phantasmemes | TEST DRIVE 006

Entry tags:

!test drive

TEST DRIVE 006

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"...From the way you're dressed, I'm pretty sure we're in the same line of work, or something close to it." Probably not a child soldier in a religious military, but, really, he can't find out without asking. There's a slight softening of the redhead's expression, not quite a smile but a release of tension all the same.

Rather than going to retrieve his sword, he offers a hand. "Asch. Formerly Oracle Knights Special Operations, not that that's likely to mean much." The Special Operations part might, at least, be easy enough to understand.

Oracle Knights makes him think immediately of Lunafreya, but even with that connection he knows it's nothing from his world. Likely not from Earth either.

"My name is Talcott Hester. I'm afraid I'm not authorized to give you any information about the organization I work for." The fact that he's seen the logo is bad enough. Still Asch relaxes a little and, probably stupidly, Tal does the same, offering a small apologetic smile. He's not used to being secretive like this.

If they didn't want people seeing the logo they shouldn't have put it On Stuff. Asch just rolls his eyes, but it's with an air of I know how that one goes.

"It's not like anyone here would probably recognize it anyway. Completely different universe and all."

"Better safe than sorry. They... aren't unfamiliar with crossing universes as it were. If someone does show up here I'd rather not get in trouble with my superiors." Especially not as a D class.

But the eye roll gets a soft huff of laughter and he shrugs a little. What can you do?

"Well, at least that means I can skip the annoying 'what do you mean other worlds are real' part." Couple of veteran travelers, these.

"I got the crash course on that a few months ago.... and the actual class on it last week." Another shrug. "I haven't actually been with my organization for long."

But then he didn't need to be part of the Foundation to be skilled at killing things.

"Not the first time for me, either." Though - he is going to raise an eyebrow and look Talcott over one more time. "You move way too well to be a newbie."

"The world I'm from originally isn't... particularly safe." Isn't that an understatement. "At least not since I was a child."

The fact that most people would still consider him a child, only a few weeks past 18, is irrelevant. He hasn't really been a child since the Night fell. And even before that he was learning the intricacies of knife work from Monica.

"The Foundation didn't teach me to be dangerous, they took me on because I already was."

Does he sound proud of that? Gosh, maybe a little.

"Makes sense. I didn't have much of a choice, either." Are we talking about the tragic backstory? No, not today. "If they're hiring, though, I think I'll pass."

He's also already had more than enough of people telling him what to do when they aren't even upfront with their motives. "Has anyone told you what this world's like, then?"

"Trust me, that's a good idea." Working for the enemy, trying to choose the lesser of two evils, so on and so forth.

"I've heard a bit... dimensional tears, something about stabilization fields." He blinks hard, gingerly touches the back of his head again. Maybe he hit his head harder than he thought.

"Yeah, everyone's stuck here until the androids native to this place or somebody figures out a way to close the Fissures and send us back." So, you know, enjoy your impromptu, extended shore leave. "It's been a couple months since people started showing up. Sometimes they disappear again, but otherwise you're stuck here with the rest of us."

He nods along, considering this information.

"Depending on how I was drawn here from my previous location that might be more likely than you think." The disappearing again part of it. He's not sure what happened to get him here, possibly it's less likely if it was accidental.

But then why would the Foundation send a rescue team after a D-class agent? An exploration team, maybe, but rescue?

Not unless Nine and Ren can convince the others... and after everything with Lance would...

Would anyone even care to?

"Apparently the hypothesis is that people get sent back to whatever time they were pulled from, so at least you don't have that to worry about." From Asch's tone, it's not something that's particularly on his mind, which might raise a few eyebrows.

He finally bends and retrieves his sword, making his movements very obvious, and immediately returns it to its sheath.

No eyebrows raised here. There are people Talcott wants to get back to, sure, but there's no great desire for him to return to Michigan or the Foundation.

"That's a nice blade." If nothing else he can appreciate that it is well maintained, and after seeing the ridiculously plain weapons most of the other campers had it was kind of refreshing to see someone with a decent blade. "I don't suppose you've heard of Culless have you?"

If universe hopping was something they were both familiar with then maybe?

Asch shakes his head immediately. "Not that I can ever remember." He adjusts the weight of the sheathed sword. "I wouldn't mind replacing this, actually, but it's what I had on-hand both here and at the other place I was in, and it's what I'm familiar with."

No real need to change, but there's still a bit of tension in him as he talks about it.

It's too bad all he has on him are throwing knives, something small and ultimately disposable. Not at all like the beauty of the pieces that could be found in Lucis. Even if Ren were here he could show off the kukri Talcott had gotten him before he died.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find another long sword." Somewhere in the varied worlds it sounds like cross in and out of this place. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Asch closes his eyes briefly. "Bad memories."

He's not going to elaborate, but Talcott might notice his free hand, the right, almost reaches towards his chest, an aborted gesture of something.

"I was considering changing styles anyway," he says instead.

Ah... he's stepped on something delicate. Talcott nods, lets the subject fall away with those two words. He won't press.

"Styles, hmm?" Thoughtful, as he appraises the redhead, the spines in his hair, short stature and slender build. "You could always try daggers, you look like you'd be rather fast and agile. I could help with that if you'd be interested. Throwing knives are my specialty but I've learned to work with daggers a fair bit from Ignis and Ren."

"I'm actually much stronger than I am fast." It's a bit amused. He's grateful for the change of subject, too. "I had to do a bit of everything, but if we're talking about the same Ignis, he's a lot faster than I am."

He's met two Ignises already, why not a third somewhere out there in the universe?

Strength over speed. Hmm, maybe sword and shield then? But he wants to discontinue the sword so-

"You... know Ignis?!" Wide eyed and hopeful and it really is problematic how much his hardened soldier demeanor vanishes at the mention of someone from home, his family. Clearly if Asch knows Ignis then he can't be bad.

"Blind, knows his way around a knife both in the kitchen and out of it, never learned to turn the mother hen off for the ten minutes it takes to take care of himself?" While the latter might sound like a complaint, Asch's voice is probably the warmest it's been all conversation. "Yeah, I was friends with the one on the islands, and I'm on pretty good terms with the one here."

There are so many Ignises in the multiverse, Talcott.

Okay Talcott can't even fathom multiple Ignises, though he's sure there are plenty. Well, obviously, there has to be at least two because of Verse 2.

"Yeah. He's-" He's what exactly? it was much more difficult to define than Sol had made it and he actually blushes a little as he remembers the times he'd referred to Ignis as his Brother-In-Law and the horrific moment he'd discovered what doujinshi was.

Things you can't unsee.

"He's kind of family. It's mostly just been the two of us working together for years now. Until recently, that is."

"Yeah, I get it." He can't say he knows the feeling, because things are still... strange, for him to think of much of anyone as family. "Good, I'm glad that there's someone else to keep an eye on him. Apparently there was at least some version of Noctis here until about the time I arrived... I'm sure he's putting on a show to hide what it's doing to him, but it's not like I'm close enough to this Ignis to say anything."

The multiverse is hard like that, sometimes.

Oh... oh no.

"His majesty was here?" And he can't hide how hopeful he sounds at that. Noctis was probably the last person he should talk to now, though, knowing all that he does. "He'll be alright without Noctis. He has been for years now. It's... easier knowing he'll come back to us, eventually."

"Was. I know there's still Prompto for Ignis to lean on - I think they're rooming together - but, well." Under all of these layers, Asch is, just maybe, a little fussy about the handful of people he calls friends. "But knowing what's going to happen - I don't think him coming back eventually makes it any easier."

Not when it's only coming back to die. That's just Asch's opinion, colored by his own experiences (Luke, dragging him before their parents, and Asch is still both grateful and resentful of it).

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject