TEST DRIVE 004

[phantasmods]

Hello and welcome to the fourth 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 Keystone Reef, a water-influenced Fissure to the northeast of the station. It is home to numerous fish and coral species, as well as a very interesting magical effect...

OPTION ONE: FINNY FUN

Under the water is where you woke up, and under the water is where you might be stuck for a while. The magic is lodged in you and has changed your form -- maybe a little, maybe a lot. Perhaps you only have gills, but you may also have a full set of changes, fins and no feet to speak of. Don't panic, you'll surely be fine if you just keep swimming...

Aside from the strange changes, it's a pretty cool place to be. If you've ever dreamed about scuba diving on a coral reef, the place that you've found yourself is perfect for that (minus the needing to scuba part). Curious fish swim up and then dart away into rock crevices, coral growths, and even down to bury themselves in the layer of sand at the bottom. The water is also fairly shallow, allowing you to surface if you so desire.

Even the sharks are friendly and just want to have as much a look at you as you want to look at them. Don't harass the glowing eels tucked into cracks between the rocks, though, they bite and don't particularly let go.

OPTION TWO: WORLD'S SMALLEST JUNGLE

This must certainly be an oceanside jungle - in spite of the humidity, the smell of salt on the air is strong. Brilliant greens and the occasional bright flowers, accompanied by island birdsong... It could be a nice place to spend an afternoon. There's not even that many bugs that want to drink your blood (though bugs in general are, well, quite plentiful).

Eventually, though, however far you go, you'll reach the beach and be met with the expanse of the ocean - blue, uncaring, and real big. While one side of the little island thankfully has land visible in the distance, the outer side just overlooks a near-endless expanse of blue. If you're a very good swimmer, you could probably make your way to land past the rocks of the reef itself... Otherwise, though, you might be just a bit stuck on your jungle island paradise.

At least until someone brings a boat.

OPTION THREE: SHIPWRECK

Both above and below the waterline are the remains of ships crashed upon the rocks, just waiting to be explored. Even though it has clearly been an incredibly long time, the chunks of wood and metal are still in fairly good condition, and the chance of finding something nice tucked in with them among the rocks is surely tempting to anyone with an adventurous spirit.

The wrecks beneath the waves also grow coral and seaweed, and provide havens for larger fish, dragon eels, and sharks. Those along the rocks above the waterline, on the other hand, provide a home for seabirds of all varieties. Most notable is the hulking shell of a shipping craft in the distance, looking very much modern if ruined by some centuries of exposure...

For right now, though, you'd best contend with the flotsam a bit closer to you, and the wildlife that might not take too kindly to your exploring. Below the waterline, the dragon eels found in a few places don't take kindly to being disturbed; above, you might run afoul of some overprotective seabirds protecting their nests. Maybe even an invisible seagull (normal sized) - how ridiculous would that be?

Comments

[nojohnyouare]

Oh. Like the adventurer. [nod... even if that's an awkward gesture with the horn] Interesting. But dangerous. It's hard to tell what lives here.

[motherfucking_ghost]

There are androids, but there's magic.

We're sure this isn't science? Since it's spacetime going wrong?

...I mean at least--at least the Glaive's together. And Ari and Mai and Fuku...

[motherfucking_ghost]

What do you mean another Xander?

[motherfucking_ghost]

Fuck, okay, well--maybe we should stick together, then, until we find more people.

[burninglight]

[While he tried to disentangle overly clingly tentacles, Ardyn held out his right arm without question; there was just the usual scars and phoenix tattoo.]

It's alright. Relatively alright. We are not in imminent danger, the entire Glaive's here with us, there are no power or memory-based problems, and no one is trying to convince us to throttle each other.

...Also, the fish thing should be temporary once this dimensional nonsense is stabilized.

Nono | Diebuster

[nonono7]

[ 1 ]

[ Nono hasn't really been underwater before. Not like this! Mars certainly didn't have oceans like this - this was an ocean, right? - and she'd never been to Earth. Or on Earth, she'd been to there, kind of.

Setting that chain of thought aside! This was underwater and it was wild! Nono had absolutely no idea what she was doing there, but she wanted nothing more to explore at the moment. Answers could come in a bit!

And so people could find Nono swimming around - swimming normally, she didn't have any fishy parts... at all. Just a normal teenage girl (with bright pink hair) swimming around and peering at coral, sharks, and interesting-looking rock formations.

At one point, a shark gets a little too nosy and she FWOP punches it straight in the snout. Please ignore that part. ]


[ 2 ]

[ If you arrive on the island, you might find Nono on one of the sandy beaches. Boots thrown casually to the side, she's walking the length of the beach... with a GIANT stick and carving S. O. S. into the sand.

After that's done, she'll be scurrying up a couple trees trying to grab some coconuts. Or some other tropical fruit. Whatever is native to this place! Nono doesn't know, she just knows that trees on tropical islands are supposed to have things up them, okay!

If you're on a boat approaching, she is waving her arms like a madman trying to get attention. If not, well, she'll give a wave. ] Heeeeeey!!


[ 3 ]

Augh! Shoo, shoo! No biting! [ To those approaching the shipwreck, you might find a girl floating just above the water near the rocks the wreck is situated on, thrashing her hands about randomly to get the seabirds away. Instead of going away, they are flocking around her, wings and beaks batting or biting at her or near her and this is not how she expected this to go at all! ]

I just wanted to see you, I didn't mean to disturb you! I'm sorry please leave me alone! [ ...It sounds like she was interested in the birds, not the wreck. Too bad the birds didn't take kindly to being investigated, it seems. ]

[herolytical]

Ah! Todoroki, you're here too?

[ There's no way that he wouldn't recognize that voice. Immediately he stops short and turns to face the other boy with a much more uplifted expression, lingering only briefly before his thoughts take over. ]

It could be either. I mean.. if it's made from some other kind of material it would explain the lack of erosion... [ Stopping himself short before his train of thought gets the better of him. ] This seems too real to be a dream. What do you think?

Faith Fallon | OC

[moonlightglory]

-1-

[Faith's first reaction to this place was a brief panic about drowning, followed by a slightly longer panic about not having any legs, but she calmed down pretty quick. This was weird, but not all that much weirder than for example Maddie's ability. Conclusion: Work of an enemy mage. Stay sharp.

While she gets the lay of the land (lay of the water?), though, she can't help but appreciate how nice it is down here. She adapts to her new tail quickly, already being an avid swimmer. No having to rely on her leg, either. The thriving aquatic life is, if she had to put it into words, cool as shit. It's almost enough to make her forget that she was probably put here by another goddamn survivor of the Hand. Almost.

Mentally preparing to transform at a moment's notice, and musing on how her fighting style is going to be pretty useless underwater, Faith explores, and calls out.]

Anyone out there? If you have any idea what the hell is going on, I'd really appreciate an explanation!

-3-

Fuck! Goddamn shit, motherfucker!

[That's not proper language for a mermaid. The source of the shout is Faith, over here with an unexpected dragon eel latched on to her wrist.

Acting on reflex, she punches the eel in the head. The impact is strong enough to stun it, freeing her from its grasp, but the damage is already done. She grips her wrist tightly, blood seeping into the water regardless. There are other people around, right? Anyone will do.]

Fucking fuck. Hey, are these things poisonous? Isn't there some specific color combination that means it's poisonous?

[misanthropicprinciple]

...Noctis and his blond friend and Soma are here, too. But they're not ours. Noct's twenty again, for one thing. And I think I might've seen Xander around, and Akira's definitely here. None of them recognized me.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Looking and sounding like Ardyn would normally be enough, but apparently there are imposters around, and he's having A Day. The tattoo makes him calm almost instantly. Calmer, anyway. He's not struggling or yelling anymore, though he's clearly still keyed up.

Despite the order to let go, the knowledge that this is the Right One means clinging, arms around Ardyn's shoulders. He hums a familiar, calming tune to himself for a few moments.]

...Did that guy seriously just shit ink like a real octopus.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Shit. Interdimensional bullshit.

But all you guys are still you. Right? And it's...fine? We were in Japan, trying to settle in? Ardyn thinks he can keep ostrich-sized birds in the city? That's all fine?

[burninglight]

[Ardyn hugged Church tightly, arms around his shoulders and tentacles only half-tangled for now, patiently running a hand through his hair and waiting for the general disastrous storm to pass. It was fine, everything was as fine as it could be, and the last conspicuously missing piece clicked easily into place.]

He's stupid.

[nonono7]

Oh wow! Is that a thing!? That sounds so cool! Super cool!

[ Nono is getting progressively closer to Izuku's face with each statement, a sparkle in her eyes and excitement in her expression.

He may or may not notice that her pupils are shaped like a four-pointed star with her shoving her face that close. ]

3

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Ah, unladylike cursing, the call of his people. Here comes a merman from around a decaying corner.]

Oh, shit--uh, I dunno, something about red? If it's Red, you're dead? Or like...red and yellow kills a fellow?

Think seaweed would make an okay bandage? I can scrounge some up!

[misanthropicprinciple]

Yeah, check-check-check. I was babysitting Ruu-chan and sucking at holding down a regular person job, Yuuri was excited about college. She's pissed as hell about this, by the way, and is taking it out by being aggressively domestic, so prepare yourself for titanic amounts of home cooking shoved your way.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Stupid asshole couldn't explain anything, just grabbed me with his stupid tentacles, just like you're doing with your stupid tentacles only way stupider.

[burninglight]

He's a godsdamned disaster and later we're going to annoy the living hell out of him because it's funny.

But right now, it's okay. We're safe enough, I'm here, nothing's going to hurt any of us again.

1

[blackestwitch]

......Faith?

[ 'sup, there's a familiar-looking magical girl swimming over. Yes, she's transformed. Yes, she's also a mermaid - although her tail is weird, with large bony plates over it and a completely clear, long fin at the end. There's also, perhaps more noticeably, Zel in his completely monstrous form, scuttling around the ocean bed below.

Maddie - Black Witch, that is - makes her way over... hesitantly. It seems to be a combination of not being used to the fin and also being blind. ]

2

[fistsofchange]

[A fish girl emerges from the ocean, upon noticing someone's making a fuss up there.

Lin could immediately feel her skin starting to dry out. At least she COULD leave the water, unlike the people stuck as mermaids. More importantly, Nono looked like she needed help.]

Are you alright?

[motherfucking_ghost]

As if I'll ever turn down her cooking. [munch munch them chips] You think either of us could ever have like...jobs? Even ignoring the fact that I don't know the language well enough to interact with, say, local clients. It'd almost be too boring, wouldn't it?

[herolytical]

[ Hearing that voice was enough to snap him out of his thoughts, looking around frantically until he saw the nest in question and backed up from it before his gaze fell on the girl who'd spoken to him. ]

Ah... are you gonna be alright?

[motherfucking_ghost]

We're fucking fish people and you have an annoying clingy doppelganger. I dunno how okay that is.

[He pulls back at last.] Of course we'd all show up together, though, I mean, how fucking cliche is that by now.

[burninglight]

...I don't know if that's the word I'd use. And--...that's kind of the thing, there's some time discrepancy at work here. What you think was likely instantaneous has been a month for the rest of us.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...What?

[burninglight]

I'm saying that we've been here for a month. That's how I'm confident enough in saying no one's trying to get us to kill one another. The androids back at the Station all seemed somewhat baffled at the mere concept, and I don't think they're lying to any of us.