Phantasmal Rift Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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phantasmemes2018-01-19 12:29 pm
phantasmods) wrote in phantasmemes2018-01-19 12:29 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE 001
Hello, and welcome to the first 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.
(In the future, characters who are in-game can also earn themselves an extra item of loot for tagging in to top levels on the test drive, to be distributed with the rest of their loot upon dungeon completion.)
This first test drive is based in the Fissure nearest to the Station, and comes with three potential options, all with a distinctly watery bent -
OPTION 1: MAROONED
Hey, uh... What's that maroon film distorting your vision? And how did you get on this beach, anyway?
So long as the sun is shining, there doesn't seem to be a problem out here on the beach, aside from the strange maroon tint to everything. But when clouds pass over, the tint grows darker, and darker, and the water grows redder, and redder...
That... can't be blood, can it?
Characters who remain beneath the patchy cloud cover will find themselves filled with increasing anxiety that the ocean is made of blood, until either the cloud passes or they check the water for themselves. The bad news is, that while it isn't actually an ocean of blood, contact with the red water will drain characters of energy very rapidly, causing sudden fits of exhaustion as though they were suffering from anemia. By itself, this isn't particularly dangerous...
...Except that the return of the sun doesn't mean the return of that lost energy, and if you've waded out too far, the shifting sand and pull of the waves underfoot can easily pull you down and under.
OPTION 2: LANDSHARK
You really hope that isn't a shark fin moving through the sand. That's just not possible, right?
(Yes, yes it is.)
Landsharks are amphibious, predatory creatures just as at home in the sand as below the waves, and always hungry. They track their prey via disturbances in the sand or water, but fortunately, you can track them the same way - they're large enough to be easily visible in the relatively clear waters near the beach, and their bulk causes a patch of shifting sand above them as they roam for more terrestrial prey.
As a result, they're most dangerous near the waterline, where the shifting sand is hard to see due to the motion of the waves (though they can, of course, pop up further up the beach). Fortunately, they're not large enough to swallow a person whole. Unfortunately, they're still between nine and twelve feet long depending on the individual and easily large enough to take a good chunk out of you.
Like any other shark, they're vulnerable to being sliced open with something sharp, kicked in the gills, or punched in the snout to establish dominance. On the magical end, they have a particular weakness to electricity.
On the bright side, if you're hungry enough, the landsharks are very edible once cooked (or, you know, if you like sushi). For some reason, the meat tastes faintly of chocolate...?
Drops: Meat, shark teeth, candygrams.
OPTION 3: JUST IN TIDE
A bit further down from the beach, the water comes up to the base of the rocky cliffs, leaving numerous nooks and crannies to climb over and explore. In fact, they're practically begging for it.
What might you find? Well, there's the usual beach refuse, for a start - sand, seaweed, shells and fragments of shells, and big barnacles and mussels tucked into the cracks. However, other debris finds its way into the cracks, ocean-going refuse from a thousand worlds... There's also a number of pointy blue-green crystals that tingle to the touch and remain wet no matter how characters attempt to dry them.
And finally, there's a bunch of bottle crabs - overlarge hermit crabs that look more at home in half-broken beer bottles or soda cans at their size than they do in shells (though they'll live in anything that seems protective enough - the largest seem prone to making their homes in rusty helmets). The crabs are not aggressive unless you harass them first, but they can give a nasty pinch if provoked.
...Did you lose track of time out there among the rocks, or did time lose track of you?
Either way, you're now stuck out as the tide comes in. If you can swim, good for you! You probably won't have too much of a problem, at least once you're far enough from the rocks that you aren't at risk of getting thrown against them and having some important swimming limb broken...
On second thought, maybe it's better to stay here and wait it out, whether you can swim or not. Hope you're ready for a couple hours stuck on a rock with some weird-looking, too-big hermit crabs and...
Who is this other person, anyway?
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.
(In the future, characters who are in-game can also earn themselves an extra item of loot for tagging in to top levels on the test drive, to be distributed with the rest of their loot upon dungeon completion.)
This first test drive is based in the Fissure nearest to the Station, and comes with three potential options, all with a distinctly watery bent -
OPTION 1: MAROONED
Hey, uh... What's that maroon film distorting your vision? And how did you get on this beach, anyway?
So long as the sun is shining, there doesn't seem to be a problem out here on the beach, aside from the strange maroon tint to everything. But when clouds pass over, the tint grows darker, and darker, and the water grows redder, and redder...
That... can't be blood, can it?
Characters who remain beneath the patchy cloud cover will find themselves filled with increasing anxiety that the ocean is made of blood, until either the cloud passes or they check the water for themselves. The bad news is, that while it isn't actually an ocean of blood, contact with the red water will drain characters of energy very rapidly, causing sudden fits of exhaustion as though they were suffering from anemia. By itself, this isn't particularly dangerous...
...Except that the return of the sun doesn't mean the return of that lost energy, and if you've waded out too far, the shifting sand and pull of the waves underfoot can easily pull you down and under.
OPTION 2: LANDSHARK
You really hope that isn't a shark fin moving through the sand. That's just not possible, right?
(Yes, yes it is.)
Landsharks are amphibious, predatory creatures just as at home in the sand as below the waves, and always hungry. They track their prey via disturbances in the sand or water, but fortunately, you can track them the same way - they're large enough to be easily visible in the relatively clear waters near the beach, and their bulk causes a patch of shifting sand above them as they roam for more terrestrial prey.
As a result, they're most dangerous near the waterline, where the shifting sand is hard to see due to the motion of the waves (though they can, of course, pop up further up the beach). Fortunately, they're not large enough to swallow a person whole. Unfortunately, they're still between nine and twelve feet long depending on the individual and easily large enough to take a good chunk out of you.
Like any other shark, they're vulnerable to being sliced open with something sharp, kicked in the gills, or punched in the snout to establish dominance. On the magical end, they have a particular weakness to electricity.
On the bright side, if you're hungry enough, the landsharks are very edible once cooked (or, you know, if you like sushi). For some reason, the meat tastes faintly of chocolate...?
Drops: Meat, shark teeth, candygrams.
OPTION 3: JUST IN TIDE
A bit further down from the beach, the water comes up to the base of the rocky cliffs, leaving numerous nooks and crannies to climb over and explore. In fact, they're practically begging for it.
What might you find? Well, there's the usual beach refuse, for a start - sand, seaweed, shells and fragments of shells, and big barnacles and mussels tucked into the cracks. However, other debris finds its way into the cracks, ocean-going refuse from a thousand worlds... There's also a number of pointy blue-green crystals that tingle to the touch and remain wet no matter how characters attempt to dry them.
And finally, there's a bunch of bottle crabs - overlarge hermit crabs that look more at home in half-broken beer bottles or soda cans at their size than they do in shells (though they'll live in anything that seems protective enough - the largest seem prone to making their homes in rusty helmets). The crabs are not aggressive unless you harass them first, but they can give a nasty pinch if provoked.
...Did you lose track of time out there among the rocks, or did time lose track of you?
Either way, you're now stuck out as the tide comes in. If you can swim, good for you! You probably won't have too much of a problem, at least once you're far enough from the rocks that you aren't at risk of getting thrown against them and having some important swimming limb broken...
On second thought, maybe it's better to stay here and wait it out, whether you can swim or not. Hope you're ready for a couple hours stuck on a rock with some weird-looking, too-big hermit crabs and...
Who is this other person, anyway?
no subject
[ He's slowly moving so he can kneel down next to the person, though he's still a couple of feet away. While he doesn't know the guy, he isn't so wary he's keeping a huge distance... but...
In any case, Akira's gently resting his chin on one hand, elbow on knee, a gentle look of concern on his face. The logic is sound, actually? Though maybe Akira's bar isn't too drastically different from this guy's in terms of distance... ]
I have an ability that might be able to help you recover. It worked for my boyfriend.
no subject
[He turns his face towards--oh, it's a kid. Well, a kid almost his age, maybe. From the bruises all over his face and arms, it's clear Prompto had a hard time of it even before the blood-sucking ocean came into play, but his eyes are clear enough.]
I'll owe you one.
slightly nsfw image for the persona because atlus enjoys dancing around an M rating
He's reminded of Chariot; his expression softens at the older young man. He has taken notice the bruises, the soft demeanor... He doesn't seem like someone who got into some hand-to-hand situation out of spite, so what the hell happened to him? Who did this?
Of course, it's not his place to spam questions at the guy, especially not now. So he's just going to nod. After a gentle exhale, he closes his eyes -- in a flash, there's a white and black mask surrounding them, even as the rest of his clothes remain the same, boring t-shirt and jeans get-up for now...
In that same moment, there's a semi-transparent, slightly inhuman-looking woman appearing behind him. There's no pause between her appearance and the glow that surrounds the injured man. It comes with what should be a gentle sort of warmth as his entire body is immediately healed from all injuries and physical fatigue.
Akira will never stop being grateful he has a Mediarahan spell. Or Samarecarm and Salvation, but those are for way worse moments that he'd much rather not happen at all, thanks. ]
no subject
[As soon as the healing's done, Prompto pops up from the sand, pushing himself to hands and knees with surprise and interest. The comparison to Chariot maybe isn't so far off. He's an energetic guy, when he's not beaten to a pulp and wrung out by weird cursed oceans.]
Is that... Who was that? You can summon? Dude!
[Yeah. Definitely a lot like a certain young blond runner.]
no subject
There's a moment where he's actually squinting just a little after that, though; he might be staring hard at the blond's face. But, he just noticed something, and that took him entirely by surprise.
Something about this guy's voice... is... incredibly familiar.
But, in any case, yes. This guy is a lot like Ryuji, on top of being a lot like the young woman who was hilariously named Chariot. His time in the mall wasn't all bad, and he encountered a few moments of moments of memorable coincidence.
So, once the surprise is over, he's giving a small grin, rubbing at the back of his neck. A brief flash of awkward, yet somehow cocky, air surrounds him. Yet, all the same, something doesn't quite reach his eyes. There's something missing from the whimsical grin. ]
It's not something I'm normally able to do just anywhere, but I'm glad I was able to help.
[ A small nod as he straightens up entirely, sliding his hands into his pockets. ]
Her name's Cybele. I have a few others.
[ """few""" ]
And as for me, my name's Akira Kurusu. It's nice to meet you.
[ He, uh. He sure did introduce his Persona first. ]
no subject
Prompto hops to his feet and brushes sand off his knees, beaming.]
Prompto Argentum! Thanks for the hand, 'Kira. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along.
[Hands in his pockets, the kid reminds him a little of Noct: dark, understated, a hidden seat of goodness in the world. Prompto's smile falters a little and then he laughs, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.]
Probably lain there until the tide came back up to catch me. Some adventurer I am, huh? Seriously, I owe you one.
no subject
In fact, after that moment, Akira's actually wondering if it had just been his imagination. This guy sounds... way more casual, but there is a hint of something there.
But, speaking of casual, that shortening of his given name (he's not even using family name, what an ultimate sin!!!) has him blinking.
... Okay.
Guess this is his life now.
The surprise melts away at the latter words, and Akira simply shakes his head before one hand reaches up to twist a strand of bangs. Something softens in his face -- he sees that falter, but he won't push for information.
There is a flash of awkward sheepishness as he tries to play it off. ]
You don't owe me anything. [ a small smile ] Everyone needs help sometimes.