phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-07-12 11:56 pm
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TEST DRIVE 005

Hello and welcome to the fifth 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 time, the Test Drive takes place in Incendia - a less-ruined-than-expected city that has been abandoned for over a century, due to the magical effects of the Fissure (unstable reality region) that have made it impossible to live in. What effects are these, you ask?

Well...

BY DAY

By day, the city is lovely, if oddly empty. The sun shines down, and magical lights along the sidewalk - the equivalent of power lines - flow energy throughout the city. It's possible to think that the little sparks you sometimes see at the corner of your vision are related. After all, there's a great deal of magic in the air...

But in spite of this, the city lies abandoned, for no immediately apparent reason. You might have found yourself in a wide-open shipping yard, where large metal containers levitate about, moving without any help or oversight from human hands. Be careful; these containers changing positions make it easy to get lost for quite a long time, since few of them have much in the way of identifying traits over than color. Didn't you already pass that arrangement of two red ones on top of a blue one before...?

Or perhaps you're in the massive park in the center of town, with its blatantly magical fountain (a half-dome of water just hanging in the air) and the tents of an abandoned festival. Two stages and a long line of street food booths stand empty - surely no one will mind if you use them for something, right?

Or perhaps you're just suddenly on the streets, among stalled-out taxis and cars that go nowhere and lack the familiar smell of gasoline. There's apartments and shops all around, with little gardens spilling out over balconies... Maybe if you go knock on some doors, you'll find people.

Wherever it is you are, surely there's got to be someone around who can tell you what's going on, right...?

BY DUSK

As night falls, rather than dropping the way you might expect, the temperature begins to rise. And then the sparks in the edges of your vision are very much more than simply at the edges of your vision. They catch first on the plants, the papers stuck to the now-lit magical streetlights, the trash cans... And then, increasingly so, on the buildings proper, the shops, the skyscrapers, the cars in the street.

Within half an hour, an inferno is starting to build, and it's clear that there's not going to be anywhere above ground safe from it. But fortunately, there's safety beneath the level of the streets - if you can make your way fast enough to an underground station.

BY NIGHT

In the remains of these subway tunnels, lit mostly by the dim glow of magical energy lines, you're at least safe from the inferno above. Unlike the aboveground parts of the city, however, the tunnels are in an obvious state of disrepair, with broken concrete, rot, and mildew. The stations might have once been clean, but they quite transparently are not now, and the tunnels themselves are as bad or worse.

Thankfully, no trains run anymore, so you're not at risk of being run down on the broken tracks. There's also not any full-on collapses blocking the way, and the tunnels seem well-enough made that there's probably not risk of a cave-in.

Less pleasantly, you aren't the only thing taking shelter in the tunnels from the firestorm above. And the magic of that flame has touched the feral dogs that rove the tunnels, turning them into barking, howling creatures of as much flame as flesh themselves. And then there's the occasional patch of mold, mildew, and slime in the darkest parts of the tunnels, where even the magical circuits have gone out, that moves to douse any light that comes near it...
have_hat_will_travel: (Pained)

[personal profile] have_hat_will_travel 2018-07-13 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Right!

Do you need healing or anything immediate?

[The woman glances towards him.]

Name's Pidonus, by the way.
riderofcharlemagne: (makasete yo scoob)

Night

[personal profile] riderofcharlemagne 2018-07-13 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[Astolfo had just arrived on the scene, lance in hand, but stops as he sees how well Kyouko's handling the situation.]

Ah, seems you don't need my help after all.

[The weapon in his hand disappears with a small glow.]

I don't much like fighting dogs, anyway.
bloodyashes: ([F] Sorry about him)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2018-07-13 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
...Point.

[That one does kind of suck, he'll give you that.]
motherfucking_ghost: (look at this goober)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghost 2018-07-13 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Something my husband taught me. Granted me the ability to do? Ehhhh, that makes him sound like a genie. He comes from a hella magical world, and he can share some of the shit he can do with others.

...That was like. Two months ago. I'm still getting the hang of a lot of it. But I promise I'll get it out eventually. Nothing's ever lost in there for good.

[With the same crystal jrpg bullshit effect, the giant book of life lessons vanishes.]

This place seems to run on a lot of magic. And technology. Like a weird balance between it, I-I haven't super figured it out yet? But there's all kinds of magitech, so I guess self-moving crates are better than having to drag in a bunch of cranes...
shipoutofluck: (007)

[personal profile] shipoutofluck 2018-07-13 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Hardly. I'm going to do as I please. I don't intend to change my path for the sake of anyone else.

I'm just giving others the chance to change theirs if they want. I don't especially care what anyone decides, but it might as well be an informed decision.
riderofcharlemagne: (uwah)

4

[personal profile] riderofcharlemagne 2018-07-13 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[Just takes a step back.]

Woah. That's some lance.

[Is it better than his? ...Nah, it's not ornate and shiny, but it is impressive all the same.]
blackestwitch: (‡ bitch please)

[personal profile] blackestwitch 2018-07-13 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a mage who's here to help you beat up some... dogs?

[ However, as she says this, something else emerges from the large black hole-like graffiti that "Black Witch" came from.

Standing up on its long legs, it easily reaches ten feet in height. Stark white and eyeless, it resembles a spider, if a spider was monster-sized and had four extra arms facing forward, and two of those arms had giant mantis-like scythes.

It swings one of those arms, cutting down one of those doggos that had been taking advantage of Maddie's appearance to try and sneak around the side for a better attack opportunity. Sorry puppo.


....Maddie still not reacting to the spears. ]
misplacedxsheath: (Am I supposed to be impressed?)

[personal profile] misplacedxsheath 2018-07-13 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
You might have met a different version of me. It's not unheard of for people to arrive in these places without memories of previous visits, so it's not too outlandish to think that the might also wind up in more than one without ever being aware of their other adventures.

And yes, I spent some time as a unicorn. It was disorienting, to say the least.
redmeguca: (B-baka...)

[personal profile] redmeguca 2018-07-13 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wow, Kyoko's face just went as red as her hair.]

Wha- what was that? I-i'm not cute! Madoka's the cute one, all pink and frilly, I'm not!
shipoutofluck: (003)

[personal profile] shipoutofluck 2018-07-13 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[He'd say that sounds like a malak. Being born human and turning into that, that much wouldn't be odd. But...]

You actually went back and forth?
cyclicalconcept: (I think this is awesome)

[personal profile] cyclicalconcept 2018-07-13 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

[She takes a piece, bobbing her head.]

Ah, would you like something to drink? I can get coffee.
Edited 2018-07-13 20:54 (UTC)
misplacedxsheath: (Am I supposed to be impressed?)

[personal profile] misplacedxsheath 2018-07-13 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
No, I'm immune to the direct effects of fire, and the falling debris isn't nearly enough to overwhelm me just yet. Besides, if I get seriously injured, I have multiple ways of healing myself, save your spells for people who don't.

[He waves at the air, trying to keep the smoke out of his face. Indirect effects of fire are still a problem.]

And I'm going to hazard a guess from your introduction that you don't remember me. I'm Margulis.
wantstoexist: (01. This is ten percent luck)

Lucatiel of Mirrah | Dark Souls 2

[personal profile] wantstoexist 2018-07-13 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Day

[Lucatiel walks through the abandoned streets of Incendia with caution, with one hand resting on the hilt of her sheathed blade.

She's on edge. Finding herself in a strange place would be bad enough - but her lack of memory of how she got here only makes things worse. Surely she didn't come here on her own and just... forget about it. The curse she suffers from isn't destroying her memories that quickly. It couldn't be.

She's almost certain of it.

But a trace of doubt perseveres. And that scares her more than an abandoned city ever could.

She's cautious, but relieved when she sees another person in the abandoned remnants of a festival. Her hand rests squarely on her sword as she greets them.
]

You there! How did you get to this place?

[Even if they don't turn out to be friendly, perhaps she can get some answers from them.]



Night

[This is much more her speed.

Sure, the inferno on the surface is less than ideal, but she remembers it. She doesn't have any questions or doubts about how she got into these tunnels. It's simple.

More than that: It's another avenue of exploration. The world above them may be ablaze, but these tunnels seem to be safe enough - at least, at first glance. A good enough place to take a breather, at least.

She sits herself down on a bench near one of the tunnel entrance, where she can be easily be found by anyone else who might be running into the tunnels tonight.
]

I see that I'm not the only one who thought to take shelter down here. Are you hurt?

[The tone of her voice doesn't carry a whole lot of concern, but if anyone looks in particularly rough shape she'll stand up to help them.]
einherjarista: (distracted by nothing)

Night and also I'm sorry

[personal profile] einherjarista 2018-07-13 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ You know what? Signe feels this. Deep in her soul, she gets this feeling. ]

Everything here is total bullshit. [ 'sup Erina, have a.... young adult or teenager of ambiguous age approaching. Wearing a casual blue jacket, jeans, and a brown T-shirt that simply reads CAFE SCANDE ] So what's your Verndari saying, anyhow? You gotta show them their place, you know.
shipoutofluck: (009)

[personal profile] shipoutofluck 2018-07-13 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's glaring so intently, in fact, that he hasn't even bothered looking up or really noticing the person now next to him at all, other than her words.]

This style...

[Huh?]

I've never seen anything quite like it...
motherfucking_ghost: (Default)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghost 2018-07-13 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Let's just agree that interdimensional travel is bullshit and leave it at that, no matter the circumstances.
redmeguca: (Default)

[personal profile] redmeguca 2018-07-13 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[Kyoko's spear runs through three at once as she turns to Astolfo.]

Don't worry, I'm used enough to fighting by myself that someone else would probably throw me off.
founderinglight: ([hold])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-07-13 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I was flesh and blood again when I arrived here, and several decades younger than when I last had a human form besides. Not that I'm complaining, trying to do what we do here at that age would have been needlessly difficult.
redmeguca: (The hell?)

[personal profile] redmeguca 2018-07-13 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
What the hell? You have a pet Witch?

[Yeah, Kyoko's still not getting that this is something else entirely.]
bloodyashes: ([D] Hybrid)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2018-07-13 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Still better than being dead.

[Oh hey, look, it's a bench? He's gonna sit on the bench.]

...Want a mango?
motherfucking_ghost: (yeah. that's right. I'm a gay robot.)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghost 2018-07-13 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
We just met and you're already the worst influence I know. If I wasn't married, I'd want you to marry me.

[He can't really climb it if he can't get to it, and he could probably get to it if he warped but let's never have church warp let's just pretend that's a thing he can't do especially...when he forgets he can technically do that. So instead he runs over to the fountain...apparatus, through the sheet of water coming down. And yelps.]

That's cold!

[But kind of refreshing during the summer? And then he gets nailed with a couple of jets of water that shoot out of the ground.]

Aw, maaaan, this is one of those fountains people are supposed to use!
theserpentsmiles: (Default)

[personal profile] theserpentsmiles 2018-07-13 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[This fire's spreading faster than a normal fire would, considering how much of a city isn't readily flammable. Makes Nagisa inclined to believe the part about magic.

Running with this book is pretty hard, but like hell is he leaving it behind.]

Moe Box isn't responding. Are any of the others here?

[First thing he did when he realized he was no longer on the mountain was check his phone, but the AI didn't seem to be there. And he couldn't get any service to try contacting anyone else.]
motherfucking_ghost: (Default)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghost 2018-07-13 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Bad luck is not a superpower.
daughterofthemark: (B1F. At the ends of limitless hope)

[personal profile] daughterofthemark 2018-07-13 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, she's not really helping her case there.]

I'm sure she is, but you are quite cute as well, Kyoko-san.
redmeguca: (Food is more important than you.)

[personal profile] redmeguca 2018-07-13 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll take it if it's all you've got, not really fond of bitter tastes.

[She'll take out a pack for herself and start snacking on it.]