TEST DRIVE 006

[phantasmods]

Hello and welcome to Phantasmal Rift's Test Drive Meme!

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 the Telovia Mines, an extremely abandoned magical crystal mine and the town and infrastructure that one supported it. The tunnels are in reasonably good condition and would be reasonably navigable... Except for one thing.

ONE MINOR THING

The magical effects of the Fissure cause those within it to lose something when they arrive - for most people, it's a sense such as touch or hearing, but it's also possible to lose a more esoteric sense (such as your sense of balance or temperature, but NOT things like "sense of morals" or "sense of style"), the ability to speak, or the ability to recognize faces. As a general guideline, whatever characters lose should be non-supernatural in nature, and something they would have taken for granted as a part of their ability to function.

ODDS AND ENDS

Just because the mines are empty of people doesn't mean that they've gone still. While for the most part, the carts full of crystals remain in one place, the huge amount of magic has left more than a few of the miners' abandoned tools still going through their motions. Rusted pickaxes swing at the walls, and dead lanterns swing from the ceiling. Crystals occasionally free themselves from shards of rock to pile into bins, which then empty into already-overflowing mine carts.

As long as you leave them to their jobs, everything will be fine. If you try to stop the tools (and it is the tools themselves, for anyone who might be looking for ghosts) from doing their jobs, they'll chase you down until you leave their general vicinity.

Of course, the eternally working tools don't care much about the structural integrity of the mine tunnels...

THEY ALL PILE UP

...And so, inevitably, there are cave-ins.

Most of them are fairly minor, and you can see them (well, if you can see) enough to just work around them. Some of them are big enough that you're going to have to dig through them first, if you can.

And then there's the handful that block passages entirely. But don't panic! The tunnels are designed around the possibility of this happening - rather than coming to an end, the majority of them loop back around to the main arteries of the mine.

E... ventually...

But you and whoever is stuck with you on this side of the cave-in might be wandering for quite a while before you get there. Hopefully one of you still has a sense of direction, assuming either of you ever had one in the first place.

Comments

Akira Kurusu | Persona 5 (Airlocked CRAU)

[le_mat]

One Minor Thing

[Akira's life since they escaped Nina and all went their seperate ways was... calmer than some. Sure, he still occasionally got into life-or-death battles, only now they were with cards instead of his Personas- not that he could use them in Domino City anyway. But after dying in space, he'll take the quieter life.

Which is why he's on edge right away when he wakes up someone new and can feel his Personas actually being active in his head for the first time in nearly 3 years. Still, it's not hard to forget old skills, so it takes him a bit to get back to sneaking about this... Palace? Occasionally he stops and smacks his lips, looking confused.

Anyone that might have met 'him' before might not recognize this version right away. Considering he's nearly 20 now. Taller, a little broader, voice a tiny bit raspier. His hair is shorter, though still fluffy enough- and while he is wearing a coat very similar to his Joker outfit, the rest is more casual looking and he's unarmed.

If one if very observant they might catch the flash of ink at his wrist or just below his collar- or two scars that look like puncture marks on his right underarm, but his clothing keeps that rather hidden at least. Either way, this Akira has certainly gone and seen some shit.]

... this better be a Palace, and not fucking space again...

They all Pile Up

[He tried to be all business. He really did. But when it's clear there's no Shadow (or Overseers) he falls more into exploration and curiosity. One might find him looking at the crystals, holding them up to the low light.

...and later proding the pickaxes and other tools. Doing JUST enough that they won't chase him (well, maybe they did once or twice) but still be obnoxious to try and see how they work]

I should take some of these back with me. Bet Kaiba can make something cool out of them.

[As if he needs more weird magic to integrate with his tech]

1

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai is walking a lot more carefully than usual, but she nods as she starts to pass.]

Akira.

[...waiiiiiiiit.]

...Akira?

[le_mat]

...Mai-san?

[Oh god this IS space. He looks a little terrified all of a sudden, looking up for cameras.

Yep, definitely the Akira she knew in Deadland]

[nojohnyouare]

No cameras. And it's safe here. ...Mostly. There are monsters. And strange effects in Fissures, like this one.

That makes three of you.

pileup

[burninglight]

I can't really make much of them, just yet.

[Carrying a flame in one hand, Ardyn gestured to the crystals with the other.]

Could be cursed, explosive, or knowing my luck harboring some ancient buried god th--wait, Akira?!

[le_mat]

...Ardyn-san?

[He smiles, trotting over]

Well, look at you, you old bastard... what are you doing here?

[burninglight]

Living in hell is what I've been doing!

[he's glad to see you and it shows in how Utterly Offended that tone is.]

Everthing finally settles down, then some cosmic force of bullshit decides 'you know wht you could use? More multiverse shit!

[DEEP BREATH.]

...It has been less than ideal, but no one's dead.

a minor thing

[effinrocks]

[Did someone say girl versions of people you know? Bringing in people who were thinking of postponing their testing until the next dungeon?

Yes? Good. Because Ryuu Sakamoto is not having a particularly good day. She's actually having a kind of terrible day? She just showed up in some effin' tunnel and while Captain Kidd is still here, it's...

Well. It's pretty shitty.

The fact she can't keep upright isn't helping. She keeps stumbling, balance totally off, and it's pissing her off - but not enough to distract her at the mention of Palace.]

It's a pretty effin' shitty Palace!

[Have a very accusatory teenage girl staring you down, Akira, wearing what looks...almost identical to what your good pal Ryuji used to wear when he was gallivanting around as Skull.

What do you know about Palaces, stranger?]

[le_mat]

[ Oh no

Thankfully Mai warned him about other-Akira... but she didn't mention other-Ryuji (and that's clear who this is, now that he has the idea of a girl!Ryuji in his head) so maybe she just arrived too?

Well. He raises his hands in peace, making no aggressive moves.]

Calm down, I'm not armed. I can explain.

[effinrocks]

[Oh yes.

That does get her to at least pause, though she's still on the offensive.]

I'm plenty calm!

[N-no...she's really not, but after wobbling while standing still again she deflates.]

But I guess if you're here you're another Persona user, huh?

[So...possibly an ally?]

One Minor Thing

[foolishjustice]

[Like Akira, Goro also looks different. He doesn't look any older, but the distressed skinny jeans, gray T-shirt, and blue combat boots he's wearing are a far cry from a sweatervest and khakis...to say nothing of the red gem glinting in his right ear, easily visible with his slightly longer hair pulled into a ponytail. Or the odd necklace he's wearing.

At first glance, he hadn't been quite sure who he was looking at...but the mention of a Palace confirms it. This must be...another world's Akira. One that's even further ahead of his own timeline. It's strange seeing him looking older, around the age his fiance had promised to wait until before becoming a Composer, but he shakes it off.]

It's not a Palace, but it's not space, either. You're in an abandoned mine, in a world overrun by magical distortions of a more physical sort than we're used to.

[le_mat]

[Akira is frozen when he sees Akechi, eyes wide. The clothing is so very different, but he'd recognize Crow anywhere.]

Akechi...

[He doesn't look mad, at least. Or even exactly upset. Just surprised and almost awed]

[foolishjustice]

Kurusu-kun.

[He nods his head slightly in greeting.]

From that look on your face, should I assume you're from after Shido's Palace? Or...maybe it's just my outfit...

one minor thing

[hairpincurves]

[... Palaces, huh...]

Well, you can use Metaverse tricks here, but it's not a Palace.

[It's said rather offhandedly by this girl setting up a stabilizer.]

[le_mat]

[Akira startles... and even knowing that a girl version of himself is here he can't say for sure that this girl is her.

But still, it's like looking at a relative. Her knowledge about the Metaverse helps]

Ah... that's good to know.

[hairpincurves]

[She turns from where she's working, wiping a bit of dust off her hands on her jeans and offers a somewhat lopsided smile before making her way over.]

... This is the second time I've seen an alternate and it's just as weird as the first.

Pile Up

[fifthreplacement]

[He overhears the words before seeing who spoke]

Good luck getting back, no one here knows how to bar "wait for a Fissure to".

[Then he looks up. The teen is sitting nearby, back to a wall to keep himself upright. When he sees Akira, the similarity is enough to make him scowl]

Score-be-damned, there's three of you now?

[le_mat]

[Thankfully hes already been filled in on the other hims. So Akira just smiles in a way that was probably supposed to be sheepish but just looks like a smirk deep down]

Oh? Well as the oldest I guess I should take responcibility for one of me putting such an un-cute look on your face.

First one, or whatever, just after Ardyn sometime

[founderinglight]

[Good news, there's lights! Three orbs of bright blue just kind of hovering in the air around -

Well, at first glance, the man looks kind of like season three Ardyn had discovered a razor, but the "NOT ARDYN, WE'RE TWINS" shirt will dispel that quickly enough. Izunia moves with the careful shuffle of the person not used to vision loss (but then, why the lights) and more than a bit of obvious anxiety, a rapier in one hand serving the role of both weapon and cane.]

[le_mat]

[Ah, the infamous Izunia. Akira coughs lightly, to let him know he's there.]

Excuse me, sir?

[The voice is slightly deeper, but still akira]

1

[byanyother_name]

It's neither, though it has aspects in common with a Palace. This world operates partially on a similar cognitive wavelength to the Metaverse.

[Kurama is in a slightly better position than most to recognize who he's looking at despite the changes and extra years. Despite having no regrets about insisting his Akira wait until he was 20 to become a Composer, he somehow has even less regrets now. It's interesting but also a little concerning; Akira is the only person so far they've had multiples of like this.

The redhead is dressed in a green longcoat decorated with bondage straps and detailing of thorned vines. His eyes are sharp and curious, but he's standing in a way that's deliberately unthreatening.

Space, though...]

Have you been pulled out of your world before?

[le_mat]

Depends. Tell me why you know about the Metaverse, and I'll tell you about any possible world hopping.

[His own stance is casual and non-aggressive. But also careful]

They all Pile In

[beguiledcard]

[ While this isn't the first time he's seen another Akira Kurusu of the male variety, it's the first time he's seen one looking... around the same age as Goro. His mouth opens, but of course no words come out. That doesn't stop an annoyed sigh from escaping, of course. ]

Go for it. It's kind of a common theme around here to take whatever isn't nailed down.

[ Hopefully older him won't mind the phone shoved into his face by an Akira who isn't wearing glasses, but is clearly no older than seventeen. Although, he's glancing at the tools for a second, and then that phone is getting lifted right back up for older him to see the screen of it. ]

Or trying to kill you. [ a beat, and then he's adding: ] Well, even then...

[ Just... shrugging. In short, they're surrounded by a bunch of thieves and people who like to loot. ]

[le_mat]

[He knew he was here. He had met the girl Akira, and that had been weird. But seeing that actual other-male Akira... is so strange. It's like a mirror- or more specifically a memory, since Akira isn't this person anymore. Hell, this Akira isn't the same Akira they both once were- he can tell even at just a glance.]

You lost your voice? I think I'm starting to figure out how this 'Fissure' works.

[He eyes the tools... then goes for a crystal instead, tossing it hand to hand]

...so. You're the other one, huh?

1

[serrata]

[ It might've been a while since she saw him last (multiversal technicalities aside) but it's hard not to recognize Akira for who he is, despite – or maybe because – spending so many months surrounded by doppelgangers. So she doesn't hesitate to pick up the pace and come hurrying over to him. ]

Akira-kun! [ THAT'S RII-SAN, ALRIGHT ] Did you just get here?!