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

[hairpincurves]

I'm afraid it's not a lesson the reckless learn well.

[... Ah, okay, I guess we're talking about this now.]

Yeah... I was going to ask you when we weren't... y'know. Preoccupied with this.

[Gesturing at both the sea around them and at their tails.]

[foolishjustice]

Given the kinds of creatures that can inhabit these places, you'd probably find out anyway.

Though, I'm also going to have to explain what this place is and why we have gills and tails, so I guess I'll leave it up to you which question I answer first.

[hairpincurves]

... Well, we may as well cover the more familiar ground first, I guess.

[foolishjustice]

[He nods and taps a finger to the beak of his mask.]

This is a simpler explanation, anyway. The black mask is tied to a specific Persona. I changed it by switching to a different one.

[hairpincurves]

Huh. I didn't know something like that was possible...

[foolishjustice]

It's probably because I got that Persona differently from my others. Loki is...unique in several ways. Granted, it might seem just as surprising to hear that he and Robin Hood are both innate Personas.

[hairpincurves]

Oh, for sure. Robin Hood and Loki, huh...

[What an interesting combination for innate Personas...]

[foolishjustice]

I think they're born from opposite parts of me...two inner selves that can't be reconciled in a single Persona.

I also have Rangda, Valkyrie, Kushinada-Hime, and Queen Mab, from negotiating with Shadows.

[hairpincurves]

[She's got... a couple questions by this point, but the nature of them... well, she'll put those off for now. More pressingly...]

You've only got six?

[That strikes her as weird, and Goro can probably hear it in her voice.]

[foolishjustice]

I know, a Wildcard of my experience level should have...a much larger variety. I don't have access to Persona fusion, either. For reasons I think it would be best to explain after you're caught up on a few other things, the Velvet Room isn't open to me.

I didn't even know it was possible to recruit Shadows as new Personas until I saw my version of you do it, and I've been a Persona user since well before we even met.

[hairpincurves]

[That's... suspicious.

Still, if it's a subject he says is best left for later, she'll trust his word.]

I see... [Though, it's clear the gears are already turning in her head.]

Well, I suppose the important thing is you know now...

[foolishjustice]

[Isn't it just?]

Mm. And while the lack of fusion is...frustrating at times, I manage well enough with what I do have.

I'm a little surprised you didn't have a stronger reaction to finding out we have the same power, though. Or were you distracted by the parts of mine that are strange from your standpoint?

[hairpincurves]

The differences are what's bothering me, yeah.

[Delighted freakouts over discovering a fellow Wildcard are slightly delayed for the moment.]

The fact that you're denied things that I've... well, admittedly been taking for granted by this point... That... that doesn't sit well with me. At all. It seems like I'm getting preferential treatment here? ... And other versions of me. That doesn't seem right if you... and the Akechi-san I know, have that same kind of power.

[foolishjustice]

I know the reason for it, but...like I said, it's an explanation best saved for once a few more things are out of the way. Telling you why now would just raise those questions, anyway.

[hairpincurves]

Alright, that's fair. I'm getting the sense it's an explanation I'd be better off sitting down for anyway.

[foolishjustice]

Probably, yes. And I think the current situation is a little more pressing...especially since I haven't so much as seen a door to the Velvet Room here.

[hairpincurves]

Alright, so, what's going on, then?

[foolishjustice]

We're in something called a Fissure. It's an area of uncontrolled magic, where reality is unstable and the walls between worlds are thinner. People and objects appear here supposedly at random, though the fact that people only appear when there's someone around to find them has me suspicious, and creatures already here can be subject to...unusual effects.

[Gesturing at his...well, his everything, really. There isn't a part of his body that actually looks like it's supposed to.]

In the last one I was in, nobody needed sleep and our recurring dreams were made semi-real. Not dangerously so, but enough to follow us around and display some deeply personal things to others. Both effects ended when we got back to stable reality, though, so it's likely we'll get our legs back when we leave this Fissure.

[hairpincurves]

[She nods thoughtfully at the first part of the explanation.]

I should hope that's the case. The ocean's pretty cool, but I think I'd miss land after a while.

[The idea of something putting her dreams out on full display for others really bothers her, so she's going to try to not focus on that for the moment.]

... So is there any way to stabilize these things, or are we just up that particular creek without a paddle?

[foolishjustice]

There's a small group of natives that's been providing us shelter. They've come up with stabilizing devices that at least hold the magic at bay.

[He waves a hand and what looks like a robotic bacteriophage, about three feet long, appears in it.]

We just need to find places to put them where they aren't likely to be knocked over by currents or animals.

[hairpincurves]

Sounds simple enough. Two pairs of eyes looking out for places to put these things should make it an easier task than just one pair, right?

[foolishjustice]

If you wan't to help out, I wouldn't object at all.

[He hold the stabilizer out toward her.]

I have several more in my inventory.

[hairpincurves]

[She takes it with a smile.]

I'd carry more, but, uh...

[She kind of left her bag back on the shore.]

[foolishjustice]

[...Oops, his face is turning red again as she approaches and takes the stabilizer.]

Y-yes, I understand. I've been working for a while on accessing my inventory without any kind of bag, especially once I found out we'd be going underwater for this Fissure.

[hairpincurves]

... Once I've gotten my bearings back on land proper, would you mind teaching me? Even if nothing like... this happens again...

[It still sounds incredibly useful...]