phantasmemes | TEST DRIVE 003

Entry tags:

!test drive

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, for fuck's sake.

[Ardyn said that under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand and vaguely waving the other.]

No--I'm so sorry, I'm familiar with cross-universe and timeline nonsense and still I just assumed offhand. That was terribly careless. My name is Ardyn Tenmyouji. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. [...not even blinking at multiple boyfriends, either. But...]

Sorry--what mall, if you don't mind my asking?

Edited 2018-04-15 04:04 (UTC)

[ It's literally right as he's planning to insist that there's no need to apologize, since... he did the same thing, when he hears that- ... that name...

His mind shifts back to the early days of the Velvet Room, to the Warden Twins... He wants to ask - he plans to ask - about that and the "simulation" that had been mentioned, but Ardyn just beat him to asking something. ]

Ah... [ almost breathed out; he barely manages to keep his expression from faltering ] That was the setting for the game.

[ While shifting in his stance, he takes just a couple of seconds to consider his words very carefully. ]

It was all meant to test us, but the person in charge was doing things differently from how it all could have been done. [ h e s i t a n c e ] Some of us survived all the way through, but others were brought back after we passed the final test.

[ There - vague enough that he's keeping certain, necessarily omitted details out of the picture ]

[Vague, and yet Ardyn had started to turn pale at the word 'game' alone. By the time Akira was finished he'd gone completely white, shoulders tense and a look of barely subdued alarm on his face. Was it possible--no, no, there had only been five seasons. Akira's had been first, and clearly this wasn't the same person. But then--what did that mean? Another universe, another Intergal7? No...that had't been meant as a test. This was something else, and Ardyn wasn't sure if that was worse or not.]

[It took him a second to remember how to speak. When he did:]

...I'm so sorry.

Edited 2018-04-15 04:39 (UTC)

[ Some part of him had immediately regretted specifying the word "game" - yet, the way Ardyn had looked afterward, is the only reason he continues on. There's something about it that feels familiar.

And, sure enough, by the end of it, Ardyn looks the way Akira feels after most of his nightmares.

Is it possible that he was put through something similar? Or could it be something else entirely, that just happens to bring up horrible memories? His own expression is tense, though it's more a case of genuine concern for this older man. He gives a shake of his head, and his voice is quiet and reassuring. ]

It's not your fault. Besides, I- [ something flickers over his expression; remnants of guilt? ] -survived all the way through.

[ "I'm fine, comparatively." ...But, his boyfriends would be upset, and he is trying to train himself to not think that way. ]

And... in the end, we were all given the option of helping them fight, or to return back home, and to our normal lives.

[ That sure is a sudden flash of bitterness in his eyes, but it fades right back into the concern. ]

Is it okay if I ask what the simulation was?

It was, ah-...

[Ardyn faltered, pressing a hand to his head. Focus, breathe, concentrate on something--after a moment in which words failed him, he started twisting the black and sapphire ring on his left hand as he slowly tried to find how to approach the whole thing. If this Akira had seen something similar...then maybe it would be alright to tell him.]

The VR simulation was...where people's consciousnesses were stored after they were killed. It took a few different forms over time, but when I got there it was a lost alien planet--until we crossed over into another section of it, a representation of a mall.

I...there were a lot of us. Four groups, and then a fifth made of the survivors. The Akira I knew was in the first season, and I was in the third.

[ There's patience, and he spends just a couple of seconds watching him twist the ring. He could reassure him that he doesn't have to talk about it? Maybe... he should...?

His eyes widen the second he hears that first sentence. And his mouth opens... only to close again. So, the Akira he knew was killed. And he was in the first round-... season, apparently. He decides not to ask for details regarding that part. ]

So that's why you asked about the mall... [ a pause ] ... The Reaper Games were a little similar to that. They had multiple rounds.

[ For a moment, he has a hint of conflict in his eyes. Sometimes this word just feels... cheap, and yet: ]

... I'm sorry, too.

[ In a situation like this, it feels only fitting. Nobody deserved to go through any of it, and it won't make a damn difference in what they went through, but with this? Maybe it's because it feels like, if there's anyone here (other than his boyfriends) who could understand what happened, this guy comes... incredibly close. ]

Say, are you... hungry or thirsty, by any chance?

[ He just wants a. Brief moment of thinking about something else, before any further questions are asked...... ]

A lot of the last season was in a mall--we didn't know that it was VR until those of us still alive broke out into reality, and I wound up back in the simulation later that week.

[He was talking too much, Ardyn realized. he fell silent, hands dropping to his pockets.]

...Kind of. Are you-...I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm carrying a lot of food and drinks if you want something.

[ He takes a moment, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. ]

All of us spent a while being unaware of what we were really a part of. For instance... none of us remembered signing a contract prior to starting the game. Our missing memories gradually came back with each week we were participating, but it wasn't until the final days that we started to learn the truth.

[ There's a quiet, but faintly tense exhale. ]

Yeah?

[ He's reaching into his pocket, pulling out a decent-sized bowl of what looks like... freshly-made soup? There's a lid on it, at least... ]

Guess my tricks as a magician won't be as impressive to you, then. [ the grin is tired, but he's... trying to lighten the mood? ] Bummer.

[Ardyn recoiled slightly at the talk of memories, yellow eyes quickly glancing around as if looking for an escape route.]

...it was the same for us. We didn't--sign anything, it wasn't done willingly.

[He shook his head as if trying to clear his own thoughts from it, two cups of hot coffee appearing in slightly unsteady hands with a flash of white crystal shards. He at least tried to manage a smile, focusing on the far easier subject.]

Afraid not. Though I don't meet many other people who can do that. I also have cream and sugar if you want it.

[ Oh... He goes completely quiet over that first part for a moment. Well, he kind of left room for a misunderstanding there, but he's not going to jump right away into fixing that. He'll fix that after: ]

Maybe a little sugar?

[ He gives an appreciative, albeit small, smile at the coffee before making a thoughtful sound and pulling out a few random pastries. ]

Not sure what you like, but I've been planning to sort through some of the food I have anyway. Want any?

[ It's a little while after that, his expression shifts into something more serious. ]

... And, to clarify something. [ he shakes his head ] The part about the contracts was what made us angriest, at first. We found some that were signed by all of us. So, basically, we volunteered for everything, but were left in the dark about that until the end.

[ There's a dim, wry smile of sorts. ]

I can't speak for everyone, but I chose to participate in the game itself in an attempt to save my world. What I didn't choose was...

[ He gives a very small, very vague wave of his hand. And what he isn't saying is that he'd do it again, hundreds of times over, if it meant saving lives. ]

Edited 2018-04-16 03:56 (UTC)

I'd love some, actually. I quite like things like that.

[Another brief flash of crystal and Ardyn had produced two chairs and a small table, the latter of which he set the coffee down on along with some sugar and cream. Taking a seat, he offered Akira the sugar first while putting a considerable amount of cream in his own. If the remark hadn't been a giant red flag for a massive sweet tooth, that probably would have done it.]

[Notably, the prepackaged snacks he pulled out in turn had a 'Spacebucks' logo on them.]

...You'll think me quite mad, I suspect. We weren't given any manner of choice; ours was something far more mundane than an offer to save anyone or anything.

[ His eyebrows lift at how there's suddenly a TABLE with chairs set up. Frankly, however, he can't think of one reason he should be surprised, by this point. So, amusement immediately follows the surprise as he moves to sit down.

All of the snacks in his possession are set down on the table; there's something labeled as an Angel Tart, while the rest are things he baked himself or slowly collected during his time here. Ardyn might enjoy the tart or the latter things most, but... eh. Akira's been practicing?

Briefly, he studies the logo on the snacks - hm...? - only to blink and glance up kind of quickly... ]

Mundane how?

[ Don't mind the edge to his tone; it's probably nothing. ]

[Ardyn pressed a hand to his eyes and laughed hollowly, the smile on his face clearly one he was struggling to keep in place as he put perhaps a little too much sugar in his own coffee.]

Let me try to put this bluntly; forgive me, but it's not been long and it's easiest to just get it all out with as little dancing about the issue as possible.

We were taken from our home worlds and timelines to participate in an intergalactic television show presented as fiction to its audience. Airlocked, popular in seven galaxies and with a fanbase completely unaware they were watching actual people being put through the ordeal of memory loss, murder, trials, and the like.

[The halfhearted smile finally faltered, Ardyn staring blankly at his coffee like he was reciting something that happened to someone else, a million miles away.]

Those of us who survived their games escaped and spent time on the run from the network responsible, but we didn't realize we were being tracked and essentially led back into enemy hands when they were eventually prepared for their fifth and final season. Thankfully, that one ended with the executive producer brought to justice and the network collapsed, with all of us that had been killed being awoken from the simulation we were being stored in.

[ Well, if Ardyn had even the tiniest thought that Akira would listen calmly, he was wrong.

The second that he hears "intergalactic television show presented as fiction," there's a brief moment where he comes close to seeing red. He doesn't even realize how strongly he's reacting, until he notices a dim ache in both hands and in his back teeth. It's so disgustingly close to what he'd been imagining their situation, back in the mall, was like...

Akira's breathing is uneven, but he forces himself to quietly listen to all of it. The sick feeling in his stomach has him second guessing his decision to try eating. He very... slowly... manages to loosen those fists and his jaw. Calm down. ]

What kind of justice?

[ They were all brought back to life - it ended with everyone being alive. Focus on that. Justice is all he'd ever fought for, alongside his friends, so that should be enough... right? Heh. It didn't even happen to him - not exactly - and yet this feels so goddamn personal. He shouldn't want to go find this producer. He shouldn't. ]

Either way, I'm glad you all got out. That's the most important part...

[ There's something distant and deceptively calm in his tone; if looks could kill? The entire forest would probably be up in flames around here. He's going to just. Sip that coffee in an overly calm way until he's actually, really calmed down. Ardyn had specified that there were a lot of people... how many had died during all of... whatever they went through? He's only able to imagine, based on what his group had gone through... and that alone...

... His grip on the cup is wavering a little, so he quietly sets the cup back down.

It's not his; he would really hate to risk breaking it. ]

Edited 2018-04-17 07:56 (UTC)

...personally, not the kind I'd prefer.

[There was a cold edge creeping into Ardyn's voice as he said that, pulling himself out of whatever distant thoughts he was briefly lost in. If he thought Akira's anger strange or even really noticed it, it went unremarked upon as he unsteadily took a drink from his own cup of coffee.]

She can't hurt anyone else where she is now; I suppose that's the important aspect of it.

[ It's as he's forcing himself to calm down enough to continue the conversation, he does notice that cold edge to Ardyn's tone. And that... Well, he's latching onto it as a reminder to genuinely calm down. Forcing himself to take deep breaths.

There's absolutely nothing he can do from here, beyond learn what he can. But, even now, they have a Fissure to focus on. He can't let himself dwell on everything these other people went through, and-- ]

Karma Akabane -- Jack... I want you to know I trust you entirely with my life. No matter what happens here, now, or even in the future... What do you say... partner?

[ Behind them, there's a materialized Akira Kurusu with a young, redheaded guy - clearly, the "Jack" in this scenario. The Akira next to Ardyn is tensing just a bit before turning to look at the pair.

Other him is shaking Karma's hand before this dream scene swirls and shifts, starting from Akira stabbing someone in the shoulder, and then jumping into him getting shot by that same woman. It ends with Akira and Jack doing a fusion attack that shoots said woman-- ]

Consider yourself assassinated.

[ --or so they thought, even if the dream doesn't continue into the real aftermath. But, Akira doesn't seem to be focused on the dream. In fact, he's turned back around and staring at the ground as he speaks. ]

... Sometimes even remembering the most important parts doesn't take away from the side effect of being a person with emotions.

[ He's looking right at Ardyn. ]

Letting yourself feel that anger, and remembering you have every right to be pissed off, is just as important.

[Ardyn saw the dream figments, naturally—but he focused instead on Akira, better that than pry into what wasn’t his to question. It was noticed as something impossible to ignore and vaguely filed away as something that might come up later, but yellow eyes instead watched the boy he was talking to distantly, like Ardyn wasn’t even sure where to start.]

I’m afraid I’m a bit new to being a person with emotions.

[Behind him, an immaterial dream of his own; blackened miasma coiling like smoke trails of purple-black, the lingering remnants of something dark and terrible Ardyn refused to acknowledge.]

And I don’t...have a good history with anger. So I find perhaps it’s safer to just let the matter alone.

[ He's not sure if this means he's a bit new to being a person, in general, as well as having emotions... or if he's just a bit new to having emotions... or if this is all just some dramatic way to say he comes from a dark place and a dark time... or...

... Man, there are so many options, given the nature of how this whole thing works - multiple worlds, multiple lifestyles, multiple laws of physics, etc...

Either way, his eyes narrow at the smoke-like formation, something between concern and confusion surfacing before he bites back on it. If Ardyn wants to go into it, he will--... heh, it's actually difficult to accept that. A lack of pushing people has gotten him some awful things in the past, but this guy is new to him, for as somewhat familiar as the face and the voice are.

There's a nod. It's not even that he's afraid of whatever this guy could do. But, still. No need to jab a sleeping dragon when it hasn't been causing any problems. ]

Sorry. [ it's genuine, even with the calm tone ] It's not my place to shove advice at you.

[ He holds a blink for just a moment. ]

If it's okay to ask, what did you mean by "new to being a person with emotions?"

...my brother hasn't told you much, has he?

[Ardyn's gaze dropped to the table, the dreamlike miasma clouding behind him before dissipating like the smoky substance it was. He laughed hollowly, raking a hand through his hair only for it to fall right back in his face.]

I suppose...with him around here as well as Noctis and his entourage, there's no need to keep it a secret.

[A deep breath, slow sigh. There was a strange exhaustion on Ardyn's face, worn into the lines beneath his eyes the way stone was eroded by the steady and persistent years of ocean tides.]

There was a time not very long ago when I...wasn't human. It's a long and complex story, but I was more the vessel of a sentient plague. It drove me utterly insane, and turned me into a monster fueled only by hate and malice. When Intergal took me from my homeworld, they--correctly--deemed me a 'contagion risk' and implanted my consciousness in a replicated human body with some imitation of the scourge running through it. All the twisted emotional state, with none of the risk of an outbreak...I'm sure someone thought they were quite clever to think of that.

[He shook his head, looking off to the side and starting to restlessly twist a ring on his left hand.]

But it's gone now, even the replica was removed nearly a year ago. All I am now is merely human, for the first in a very long time.

[ Ah... he must have encountered his brother already, then. Akira's look is a somewhat knowing one as he shakes his head. ]

I never really got around to asking him about much.

[ So... him, Izunia, Prompto, and Noctis. He has to wonder about each person's relationship with the others; so far, only Noctis and Prompto are close to one another in a sort of obvious way.

Well, in any case, his mind is quickly compromised by abundance of information. And, holy shit, is it a lot. ]

Shit...

[ What the absolute fuck is this guy's life... Akira's actually staring at him for a moment, clearly at a momentary loss for words.

(Dimly, comes a thought that, between Ardyn and Kana, he genuinely doesn't see any reason to complain about his own life, ever again.) ]

You... [ shifting a bit, frowning at the ground ] You're a pretty... impressive guy, in that case.

Edited 2018-04-20 08:57 (UTC)

...What?

[Ardyn looked up like he genuinely didn't know what to make of a statement like that, yellow eyes blinking once or twice as if that would bring some measure of clarity to it.]

I'm...not sure I understand what you mean.

Exactly what I said.

[ He shifts so his elbows are resting on his knees. ]

No matter how it's put, you've been through more than any one person should ever have to go through.

[ He's turning his head to look at Ardyn. No, he isn't being super naive - Ardyn could easily be acting, but honestly? If he is? That's all the more reason to say stuff like this. ]

Yet... you've been nothing but nice to me since we met.

[If Ardyn was acting, his performance would have deserved several awards by that point. He looked at Akira like he'd said something incomprehensible, for a moment having trouble stringing together an appropriate response.]

I haven't...always been the best person. I acknowledge that, and certain people are justified in wanting me dead for it. But I don't...I don't want to hurt anyone else. Or at least not those who have done nothing to warrant it.

[Better person though he was, that didn't make Ardyn a pacifist by any means.]

You-...I understand you aren't the Akira I know. You're someone with varying experiences that surely made you into another person entirely. But even knowing that, I don't think I've reason to be suspicious of your intent in being kind to me. So obviously I should do the same in turn.

[ Man, it's... ridiculously familiar, hearing those words. ]

I've met and fought people who've only ever cared about themselves. They murdered people, lied, used people as tools... [ shifting to twist a strand of bangs ] And it wasn't until after the Phantom Thieves changed their heart, they snapped out of it.

[ His smile is grim. ]

During a single year, I saw the hearts of humanity; things are never black and white. Seemingly good people can do terrible things, just like seemingly terrible people can do good things.

[ It's as he says the last part, he's moving to sit up straight, eyes firmly resting on Ardyn. His tone shifts into something much more blunt. ]

You easily could have turned into some asshole who only cares about himself. Because he believes the entire universe owes him, after all the things it put him through. That's the kind of mindset I've seen plenty of... but it's clearly not the one you have.

[ A dismissive wave of his hand, albeit a gentle one... much like his expression. ]

So, my point stands. [ he is filled with Determination over this, for some reason ] Everyone has a dark side or maybe even a dark past... It doesn't make them a bad person, by default.

...I used to be exactly the kind of individual you describe. I did horrific things because I felt the entire world deserved it. Because...someone I once loved dearly did something unthinkable to me, and it proved the only push I needed to fall into vengeful insanity.

People are-...can be terrible. I've been betrayed too many times by those I trusted and those I thought I knew to ever believe otherwise. But I don't...want to believe that betrayal is the natural end result of trust. I want to hold to this newfound faith that people in general...are worth pain like that.

[Ardyn nervously twisted a ring worn on his left hand, pausing as he tried to find the right words to say.]

...It doesn't change anything. The fact that I've rediscovered humanity doesn't change that Noctis wants me dead or that Prompto's likely terrified of me, or that I can't even stand to look at my brother. But I-...can't allow myself to fall back into being a lost cause. Not after all that's been done to pull me out of it.

(no subject)

beguiledcard - 2018-04-23 18:59 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE 003

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

eh why not show a few moments of akira's dreams

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)