aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

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*test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

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 )

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Shipwrecked
[ Weiss Schnee has been camping before. She's been in dangerous situations before- in fact, the last time she was camping was in the middle of a ruined city filled with monsters. But that was a short trip, and she knew what she was doing. They had goals, they'd packed, they knew the way home and they had a professor doctor* with them. Now, she was alone. She was alone, and soaked to the bone, and the suitcase she'd brought with her was wetter than she was- what wasn't scattered across the beach anyway. She was wearing heels and jewels (which admittedly she probably would've anyway) and her hair was very wet and likely wouldn't dry for hours without a proper drier.

This wasn't where she'd intended to end up when she'd run.

Weiss was making her way across the sand, picking up anything she could find that had found its way out of the suitcase. The spare dresses might come in handy later, but it was mostly the small vials of colored powder that she seemed most enthusiastic about finding. The snacks and lien seemed to have disappeared, and she wasn't sure she wanted to keep a toothbrush that she'd caught a crab (she assumed, it was underwater) wandering off with. She found her scroll, but it was cracked through the middle and definitely not functioning so she'd just tossed it right back into the sand. If anyone was looking for her when the only people who might have weren't allowed to leave the kingdom, at least leaving some evidence on the beach might be a good idea. It didn't look like she'd be easy to spot once she went deeper inland.

For all the things she'd found, however, there was nothing that made her look as relaxed as when she found an odd-looking rapier between some of the rocks. ]

Myrtenaster!

[ It's a happy exclamation, like seeing an old friend. Probably not the best idea when she doesn't know where she is and it could've attracted attention, but Weiss isn't thinking about that. Once she retrieves it, somehow managing to do so in 4-inch heels despite the sword having found its way to the middle of the rocks, Weiss gives it a quick inspection. The Dust barrel was still in tact, adding to her limited supply, but having Myrtenaster in her possession gave a whole new level to her personal security. She felt safer just to have it near her., even in this off-kilter situation. Her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, and she affixed it to the sash around her waist before looking around to see if she could spot anything else to re-place in her still relatively damp suitcase. ]

Edited 2017-07-20 01:48 (UTC)

[He was back on the beach. Noctis seemed to have become the group forager at this point. He didn't mind. Doing mundane tasks actually got him focused. He had a lot to think about, and as much as he was thankful to be with his friends - he needed the time away now and then.

He had returned to the wreckage of the ship, able to find a fishing net connected to a pole. Which was incredibly useful, not only with catching fish, but also just bait. He couldn't rely solely on his lures.

As he was combing the beach for, anything, net in hand, he noticed the girl in the distance. More people seemed to be washing up on shore. From where haw was standing it looked like she was a little worse for wear.]

Hey!

He started a trot towards her, hoping he got her attention without seeming hostile. But who know how the fishing net looked in his hands.

Are you alright there?

[ Having just arrived, 'worse for wear' was a pretty apt descriptor. It wasn't one that was common for Weiss, either, since she somehow managed to come out of fights looking just as clean as she entered them at times. Not always, but it took an awful lot to get her there. It turns out that the ocean doesn't particularly concern itself with whether or not you're wearing sapphires that make the famous Heart of the Ocean look like a trinket when it came to roughing someone up.

She looked over at the man who called out for her. Luckily, Weiss had seen far more dangerous weaponry coming toward her than a net so she wasn't particularly concerned about it. Wary, because he was a stranger in a stranger situation, but she wasn't pointing her sword at him. ]

That depends on where I am. [ She has no idea, after all. If she made it to somewhere in Mistral, sure. If she's on some unknown island with no way to get off, she's going to be rather not alright. ]

[He closed the gap between them. His boots sinking in the sand. It sucked, so he could only imagine how she was feeling wearing heels.]

Sorry, I don't think I can actually answer that. Most of the people I've met here aren't sure either. I'm not even sure a hundred percent how we even got here.

[Noctic noted her sword. Seemed it was something she carried around because she knew how to use it.]

I'm Noctis. [He offered his hand, which wasn't the cleanest, but nobody here currently was.] Do you need any help? My friends and I have a camp near by.

[ Weiss was rather light on her feet and was capable of feats even her teammates questioned in heels... But even such skill is not enough to keep them from filling with sand and the bottoms unevenly distributing across a fickle surface. It didn't stop her from quirking one brow up at the offer of a hand, nor from walking right past him. Her gait was a little wobbly, but still far more steady than anyone wearing heels had the right to be on sand, and reflected a pride that she refused to let down.

She had turned away from relying on anyone recently and to stand tall in her own. It seemed to have ended with her being stranded on an island alone and with nothing she'd aimed for. Some would consider it failure, Weiss was trying to consider it an opportunity to prove that she could stand on her own until she found people to have her back. Somehow not being able to physically stand on her own felt like a set back, though maybe it was just stubbornness. ]

Weiss Sch.. [ Was that really truly any more? Her father had probably legally disowned get at this point. ]

Just Weiss is fine. [ She does look back at him though, every ounce of her fighting back a grumbling in her stomach. ] I wouldn't refuse some assistance.

[It was weird to just be brushed off like that. Noctis was used to being doted on, even when he wasn't in the crown city. Being royalty did that. However, he wasn't going to complain about not being recognized as such, nor would he blame her. Foraging, building and fish, made it pretty hard to get a decent bath.

Still, it was a bit rude.]

Right. Well, it could be a bit before we have some meat. I haven't got much foraging done for the day. Still, there should be a bit back at our camp.

[He walked past her, indicating the way.]

Come on. It isn't far inland.

[ Manners are something Weiss once reserved for upper-crust company. She doesn't know what Noctis is, though, and she's gotten a little past playing politics and being the perfect daughter. Which means she's going to treat Noctis just like everyone else, and she doesn't particularly go out of her way to be polite in such cases. Sorry about the rude, Noctis. At least she's being nice. ]

I can assist with hunting later. I may not have needed to hunt for food before, but I am a huntress.

[ She should be able to kill a boar or something if she can manage to kill a Grimm, she figures. Finding one however... That might be another story. ]

How long have you been here?

[From off to her left, there's a voice in a polite if rather rueful tone:]

You look about as happy to have wound up here as I do, dearie. I'm assuming you didn't intend to wash up on this shore either?

[Seated primly on a large rock is what appears to be a slim, black-haired young woman... with six arms, five eyes, and purple skin.]

[At least she seems polite, for a spider person?]

[ Weiss turns to look, calm as can be, but visibly jumps when she sees it's some kind of spider person. Weiss can handle faunus, and has even come to care deeply for a number of them despite previous misunderstandings. A spider person is more than enough to give her a brief fright and make her reach for Myrtenaster's hilt.

As soon as the words catch up to her though, Weiss relaxes her grip and moves her hand away. Okay, it's sentient at least, and the topic of conversation wasn't anywhere near along the lines of predatory. It was a simple question, and while Weiss did still look very uncertain about her sudden beach companion, she responded without drawing her sword. She does still keep a fair distance, though. ]

If I'd intended to be here I definitely wouldn't have had "wash up" as my preferred method of arrival. I'm not.. what are you? I don't think I've ever heard of a species that's similar to you on Remnant and I'm very well-learned.

[In all honesty, Muffet's just as glad that she's keeping back- she doesn't know what that sword can do, but she does know that humans can be rather dangerous when they panic, and that she'd rather not find out the hard way.]

Well, we're rather even, then- I've never heard of a place called Remnant. I'd guess that the name 'Mt. Ebott' is similarly unfamiliar to you?

As for what I am- just your average spider monster, really, not terribly exciting. If you mean to ask who I am, however, my name is Muffet. And you are?

[ Never heard of Remnant. That didn't bode well when the name of the planet isn't known. Unless this is some kind of practical joke but she was fairly certain that no one who would've played a practical joke on her both A. Wouldn't do so without at least greeting her first considering they've been out of contact for months and B. Is wholly incapable of pulling something on this scale.

Weiss looks uncomfortable for a moment, but straightens as she reaffirms herself mentally. ]

I meant what, but who was my next one. We don't exactly have anything like you where I'm from. [ There are spider Grimm, but they're more the stuff of nightmares than what Muffet seems to be. ]

My name is Weiss. Human in species. Typically used to much less intelligent "monsters." [ She uses air quotes like she's not sure if this woman should be called that. She may be putting Weiss on edge because she's unfamiliar, but Weiss has learned the hard way that physical differences do not make someone a monster. The self-identification makes her uneasy, but.. ] And no, I've never heard of Mt. Ebott.

A pleasure to meet you, Weiss- if under rather unpleasant circumstances.

[She nods thoughtfully at the response.]

I've met humans before, although there weren't any around while I was growing up. In my... world, for lack of a better term, Mt. Ebott is the mountain that monsterkind lived under before we returned to live beside humanity on the surface. Generally all of us are intelligent- we have some unusual plants and domesticated animals, but they're really not the same thing.

What are monsters like where you come from?

I think that what makes someone a monster isn't what their species is, it's what's in their soul. [ A beat. ] Which is to say, the creatures of Grimm are essentially all monsters since they don't have a soul, are attracted to negative emotions like fear and pain and sadness, and seem to exist solely to attempt to exterminate any species with a soul. For anyone else, that depends on the person, regardless of whether they're a human, faunus, or spidery individual.

[ Many would call her father a monster, for example, and he had taught her to think that faunus were monsters once upon a time- though she's since learned better. ]

Which is why it seems odd to call you a monster, since you don't seem like someone who would do something monstrous. Not that everyone who is does, but I'd prefer not to assume you would simply because you have more eyes than I do.

[Muffet blinks in surprise.]

That sounds... almost exactly like the opposite of the definition of monster my people have, honestly. Where I come from, humans and monsters both have souls, but humans generally don't have the ability we do that lets them manifest physically, so most humans will never see their own souls and may not even believe they exist.

Monsters like I am are also beings of emotion in many ways, but we're reliant on positive feelings, not negative ones- for example, a monster will become physically unwell if they lose enough hope, because we need it to function. We can survive a great deal of pain and loss, if needed, but not complete despair.

[She smiles gently.]

But I do appreciate your willingness not to make assumptions, all differences in definition aside- I would agree that one should be judged by choices and actions, not species.

I've.. admittedly made that mistake before. I prefer to learn from it rather than make it again.

[ She's nothing if not honest. In her world, her family has a reputation for not being kind to the faunus. Or rather, her father has given them a reputation of it, and brought her up under such circumstances. It wasn't until she found herself away from her family that she was able to see the world for what it really was and learn from it. ]

Your definition of monster sounds much kinder than our world's. And very much the opposite, even in the ways you spoke of- we can bear our souls outward to use them as shields and weapons to protect us from the Grimm. We would've gone extinct some time ago without the use of both that and Dust. I think our world would be a better place if we had some monsters of your variety. Certainly a safer one.

[She nods thoughtfully, seeming unworried by Weiss' admission.]

It's always wise to be able to reconsider a past mistake, I've certainly had to learn from a few.

I can't say that my world doesn't have it's share of problems, it certainly isn't perfectly peaceful and safe all the time, but yours does sound like it has far more struggles than we're used to. My condolences.

I admit, 'Dust' in that context isn't a term I've heard before. How does it help?

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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

Weiss Schnee ❄ RWBY ❄ ota

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Re: Weiss Schnee ❄ RWBY ❄ ota

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apologies for the delay! ended up with extra work + interviews.

No worries, life's like that sometimes.

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