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

[biddentodance]

[Later, he'll put together the Fissure explanation with the knowledge of Shadows' ability to manipulate time and space. Right now it's easier to accept whatever comes. Other worlds? Sure.]

Nah. [Some of his Personas are resistant to one type of physical damage or another, but none of them block any of the three outright.]

...Nice to meet you, shark-san.... [He's losing focus. He rubs at his face briefly, like he's trying to wake up. His admittedly rather flushed face.]

[foolishjustice]

Ah, right, my name is Goro Akechi.

[He wrestles his arm free to flip the shark over so he can rub its belly, leaving the shark wiggling like an excited dog.]

Are you alright, though? You look ill.

[biddentodance]

Minato Arisato. [His head isn't really clearing any. He's used to being sick by now, but this is...more than he's used to. Ugh.]

...Just a cold...probably. [He thinks. It's no big deal, right?]

[foolishjustice]

You look feverish.

[He gives the shark a nudge to shoo it off, then sighs when it just buts up against him and tries to bite his shoulder.]

Shoo, shoo.

You should probably be resting.

[biddentodance]

[The shark is still really cute. Would they make good pets...? Could Aigis speak shark, too, if she tried?

In response....Minato just shrugs. For once he actually was in bed, resting, while sick, but then his bed and room and dorm and whole world up and vanished leaving ocean in its place. And right about now, his stomach gives a noisy reminder that it's been a solid twenty-four hours since he collapsed into bed without even changing out of his uniform.]

[foolishjustice]

[Look, maybe if he grabs the shark and points it in the other direction? Nope, now it's just tugging on his tail...sigh.]

...Actually, it sounds like you should be eating. I hope you don't mind seafood?

[biddentodance]

[That is one persistent fish.]

Think I missed dinner... [Oops. But far be it from him to turn down free food.] Seafood's good. So is ground beef...

[Minato, no. No puns.]

[foolishjustice]

[He tugs his tail free, then swats at the shark. It finally seems to get the message that he doesn't want to play anymore and swims off.]

Unfortunately, I'm a bit low on dry goods right now.

[Goro why.]

But I do have some boiled fish I caught on the reef.

[biddentodance]

[Having exchanged the customary Terrible Puns, we are become acquaintances.]

Fish sounds good...thank you.

[foolishjustice]

[Much more important than exchanging names.

He swims forward and produces a large fish fillet out of...seemingly nowhere.]

You're welcome. I have more too, if you're still hungry after that.

[biddentodance]

[You know what. We will question that later. Add it to the list.

The fillet is consumed quickly. Slower than it might have been, since Minato is still operating with a fever, but quickly. He's. He's hungry.]

This is good...

[foolishjustice]

[His fins perk up at the complement, ears twitching happily.]

It did turn out well, didn't it? Especially for being cooked underwater.

[He's a little surprised Arisato didn't start slowing down toward the end, but since he obviously isn't full yet...he'll just produce another fillet and hand it over.]

[biddentodance]

[Of all things, that's what strikes him as hard to believe. Under...underwater? Cooking? How do you boil the whole ocean?]

How did you...?

[The second is gone just as quickly as the first. Minato isn't exactly tall, and he's kinda....noodle-y in build. Where does he put it?]

[foolishjustice]

There's some coral around here that produces a lot of heat and boils the water around it. I cooked it over that.

[Though that's...definitely surprising. He produces another fillet, actually looking a little impressed now.]

I didn't think anyone but Akira and myself could manage this much food in one sitting...

[biddentodance]

[Fire coral...that sounds so cool. And makes sense. All-natural boiled fish...yummy.

He eyes the third fillet....he could certainly eat more, but...well. He doesn't want to be a burden on anyone, and he certainly doesn't want to eat all the food Akechi has.]

You don't have to... I eat a lot. [A lot a lot.]

[foolishjustice]

So do I. I've been hunting with my own appetite and Akira's in mind, so I boiled a lot of fish.

Besides, if you're sick, you really should eat.

[biddentodance]

[He shakes his head. Two was plenty for one meal, anyway, just because his appetite rivals the rest of SEES combined doesn't mean he has to eat that much all the time.]

A cold's no big deal. Pretty normal, for me.

[This feels a little worse than just a cold, but...nah, not that important.]

[foolishjustice]

[He frowns slightly.]

That's...not particularly reassuring.

[biddentodance]

Kind of annoying, that's all. [A shrug. He's pretty used to having a terrible immune system. Stay up too late or get caught without an umbrella, bam. Virus.

Don't worry, he only applies this nonchalance to every matter related to his own welbeing.]

[foolishjustice]

That doesn't mean you shouldn't still be taking care of yourself. If anything, you should be more careful of your health if getting sick is so common for you.

[Fussy fish!]

[biddentodance]

Don't care.

[He can't avoid late nights....well, investing in an umbrella wouldn't be a bad idea. But is it really that big a deal? It hasn't killed him yet.]

[foolishjustice]

[He presses a hand to his forehead, as his antennae curl in exasperation.]

You sound like Sae-san...well, you won't get anything out of neglecting your health while here. There's enough of us that we're not at all short on manpower for closing this Fissure.

[biddentodance]

[Manpower. Fissure. A mission? ...An operation. The operation. How long- two weeks? And change?]

How do I go back?

[Mitsuru's going to be angry enough that he disappeared, if he misses the operation...]

[foolishjustice]

We don't know yet. We're hoping that studying stabilized Fissures will give an idea of how to control passage through them, but right now it seems to be at random.

[He moves his hand from his face and brushes back a bit of hair that's slipped loose of the fins on his head.]

There's no evidence either way yet, but...the people studying the Fissures have theorized that because they also warp time, we might be able to go back to when we left from.

[biddentodance]

[This conversation (and some food) has done a lot to ground Minato and get him thinking through the fever. More than usual, even. Fissures have some related danger demanding they be closed, aren't well understood, tie space in knots and....can even possibly affect time... Time.

"A time manipulation device"

It's just like Shadows, isn't it? Is there a Dark Hour here, too? This is no vacation. Not even close. And there are people studying the Fissures, too. Just like the Kirijo Group. This isn't going to end badly at all.

Just ignore the slight hitch in his breathing, it's almost imperceptible anyway.]

Understood.