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

Phi | Zero Escape & Trustfell 4 CRAU

[plentyfriendly]

Clear your mind before you swim

[At this point, Phi has long since accepted that returning to awareness at an unknown place and time is just a thing that happens to her, no thanks to some people.

That doesn't mean that suddenly being blue, gilled, and legless is something she's going to welcome with it; the scaled, finned tail she's stuck with is a lot more flexible than she'd expected it might be and she's struggling to move without flipping around uncontrollably. At least she's... well, she can't really call it breathing, now, can she?]

downed but not even close to out

[The shipwreck is interesting, but she's from both of the wrong Zero Escapes to have any connection to one on a personal level. This one is intact enough that she can rest her arms and get her head above water, though. She'd expected her lungs to still work, at any rate, and she's not wrong.]

Ow.

[Wait. Huh?]

What was tha-

[There it is again. She flinches.]

Hey! Cut it out!

[Is... she pinning this on you, you bet she is.]

Clear your mind

[nor_iron_bars]

Uh, hey, want a hand?

[If Phi looks to her left, she'll come face to... face-half-covered-by-a-gasmask with a woman who appears to be part sea krait, although she looks pretty relaxed about it at the moment.]

Legs look like they've fucked off for the day, but I can definitely still offer hands right now.

[plentyfriendly]

I'd appreciate that.

[She's not sure how much help it's going to be, but it's better than this barely-in-control flailing around.

But she will definitely ask about the gas mask later, even if she's not expecting a smoke grenade. Those wouldn't work well underwater. Probably.]

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail reaches out with one arm so that Phi can grab onto it, bracing herself on the seafloor with her long tail so that she doesn't get pulled off-balance too.]

[It won't instantly fix her lack of coordination, but she figures having something to hold onto and keep herself upright and facing in one direction should help make it easier to catch her breath and figure out how that tailfin works. Sort of like a little kid holding onto the side of the pool while they practice kicking the water to swim.]

Had a fun time figuring out how to swim with this thing at first, but at least it was too long for me to get all flippy like that. ...At least not by accident.

[plentyfriendly]

[Okay yeah, that's better. She still has to do the work of actually learning this new body herself, but actually being in a position to do that is just what she needed.]

I would prefer to still have legs, but you work with what you get.

[nor_iron_bars]

Same. Hoping to get 'em back at some point, but I guess I just gotta make do until then.

[For all her lackadaisical attitude, her arm is surprisingly steady. There's muscle there that suggests she's used to doing serious, heavy work.]

On the bright side, at least I get to be all shiny and neat-looking, that's pretty fucking cool.

[plentyfriendly]

I donno, it's a little much for me.

[The glasses throw it off. She doesn't even need them, though.]

Then again, you don't look like you're from another planet...

[nor_iron_bars]

Hmmm... [Jail thoughtfully surveys her current look, as compared to Phi's.]

Nah, it's a little less 'space invader' and a little more 'reptile-style furry fetish', by the looks of it. So, y'know. Still not stellar.

[plentyfriendly]

[She's going to assume the pun just slipped out without her thinking about it.]

I never did get to ask whether there were... wait, never mind. Let's not talk about that anymore.

[That's going to get into weird territory real fast.]

Okay, I think I'm getting the hang of this tail finally.

downed

[motherfucking_ghost]

Dude, what? [Nearby, Church's head breaks the surface, looking annoyed.] I'm not doing anything, what do you want?

[plentyfriendly]

I want who or whatever keeps [ow] poking me to buzz off!

[motherfucking_ghost]

[He holds up his hands.] Not me, so don't yell at me about it. Maybe move and it'll stop? Or, I dunno, look? [He sure doesn't seem to be offering to look.]

[plentyfriendly]

That's the first thing I did, and there's no one and nothing in here except you and I.

[...wait, what if - ow.]

So either it's you, or some goddamn invisible thing, and one of those ow-

[...that one came from behind her.]

-is the truth and I can't do anything about it.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Oh. No. Fuck that, I am not here for invisible demons again. Dive down, if it comes after you, you should be able to see it moving in the water!

[plentyfriendly]

[Visible demons would be... okay, actually. Probably. Killia's all right, despite the name.

Back underwater it is, though.]

Dammit, I was just starting to get relaxed and this happens.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[And Church is still right there under the water, eyes peeled at the surface in case It Follows.]

You think any of this is relaxing? Sure, it's easy on the joints, but...mermaid surprise.

[plentyfriendly]

Relatively speaking, of course.

Or would you rather I have called it "enjoying the feeling of using lungs"?

2

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai raises the plastic sword she's been carrying. She narrows her eyes and watches carefully.]

Something invisible. But small.

[plentyfriendly]

Invisible? Great.

[The most obviously sarcastic "great".]

I'm not sure what I can do about that.

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai waves the sword as a warning in front of a bird, which squawks and flaps off.]

Bird-san. ...Can you swim? They're not in the water.

[plentyfriendly]

I can, but I was hoping to get a little air...

[She sighs. Nothing for it.]

[nojohnyouare]

Oh. [She starts looking around.] Maybe they want food. Seagull-san like garbage.

[plentyfriendly]

There's not a lot of it here... I might have to dive back in anyway to see if there's anything like that left.

[nojohnyouare]

There's always something. Coming in from outside. Just like you did, things do, too.

[Mai grabs the first thing she can find and tosses it somewhere.]

Go, invisible bird-san.

[plentyfriendly]

So it wasn't deliberate after all... though whether that's better or worse I can't say just yet.

[Probabilistically speaking, it's too unlikely for that to be the case.

Tossing whatever that was seems to have worked, though. Watch it fly away.]

...There's probably more of them.