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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
His thoughts derail at the sight of that plastic expression. The smirk shifts to a snarl, as he rears back to throw a punch at Shido's face. He's not using any of his Personas, so it's nothing inhuman, but it should serve as a painful reminder to Shido that his son keeps up physical exercise even between missions.]
Don't give me that look, you piece of shit!
[That carefully measured expression, perfect and yet painfully fake...it's so much like his own smile, it makes him sick. It reminds him, from the pit of his stomach, that he's related to this scumbag, and he hates it.]
no subject
But there is no retaliation against Akechi. He just straightens back up and looks at him, his expression unchanged.]
...is that all you've got?
[Come on, Akechi. He knows how much he's ruined your life, most of all. How much you must have had to suffer because of him.
Don't hold back now that you finally have him in your clutches.]
CW: gory description
He wanted to see him exactly as he'd left so many Shadows.
But he's still looking at him with that same disgusting expression. It makes him furious, so angry he just has to...laugh, a bitter, cruel laugh.]
Not even close. I could rip out your entrails with my bare hands, claw your throat open...do you have any idea what that feels like? Having your windpipe crushed and carotids torn open, your own blood bubbling up into your mouth...
[A point of crimson flame appears between his eyes, spreading across his upper face and leaving behind it a dark red, almost black mask, as if burning it in reverse.]
I wonder what your face would look like, as you struggled to breathe while drowning in your own blood?!
no subject
He did this, he really did this. He made a total monster out of this boy. He's still so young and yet this darkness... makes him sick to his stomach. It reminds him far too much of his own, the darkness that he was forced to abandon due to his change of heart.
And that vivid imagery... has him going a bit pale, the way Akechi talks about it as though he'd experienced it firsthand... That's not possible, of course, because he's standing right here, very clearly alive.
His eyes widen at the flame that appears, at the blood red mask covering his face. How in the hell... what the fuck is going on... Maybe this is an effect of the pills he took. Maybe he's gone and damaged his brain and is no longer in touch with reality. Haha, he was supposed to be put into a vegetative state, wasn't he?
Well. It all certainly feels very real... and every word that Akechi says is just twisting his heart further. Fuck, had he even been like this? He'd had no regard for the lives of others, certainly, and hardly cared if their death was peaceful or excruciating, but for someone to get this much joy out of the suffering of another...
A monster, indeed.]
No, Akechi. [There might be a bit of fear slipping into his voice, there, but it's... not for him? He doesn't care what happens to him. But Akechi's been dragged down by him enough.] I've already made you kill enough... don't sully your hands with a murder you weren't forced to do.
[He grits his teeth then, and adds for incentive:] Unless you wanted to follow in my footsteps.
no subject
[More of that crimson flame surrounds Goro, leaving him clad in a his dark assassin outfit...sans the extra belts that used to represent his feelings of being controlled. The most important part, however, is the spiked gauntlets covering his hand. They add a cutting edge to the punch he aims for Shido's abdomen, looking to knock the wind out of him. He's pulling his punch, though...he doesn't want to put a hole through his father's body. Yet. He needs to suffer first.]
I planned to see you dead from the start!
cw: injury, blood
And then comes the burning pain.
He grinds out a grunt of pain, falling to his knees, feeling warmth bloom at his stomach as the blood starts to seep out. He presses his arms harder, trying to stem the blood, out of an instinctual self-preservation if nothing else. He grits his teeth so hard it hurts his jaw... slowly, he looks back up at Akechi.]
...of course you did.
[He's angry and bitter but... heh, because of the change of heart? It's at himself. He knew, of course, that his prized attack dog had been cultivated in the dark underbelly of Japan's orphanages and foster homes...
Heh. So this is how he dies, then... Fitting.]
no subject
The fact that Loki is urging him on in his head should be a reminder to stop, but he's too far gone at this point to remember he's trying not to indulge that side of himself. All he cares about is this brutal satisfaction.]
That's right, that's the entire reason I even approached you in the first place. I want to see you wither and die in absolute misery and shame...just like my mother.
no subject
...]
I killed her. [He says it very calmly as he looks his son straight in the eyes.] The suicide was staged.
no subject
Once again, he devolves into manic laughter. There's a definite edge of insanity to it, an entirely different sort of instability from the Cognitive version of himself...but unstable, nonetheless.]
Of course...of course a piece of shit like you...and you had the fucking gall to make me do the same thing to Futaba-chan, even.
[He'd suggested alternative cover stories, pointed out that a known workaholic collapsing from fatigue in the middle of the street would be just as believable. But they'd gone with the suicide story instead...and he thinks he knows why.]
It's the same thing, isn't it? Hoping that if you stage things right, your damned bastard children would take care of themselves...right?
no subject
...Futaba-chan? Wakaba's... His daughter?
Hah, no. He had no right to call any child his, regardless of whether or not they had his DNA...
He swallows down some more blood, takes in an unsteady breath... Shuts his eyes hard for a moment before he opens them back up again. All there is in his eyes is pain and tired resignation.
There's nothing to say. Akechi hit the nail right on the head.]
no subject
The laughter settles as he lifts one foot up, aiming the bottom of his foot squarely for Shido's chest.]
You know what? You've been studying the Metaverse, right? I bet you've been wondering what a Persona is really like, haven't you?
not here
no subject
A Persona...? Are they actually in the Cognitive world? It doesn't line up exactly with what he's learned, but... he knows so little. About... everything, let alone the Cognitive World.
His grip on himself tightens, bloodied, broken fingernails digging into his skin.]
no subject
[He touches the clawed fingertips of his bloodied gauntlet to his mask, and it instantly dissolves back into flame.]
Destroy him, Loki!
[The Persona appears behind him in a burst of flames...but doesn't attack immediately. Goro wants Shido to have time to see it, to process what he's being attacked by - what he's sicced on others without a second thought - before it mangles him.]
no subject
N-no...
[It might just be instinct that has him cowering now, one arm unwinding to plant itself against the ground, a feeble attempt to put some distance between them...]
Don't...!
no subject
Shido!? No fucking way is-... And that had been Goro's voice! His breathing picks up, his grip on Futaba tightens, and he immediately begins to run. Some part of him is torn between bringing her and leaving her, but- heh... he doesn't even have to think on that for very long.
No way is he letting her out of his sight.
It all happens so quickly, though; they arrive and he acts without thinking, immediately going into battle mode. He switches Personas - Mara (shut up) has the abilities that would be most useful for a moment like this. Futaba is set down in the most gentle / hurried way he possibly can-- ]
Oracle, I need you to back me up!
[ Shido is injured - he's real, and fuck if that doesn't give Akira ( well, Joker now, given his switch in clothes ) some mixed feelings. He's moving to put as much of himself between Shido and Goro as possible, expression firm and unyielding.
There's zero room for argument as far as his tone is concerned. ]
Goro... Crow, stop this.
no subject
Futaba immediately perked up from her near drowsy state, noting the way Akira's grip on her had tightened along with his steps picking up and it was clear he'd heard those voices just as clearly as she had. If he had tried to leave her behind, that would have been quite the conversation as it was, but for the moment was relieved he'd decided to bring her along despite what was sure to be a chaotic situation.
Not that she'd realized just how right she was, coming across this scene and it was just... there were almost no words for it. The way Shido was cowering like that, it wasn't the same smug bastard who'd not given a damn about others, so it could only mean it really was him. The one from when they'd changed his heart. She doesn't even really question it when Akira sets her down, nodding and turning her gaze to Akechi. ]
Got it! You can count on me.
[ Akechi clearly wasn't thinking clearly and she couldn't honestly blame him, and what with Loki summoned like that? This situation was REALLY bad. Futaba knew she wasn't strong enough to stop him, so immediately her mind was made up on a course of action. Playing off a gamble she hoped would work out.
Which came down to her moving behind Akechi, arms wrapping tight around his middle as she pressed her forehead against his back. ]
He's right! I... I hate him just as much as you do for the unforgivable things he's done and what he's made YOU do. Please just... stop. Don't give into all of that and kill someone who can't even fight back.
[ Going to really hope this is working, her breath exhaling in a soft shudder as she closed her eyes. ]
Please. Don't do this.
no subject
What are you doing? Get out of my wa-!
[His voice cuts off as he feels Futaba's arms wrap around him. At the sound of her voice, his own breathing stops. It's like the world is spinning, Joker and Futaba's words as alien as they are logical.
He's sworn to be better, but this...this is Shido. The man who caused so much suffering, so much death...he deserves to suffer and die for himself, right? But doing that would put him against one of his boyfriends and his sister. He can't...do that...
Behind him, Loki hovers, glaring viciously and brandishing his sword, as if waiting to be allowed to attack. The voice he calls out with is twisted and deranged, but still clearly as much Goro's own as Arsene's is Akira's.]
What are you waiting for? This is what all your life has lead up to, isn't it? Don't let them stop you, finish it!
[Goro tenses as Loki speaks, then slowly shakes his head. Loki cries out in frustration, as he dissolves back into red flame and becomes a mask once again.]
Consider yourself lucky, you piece of shit. They're worth too much to me to go through them, even for the sake of giving you what you deserve.
no subject
Haha... to think he would be saved by him. Life sure is ironic, isn't it? Of course... he has no delusions that this is about protecting him; no, he... and the girl. That's definitely Wakaba's daughter. They're trying to protect Akechi, from giving into his darkness.
He gives a shuddered sigh of relief, even though he feels sick from how close Akechi had come to being a killer of his own volition. Or maybe the nausea is from all the blood loss...
Either way, he's glad that they stopped him. He's glad that Akechi has people who will stop him. Has people who obviously honestly care for him. Good... The demonic voice does cause him to tense briefly, gaze snapping over to it, but the fight is over; Akechi dismisses the Persona.
He's lucky? No, he's getting exactly what he deserves... Ending his life now, cutting his suffering short— that would have been fortunate for him. But it's already clear that things won't be so simple. No, he had many sleepless nights and haunting moments of the day ahead of him to suffer through.
Now the question was: where the fuck were they, and what the fuck does he do now?
... he should probably get this injury seen to, or something... With a hard blink he pulls himself up, slightly hunched over with both his arms still wrapped around his midsection.]
...I'm in your debt.
[That's to Joker, of course.]
no subject
... Futaba's words seem to really do it, and Joker's shoulders relax. He hadn't been entirely sure what she'd choose to do, but he remembers how his version of Futaba acted when that fight against another version of Goro Akechi ended. And that's what he'd been betting on. ]
... [ His... debt?
Something doesn't sit well with him, and something in his expression... shifts a bit. His jawline tightens as he slowly moves so that he can kneel down beside Shido.
One corner of his lips lifts as he slowly slides his mask up, resting it on the top of his head - him not wearing glasses probably helps make it easier for this piece of--... father-of-the-year material to tell who he is. His voice is calm - too calm. ]
You're a smart man.
[ He's reaching into his pocket, and then calmly, but... firmly (and there's something fun about the strength boost a Persona gives) pulling at one of Shido's arms. Thaaat's right, just let him have a look at this injury. Noooothing wrong with that, right?
Granted, if he's allowed access, he's pressing a piece of cloth to it. Hard. The kind of firm that should get a response that's fun for the whole family. ]
So I'm sure you already guessed that this is more for Goro and Futaba's sake, than it is for you or me.
[ ... He didn't actually mean to let the last bit slip out, but here we are. ]
This is your one chance. [ very slightly increasing the pressure with the last words, even though his voice has remained deceptively calm ] Don't screw it up.
no subject
If anything, the distorted and twisted sound of Loki's voice speaking up behind her was enough to send a shiver down Futaba's spine as her fingers curled into the fabric of Akechi's clothing a bit tighter than before. Most Personas really didn't bother her but there was something about hearing one of that level speak so close to her while being unable to defend herself that just didn't sit well with her right then.
The very air felt so tense, and Futaba swore she could hear her heartbeat louder than anything else, waiting to see what would happen and then just like that? Loki's presence disappeared and Akechi's words filled the silence and she relaxed a bit, which was about when she reluctantly let him go. He'd said 'they' were worth too much to him, which spoke volumes all on it's own but she didn't want to press it when the situation was already tense enough as it was.
She didn't want to speak up yet, allowing her gaze to trail over to Shido and Akira as he approached him. It didn't feel right; the way Akira was acting right now, causing Futaba to move as it taking a step toward him but stopping herself short and shaking her head. Shido wasn't really a liked man at all by any means due to what he's done but something about this just set her on edge and she didn't like it one damn bit.
Mostly because Akira... actually seemed kind of scary right now. ]
I... I think he gets the point. No need to make things worse right now than it has to be.
[ There's a touch of something tense in her tone. Futaba's not exactly fond of defending him but considering the state Shido was in? Akira could probably kill him if he'd wanted to. Both of them could, really. ]
no subject
Even if we aren't going to kill him, I don't see why his safety should be our responsibility. Why don't we just leave him for the zombie deer? I'm sure they won't care that they're biting human garbage.
no subject
He knows this is what he deserves. He knows far too many people have suffered at his hands, have died at his hands, have crumbled under his reign. And he knows that for the rest of his life, this is a burden he will carry, a tarnish on his soul that he will never erase, no matter how much good he does. Yet for the first time in a long time, he has been reminded of something: of how frighteningly powerless he is, how human he is without his people behind him. He's nothing at all. Worse than trash...
So for a moment there's conflict when the boy tries to move his arm. There is the very visceral part of him that wants to fight back, to defend himself, because he's the only person left who can. There's a flicker of genuine fear in his eyes, and yet—
He relents.
That plastic mask comes right back up, because he doesn't have right to anything else. Well, only for a second, because—]
Augh!
[The pain's so bad that he sees stars for a moment, his other arm shaking in Akira's grasp, breath wavering as he blinks those stars back. Tears spring involuntarily to his eyes, and he has to bite back an unfamiliar sound creeping up in his throat, instead nodding jerkily.]
Y-yes, I know. I'm... I'm sorry. To... all of you. But especially Akechi. But I know my apologies are meaningless. Nothing will ever make up for what I've done.
[He swallows thickly, blinking those tears back. He doesn't remotely have a right to cry, after all. Certainly not in front of three children he's wronged so thoroughly.]
I'll do my best to stay out of all of your ways.
no subject
It's after hearing Futaba and Goro's words, he's already moving to stand. He listens to Shido talk, and his stomach immediately begins twisting in an uncomfortable way. It's in that moment, he does something he hasn't done in so long - he hates doing it, given the way he feels afterwards, but he scans him. This really is the Masayoshi Shido whose heart was changed, which means he's closer to being from Akira's timeline, versus Goro's timeline.
Akira takes a deep breath. ]
Leaving him to die isn't an option. At the very least, I can drag him to the station, myself.
[ The look he gives Goro might have a bit of conflict towards the matter - he doesn't like the thought of babysitting this man? A part of him would rather just leave him to fend for himself out here? But... damn it. He moves so that he can properly look at Futaba as he asks: ]
What are your thoughts?
no subject
Apologizing directly right to his son was definitely a start, but she doubted Akechi would take that so easily. It wasn't like she ignored the part where he'd said sorry to all of them, but more that it was a little sidelined by the rest of it. ]
Can't really argue with that. Nothing really can make up for the damage you've done here.
[ As usual Futaba had no problems speaking her mind here, tone exceptionally grim before stopping to consider what Akira had asked her. Those eyes are on her and that's when it sinks in that this is literally a moment in which her words could have an effect on what happens to Shido.
This man caused a lot of suffering but now he was... well. A shadow of the awful man he used to be; someone who now actually gave a damn about the people he hurt. ]
Well, I think you should just bring him to the station and then we can leave him be. What he does then will be on him, not us.
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