TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #1

Hello, and welcome to our very first test drive! We’re pleased that you’re expressing an interest in the game. Here, you can test the waters, gauge how your character may fare in the world of LifeAftr, and even gain some in-game incentives, if you so choose.

Remember that Reserves will open on July 17th and that Applications will open on July 24th, in preparation for the game’s official opening on August 3rd!

But first, two important notes!

1. The island of Mu exists apart from the real world and possesses a dream-like quality that characters are innately aware of from the moment they appear on its shores. No need to panic or fret. Dreams are odd things, after all - and anything can happen in them. Why would anyone question where their mind chooses to wander in its sleep?

2. Due to the nature of Mu, threads in our test drive can not only be accepted as thread samples in your application, but can be accepted as game canon as well. In fact, certain choices your character makes in Mu have the potential to bear in-game consequences.

Shipwrecked
The white sand of the beach ridges the island’s edge, even if the clear water soon becomes murky the further out you look across the horizon until the turquoise gleam of the tide disappears in a coil of surrounding fog. Indeed, your best prospects may very well be to strike out among the trees or the crags looming out over the foam-capped waves. There’s lumber to be found and made from the palm-like trees, potentially fruit or edible tubers of some kind if you forage about some. The further you travel, however, the more of your surroundings will reveal themselves in a steady unspooling of curiosities.

One corner of Mu’s current construct drops away into a sheer cliff, initially too dangerous to brave for all but the more daredevilish, but if one starts to scan the sharp rocks below, you might catch sight of what appears to be sodden planks of wood - a wreckage tossed up against the rocks. And a little further...a bobbing, shattered wreck of a lifeboat’s remains, potentially bearing supplies that might yet be salvageable.

Fashion what you can from the wood and stone around you or scavenge from the ruin of the land, if you like. But you can’t simply stand around and wait forever. It’s going to get dark sometime - and if a creature of unknown terror doesn’t catch you, the elements surely will.

Storytime

There’s a sense of camaraderie in this cove, you think. As the sun hangs low over the horizon, the world cast into orange hues, long shadows dispersed by roaring fires that dot across the beach.

That’s right, folks: it’s storytime.

There’s no one to preside over this meeting of the minds in Mu. Call it a vague recreation of things to come, if you like, some vaguely fatidic dreamlike state where you may find yourself drawn to the heat and company that awaits you by the fire. And from there, compelled to default to that old instinct that most of intelligent civilization has revered since they were advanced enough to paint geometric shapes on cave walls.

You tell a story.

Perhaps it’s a tragedy, a tale of woe and of personal loss. Perhaps it’s the sort of thing you’d break out after a few rounds of your alcoholic beverage of choice, clapping hands to your knees as you try to bite back your mirth long enough to spill the punchline. Perhaps it’s an adventure of some sort, some unbelievable rendition of your past exploits. The only common thread to be had, as those gathered around the fire share their tales, is the fundamental rule of a ritualistic sharing of stories such as this: its truth.

But how one chooses to define "truth" is, in its own way, another story entirely...

Dance, Sucker, Dance!
The beat of your heart in your chest is difficult to ignore. It judders with a pulsing, rhythmic quality. If you’re one of those that lacks a heart, the beat is still omnipresent and all-encompassing, until your entire body is unwittingly bobbing in time to a metronomic tune that seems ingrained into your very soul. It’s inescapable. You can’t seem to move unless it’s in time to the rhythm that’s now singing in every atom of your being.

But rest assured, you’re not alone in this musical curse. Everything, from the swaying trees to the waves against the beach, jumps in time to the music. And so do the monsters approaching you, that - wait a minute.

Monsters?

Oh, yes. Did we mention those?


It seems you’ve encountered the wrath of the Boogieman, who curses you to only dance to his infernal beat. If you wish to best him, you’ll have to either evade or destroy the blobs of greenish slime that serve as his minions, all in time to the hard beat of the tune in your head. Clear the radius of his curse or risk an open confrontation, if you dare. Don’t worry if you look foolish; chances are anyone else caught in the Boogieman’s thrall feels just the same.

Mu isn’t pulling any punches to start with. It is a flighty creation, after all, and seems to revel in displacing people into new and uncomfortable situations.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Guzma || Pokemon Sun and Moon (games)

[yallstupid]

Welcome to Paradise, cousin:

[He's dreamed of islands before. Islands not part of the Alola region, that is. Islands that don't have much to offer other than a view, some sun, and cool waters. Perhaps that's why Guzma isn't so perturbed when he wakes on the shores of Mu, dusting sand from his arms and clothes. He's content to sit on the beach and watch the waves for a while, but it's the eerie peacefulness that finally drives him to stand. Even in his dream there was more than just the rush of the waves - there were Wingull crying, Finneon or Magikarp jumping up out of the water in the shallows, a Slowpoke sunning itself on a sandbar or rock...something. But no, there are no pokemon here.

He frowns, then rummages through his hoodie and sighs a little with relief, feeling two pokeballs in a pocket on the inside of his hoodie, where he usually keeps his pokemon in their balls. He removes them and calls out the duo - his Ariados and his signature partner, Golisopod. The two look a little perplexed at first, they can sense far more than Guzma, but are put at ease when he calls them both to walk along the shore with him. Just a quick walk - and he picks up shells and tosses them out into the water, or up into the sky, and has his pokemon uses attacks on them.

A bit of fun, and a bit of training at the same time. Even in his dreams he doesn't stop pushing himself to be a better trainer. Once they reach the far end of the shore, Guzma lets his Golisopod soak in the water, while Ariados suns herself by his side, leaning her head on his thigh.]

...Weird place. There ain't no pokemon here. Y'all can feel it, yeah? [He rubs the big arachnid's massive abdomen, right between the two stingers on her rump, where she likes the best.]

Spider Dance:

[Okay, Guzma was starting to think this place was a little bizarre and a little to realistic for the norm of his dreams, but this? This is a little--no...scratch that, this is a goddamn trip and he's wondering what the ever loving hell he ate to give him a lucid dream like this.

Who the heck is the screwball in the mask? Are those Grimer? Ugliest Gimer he's seen in his life, but what else could they be? Still, they're coming at him and...and dancing. I mean, if that grotesque wriggling and sloshing could constitute as dancing. Thank the Tapu your boy has got mad skills, yo, because even in the sand he can bust a move like a pro.

It'd be cooler if he was in control of his spontaneous twinkletoes, but...yeah, he's a good dancer, at the least.

And Ariados is bopping and twirling around to the beat, the stingers on her rump waving to the beat and her legs tapping along in the sand.]

Ariados, you too? [Said as he slides away from a gooey monster in the most overly dramatic way possible. Who wrote this choreography??] The heck kinda fever dream is this?! Ariados, poison thread!

[The way his pokemon attacks could be called artistic at this point, and Guzma is beside himself. The thread seems to arc and spin, almost sparkle even, as it creates a sticky hold around a few of the slime. He's not expecting it to poison like it should - Grimers can't get poisoned, so he thinks - but it should slow 'em down.] Yo, fancy feet, the heck's your deal?! You got a bone to pick with me?! I'll beat you down without all this--hey, call off your little boogers!! C-C'mon!

[Actually getting gooped by a Grimer is, uh...dangerous. Their slimy skin is pretty darn toxic by Alolan standards.]

Diiiid somebody say Spider Dance? :D

[prettypurpleparlor]

Oh dearie dearie me... What a terribly rude way to ask a lady to dance.

[A sweetly lilting voice drifts across the sands from somewhere behind him, light and amused. The newcomer steps delicately around the sticky threads and puddles of goo, swaying gently in time to the beat.]

I think that rude partners-

[Her lips- a purple so dark it's almost black- curve into a cheerfully wicked little smile, revealing sharply pointed fangs.]

-ought to be stepped on.

[As she reaches Guzma's side, she plants her feet firmly, raising her top two arms to strike a dramatic pose- one that sends a series of bouncing white circles raining down in the direction of the blobs. Hopefully the Boogieman made his minions as good at dodging as they are at dancing, because monster bullets can do a decent amount of damage if they hit.]

Don't you agree?

[Yes. A purple spider lady did just wink at you. Hey, she's pretty sure she's dreaming too, might as well have some fun with it.]

YELLS

[yallstupid]

[Okay, if there's one way to get Guzma to trip over his own two feet and fall flat on his ass, that is it. Definitely. Thank god for Ariados, who leaps at a slime that takes her Trainer's misstep as an opportunity to strike him. She drives her two abdominal stingers into the slime's sticky body, snapping her fangs angrily - Fell Stinger, an attack that boost's a pokemon's strength when it's used to down an enemy.

But Ariados doesn't outright attack yet, even with her boost in strength, she's much too interested in this strange, new creature. It's unlike any pokemon she's seen or sniffed before, but it--she seems to be an insect like Ariados is! An arachnid, to boot!! Hopping up and down on her feet, Ariados clicks her fangs in greeting and approaches the purple lady before she's stopped by Guzma throwing an arm over her backside.

That, uh...creature reminds him a little too much of what happened when a person and a beast mixed together. He's a bit pale, hands on his pokemon shaking a bit. Bad memories, not so old fears. Of course his weird as heck dreams would creature a bizarre mix of something he likes (bugs), and something he's freaked out by (Ultra Beasts). Of course.]

Th...The heck are you supposed to be?!

SO MUCH YELLING

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She gives Ariados a friendly little wave with one hand (lovely to see another spider monster around, even if they seem like the quite type), using another to cast more bullets at the slimes, while swaying her hips as the dance beat requires. By now, they're finding out that she hits surprisingly hard for such a small thing- a little over 38 ATK is nothing to be sneezed at, although she's wary of letting any of them get too close.]

For the sake of politeness, I'll assume that was a request for an introduction. You may call me Miss Muffet. And you are?

[yallstupid]

[Ariados actually isn't his quietest pokemon (that'd be Scizor), but she just doesn't exactly communicate like Muffet does. The wave gets a happy click of the pokemon's fangs in her general direction, and the stingers on Ariados' abdomen wriggle in a waving motion of their own. That is, before another slime gets too close to her trainer and she shows just how ferocious she can be. Eyes glowing a lavender hue, the spider lifts her rump up and her shadow slithers towards the slime, catches its own, then attacks the slime's actual body from behind. The spider's dark shadow, eyes glowing the same wicked lavender color as its body, grabs the goopy creature with its front legs and delivers a harsh bite with those wicked fangs. The slime makes a pained keening sound, melting into a frothing puddle as Ariados' shadow begins to fade and move back under her where it belongs.

Shadow Sneak.

Guzma, still afflicted with Da Moves, also spins his lower half under him before he hops up, wobbling a bit because of the uneven sand. He readjusts his sunglasses (no longer asymmetrical) and can't help staring still. It's a bug. A spider. A spider lady. That's talking to him... Okay. Okay okay okay okay okay--]

Uh...Guzma.

Paradise for the punks

[solperierat]

[Edward's been wandering around for a while himself by the time he comes across Guzma, watching the odd critters with him warily as he approaches. They might obey this guy, but there's no guarantee they're going to be friendly to anyone else. But besides that--]

What the hell is a pokemon?

[Says the bat-goat-man.]

1/2

[yallstupid]

[Neither of these two pokemon are especially mean. In fact, the two pokemon he was allowed here are among his most openly calm and friendly. Despite its lumbering size and fierce exterior, Golisopod is calm and cool, twitching its antennae as it picks up the sound of something approaching. Ariados is energetic and curious, and she actually takes a few scuttling steps toward Edward first before Guzma even turns.]

Huh? The heck you mean 'what's a po--

2/2

[yallstupid]

[Bruh.

Guzma stares first at Edward, then his pokemon, then back at Edward again. That--what even is that. He has a few guesses, but the idea gives him goosebumps and makes his stomach churn with anxiety, so he brushes the thought aside. He'd really rather not revisit Ultra Space in his dreams, thanks. Though, uh...if this is a dream, it's a rather oddly vivid one. nly his brain would conjure up a freak like that, clearly.

He rubs his head, trying to feel for a lump if he hit his head somewhere or something. Finding no such abrasion, Guzma shakes his head and looks out at the pristine waters washing up on shore.]

Dang, I must've swallowed a whole mouthful if I'm starting t'hallucinate a malformed Skiddo.

[solperierat]

[For his part, Edward is surprisingly patient with this whole ordeal. After nine months he's grown used to the horrified reactions of newcomers to the peninsula, and this isn't all that much different.]

[Of course, it's still annoying.]

A malformed--what the hell did you just call me?

[Sorry, did that say 'patient' up there? Should have been 'patient for Edward'.]

I'm a goddamn minotaur, alright?! Not some mutated whatever-the-fuck you have in your world!

[yallstupid]

...A what?

[Now it's Guzma's turn to cant his head to one side with a baffled expression. Mine-yo-tauros? That sounds stupid, how the fuck do you mine a Tauros?? You can't, that's how! He's just about to explain what a Skiddo is before he raises an eyebrow at this presumed hallucination, eyes narrowing at a particular sentence there.]

...The heck you mean my world? [There's a hint of apprehension in his voice. Maybe this thing is an Ultra Beast? Can they speak and look like this? I mean, researchers barely know anything about those freaky critters, for all Guzma knows they could talk, especially if they fused with a human like...l-like--

He feels sick, and he rubs his face as Golisopod stalks closer to his trainer and nudges him comfortingly with a low grumbling sound. His eyes then are poised on Edward, flexing his large, black claws. If you think about hurting his trainer, freaky poke-beast-thing, there's gonna be hell to pay.]

DANCE SPIDER DANCE

[lionson]

[Don't worry, Guzma. The moment the goopy monsters get a little too close, there's a hand grabbing Guzma's to yank him back out of the way.]

Careful there! Wouldn't want to see you get melted like that.

[The man there may look old at a first glance- his hair went silver decades ago and time hasn't been kind as far as wrinkles on any bit of exposed skin goes- but that grin on his face and the way he can easily step around the little green blobs shows that he's definitely not fragile. No, this seems more like a game to him than any actual threat, if his attitude about it is anything to go by.]

This guy's pretty tricky, huh? We might need to team up to knock him out. What do you think?

[yallstupid]

[He's just about ready to swing around and deck the poor guy - when did he even get here? - but he stops when he realizes it's just some old guy. Some, uh...old guy that can keep up with these weird as heck Grimer better maybe than he can. Guzma's brow is lifting up, and--

Whoa, wait, what? Excuse yourself, good sir, did you just suggest actually teaming up with him?]

Boy, now I know I'm dreaming! Old timer, y'might have a spring in your step, n'I, uh...I 'preciate you doing me a solid back there, yeah, but unless you can, mmh... [He looks up, fishing for the words that are more akin to this geezer's age group.] Cut a rug, I don't think y'all can do much.

[Besides, he's still pretty confident his now jiving spider can take it. And if not, Golisopod is still in his pokeball at full health.]

[lionson]

[Shiro is going to raise an eyebrow at that last comment.]

'Cut a rug'? Just how old do you think I am?

[Well, he IS kinda old, and he actually did understand what Guzma meant, but details. He doesn't seem too offended by the rejection, though, it's moreso the insinuation that he is old that gets to him.]

I wouldn't offer if I wasn't capable. Though if you think you can manage on your own, then you're welcome to it. I'll just hang back in case you get in over your head.

[yallstupid]

[Old enough to know what he was talking about, and the curl about his lips is proof of his minor victory, though it dissolves in an instant at the insinuation that he can't handle his own. Excuse you? You want to repeat that a second time, good sir? Because Guzma clearly did not hear you right. He knits his brows together, lips curling back over his teeth almost like a dog, and he takes a bold step forward.]

...You wanna get beat down too, old man? [He's ready to go, any time, any d--okay yeah, no. His lowered guard there means a slim oozes its way onto his leg and Guzma curses waving his leg wildly to throw the thing off before he opts to just kick the darned thing square between the eyes. He's uh...still in the mindset these are Grimer, and it sort of pains him to hurt a pokemon, but this isn't the time for ethics.

The grime that still clings to his pants starts to hiss and smoke as the toxicity begins to eat away at the cloth, and Guzma nearly tips over himself as he heads to the shore to wash it off.

>:C You say anything, grandpa, and he's flipping you the bird. E rating be damned.]

WELCOME TO PARADISE, SWEET SUBJECT <3

[sheikahsnap]

[ from a tree branch on high, a high pitched voice calls out. Little legs cross while she writes something down in a little notebook. ]

When Subject is placed in new environment...grammar...incomprehensible. Noted.

[ ...how long has she been sitting there? ]

/takes the bus home. >8C no thnx

[yallstupid]

[It's not the voice that startles Guzma, but what is said. Subject? Subject of what, exactly?! The only sort of subjects he knows of, from experience, are those used in testing and--haha...yeah, no thank you. Aether is enough of a freakshow with it's testing and he wants no part in that fucking organization anymore, no sir.

He snarls, all but leaping to his feet as Ariados falls into the sand (excuse you, I was napping) and Golisopod raises up from the shallows with a rumbling sound. Guzma looks around for the source of the voice, fists clenched like he was ready to brawl.]

The heck you just say?! I ain't no one's subject for nothing!! Get out here so I can smash you! [Was this the person that brought him here? Does that mean--...his missing pokemon were taken away? By this goddamn psycho?!]

8C AND SHE STICKS THE LANDING!

[sheikahsnap]

I'm sorry, writing little notes to myself and speaking out loud is a bad habit of mine. But it's rather cute, right?

[ the sound of a boot shutting tightly above him can be heard, and she elegantly steps off the tall branch and-- and lands onto his head, much like a cat landing on their feet. She launches from her space on his fluffy, white hair and flips downward into the ground, turning around slowly and flashing a peace sign. ]

Check it! [ though...the look on her face is devoid of any real pleasure, she sounds happy. ] You're the only other person I've seen on this island, sooooo...

...that makes you as good a subject as any! [ she smooths out her flared skirt a bit, dusting off her bum with a couple pats. ]

I LOVE BER but Guzma doesn't

[yallstupid]

[Guzma has just enough time when he looks up to catch the flash of movement from the tree overhead, the tiny voice and snap of the book prompting him to her whereabouts. His reflexes aren't good enough to avoid the impact, and gets a face full of tiny feet. Now, the little coconut may be small, but she is still heavy, more than just a few pounds anyway. Guzma wobbles hilariously in the sand, the cushy grains making his balance almost null. With an undignified yelp, and a curse word thrown in for good measure, the giant tumbles backwards with a thud.]

What the--oof!! RRGH, I'M ABOUT TO CHECK YOU INTO THE OCEAN, YOU LITTLE--! [Rolling over, Guzma rights himself, arms and back covered in sand and small shells, looking very much like he would made good on this threat, but squints at the...kid? It's a kid. No, scratch that. It's a toddler.] ...Look here, tyke, I could care less if I'm the lucky guy you ran into - I ain't here to toy around with you. Go find someone else to play pretend with.

Paradise...ish???

[fortunefavored]

[Um yeah so that idyllic moment you're having over there? Gonna be rudely interrupted by a short nerdy looking guy barreling out of the woods towards you on the beach, one arm lifted in a bid for attention, as though his loud, screechy voice is somehow subtle]

Hey--hey, you!

[yallstupid]

[Well, there goes his peace and tranquility. Guzma frowns at the ocean while his two Pokémon look back towards the source of the noise. Golisopod wares closer to the shore and Ariados lays her head back down against her trainer's leg and begins to doze. If her teammate there is coming to investigate, she can relax a little. But she does chitter indignantly when Guzma moves his body a little and her head falls into the sand. EXCUSE YOU.]

Yeah, what?

[fortunefavored]

[Newt hadn't noticed Golisopad at first, As it moves closer to shore, though, it catches his attention, and Newt's eyes widen, a wide grin splitting his face] Holy shit, you've got two?! [unfortunately, with his attention diverted, Newt hasn't really thought about the fact that running on sand is different from running on solid ground.And between that and his rather obvious enthusiasm..,] Oh my god, is that a-- [the intent was to finish that sentence, but instead makes a very undignified squawk as he trips, arms pinwheeling uselessly as he suddenly gets a face full of sand]

[yallstupid]

[Two? Two wha--oh, his Pokémon? Yeah, duh, he's got two - five, actually, but he's trying not to think too much about the three that aren't here (it'll just piss him off, and no one wants that) - what the heck kind of trainer does this idiot think he is?! He opens his mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a harsh and loud holler, then a howl of laughter as Newt kisses the sand. He doubles over after a second, holding his stomach in actual pain.

Wow, what a total loser.]

Haha...ha...oh, man, that was sick. I'm gonna be sick... [He sighs, wiping the tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes.]

almost paradise

[relieable]

[by now, Osomatsu is realizing that he isn't alone on this island. he'd been seeing other people, aside from his brothers, and he was beginning to think that it was not Todomatsu who was the mastermind behind all this. they'd gotten to this island in some other fashion, and all these people were probably just as confused as he was.

what brought Osomatsu to a stop that morning was the gigantic bugs that seemed to be chasing after some poor man. were they going to eat him? did he even notice them?]

H-hey, man! Look out! [he calls, waving his arms wildly, as though that might scare the bugs away. seriously, that spider was huge! it was like a nightmare!]

[yallstupid]

[Sadly for Osomatsu, the other people he's run into look, uh...very similar to him, and his experience with their faces was, erm...Not Good. He's cooled off by now, thank goodness, but that forced calm won't be lasting long now. Frowning after being bothered while he takes a look around for some supplies - what else could he do; his phone's busted from being soaked, probably - Guzma peers over his shoulder to see who's hollering after him. His two pokemon also stop and turn, Golisopod twitching his antennae and shifting closer to his trainer in case he needs to attack.

It takes all of a second for Guzma to recognize the face, and his tiny frustrated glower swims into a blazing fury as he snaps his fingers to Golisopod and hisses to the huge insect--]

Bury 'im.

[Don't look now, Osomatsu, but that big buggo is clamoring your way now, clawed arms extended.]

[relieable]

[eh?

Osomatsu stops running after the man when the bug turns and looks at him. ah... now it's after him. Osomatsu wastes no time, turning on his heel and darting away as fast as his short legs can carry him]