in an incubator in my room. [He realizes something and then whines:] Aw, man, all the rooms next to me and Noct are taken now! Where're we gonna put you?
no subject
He's sure this chocobo is going to absolutely spoiled.]
You'll be a great chocoparent, Prompto. [Is chocoparent even a thing? Is that a thing he should be saying.]
We can make due - the rooms don't mean we'll have to live in isolation. It's nothing to worry about.
[Plus, you know, they can just sleepovers, where they can gossip and nag at Noctis to take better care of himself.]
no subject
[Prompto may not have had enough of either parental influence in his life, but pop culture has told him having a Mom Is Important.
Anyway.]
But it'd be more fun if we were all together! Imagine, just a whole row of us, knock on a door and get a Lucian. It'd be like boarding school or something! ...Except without the school part. Or the mean teachers and bullies part.
no subject
[Prompto, that's...
Well. You do you.]
So it will be nothing like a boarding school dormitory. But, if you insist, we could make strike up a deal with others? I am sure people can understand the desire for a sense of home.
[Bribery can do wonders!]
no subject
[Obviously, this is the configuration that makes sense, because he and Noct are the smallest.]
Or at least we can make sure you're in the same part of the hall. I think one of the rooms is still open? The girl that was there isn't here anymore. ...I think.
no subject
If you're certain you wouldn't mind.
[His brows furrow, catching on the implication.]
Is it common for people to disappear as suddenly as we arrive?
[Because boy is that something he doesn't want to think about.]
no subject
[But it's definitely worrying, and something Prompto's been actively avoiding dwelling on too much.]
It's happened to at least two girls I talked to. They were here, and then... they just weren't anymore. And they didn't say they were going anywhere.
no subject
I'm sorry, Prompto. I'm sure they're both doing well - and I assure you, I won't be disappearing without a word.
[Or at all.]
no subject
[Ignis means constancy and consideration, and Prompto's never appreciated that more than he has since Altissia, when it must be so much harder for him. The guiding hand at the small of Ignis's back becomes a friendly, thankful pat for a moment instead.]
And I won't, either. You're gonna have a hard time getting rid of me, dude.
no subject
Like bleach stains from Lucian black.
[Impossible to remove, but it adds character!]
no subject
Dude, I think you're the only one who'd know. Does anyone else even own anything white?
no subject
It's not exactly en vogue.
[...not that any of them are trendy. that jacket of noct's is a mistake.]
no subject
Well, you won't really have to worry about it here. The important thing is just finding clothes that fit. I think the only matching socks I have are the ones I came with.
no subject
[Yes, yes. Punk never dies, you will be fashionable forever, etc.]
Though it's a good reason to learn how to alter states. Fabric doesn't last forever.
no subject
[Socks are easily replaceable. Crownsguard fatigues, not so much.]
no subject
Especially if all of these Fissures are going to be like this. [Running Around, Having Adventures And Experiencing Tramua.] It's a wonder we didn't have any wardrobe malfunctions back in Eos.