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

Karamatsu || Osomatsu-san

[50shadesofburaza]

[It's time.

The twang of his guitar is- not even remotely beautiful. It's not. Have you ever strummed a wet guitar because it's Not Good, to the extent that even he winces just the slightest at the off, distorted chord that hums through the air. Ah...but never mind. N-never mind, because he has something else in store for the poor fucking chumps daring comrades collected about this fire. A story of daring, of wonder. Of love. He calls it...]

Karamatsu and the Philosopher's Stone.




[Copyright Karamatsu, 2k17. Any parallels between past fiction or living people is purely coincidental.]

[ichininyaanshi]

[There isn't much of a corner to huddle oneself into on the beach; Ichimatsu makes do. If there's anything to be said about his more feline tendencies, perhaps one of the more obvious ones is that he seems to gravitate towards heat wherever he goes - it wasn't until late into high school that he re-appropriated his sleeping spot to the very end of the futon, after all - and so maybe it's not that surprising that he's huddled as close to the fire as he can get away with without risking the rubber of his sandals melting off.]

[In any case, he seems to find the warmth a bigger plus than Karamatsu's presence is a minus. Even as he glances right, past his knees, and mutters over the hiss of burning firewood.]

Nobody wants to hear it.

[50shadesofburaza]

Heh.

[As if such a candid dismissal could put him down. Raising one hand, Karamatsu presses his fingers against the bridge of his nose, adjusting his glasses. That smug look never leaves, no for a second.]

Of course. Everyone already knows the tale of how I collected the seven Chaos Emeralds and defeated Ganondorf.

[THIS IS ILLEGAL]

[ichininyaanshi]

[how many times does he need to break those glasses]

[Ichimatsu's expression pinches, elevating the look of apathy to one nearly pained in its level of disgust. He stops hunching his shoulders, shooting his back straight to match a sharp scoff expelled from his nose. The fact that Karamatsu is a liar is what bothers Ichimatsu most, but this is already smelling borderline delusional.]

Keh, don't make me laugh. You couldn't collect seven porno mags if Fappymatsu dumped them all into your lap.

1/2

[50shadesofburaza]

[How many times does he have to break your face

Does Ichimatsu not realize the opportunity presented to them? The guitar slams onto the ground, one NEET crab-walking over to the other in an impressive blur, if only to grab his collar and pull him in close.]

You moron. Don't you realize-

[50shadesofburaza]

Nobody knows us here.




We don't have to be NEETs. We could be...

Heroes.

[So start lying your ass off.]

1/2

[ichininyaanshi]

[--!!]

[Shit, he hasn't seen Karamatsu move that fast in - he can't remember. Ichimatsu is so surprised that he only has time to jerk back, uncurling his arms from around his knees to catch his weight on the sand behind him, and then his big brother is hauling him close by the collar.]

[What the hell? After all those years of trying, did he actually get under Karamatsu's skin this time??]

[Tch, good. Bring it on, Shittymatsu, let's see you down at Ichimatsu's level --]

[ichininyaanshi]

[what the fkcu]

[screw you he's literally going to swing at you now and you had better have seen it coming]

WHAT THE HELL KIND OF HERO ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO BE, CRAPPYNEETMATSU?!

[yallstupid]

[Dear god, that thrum was like choking a Meowth. With its own whiskers. Guzma nearly jumps as the peaceful air is broken by the buzz of a failed chord. He's relly only here for the warmth the fire provided, and any sort of actual entertainment these other weirdos could provide. So much for being a dream, he doesn't know any of these kooks, and he's pretty sure no amount of food or alcohol poisoning would wreck his mind enough to come up with, uh...the stuff that's happened today.

Gritting his teeth against the pain of the previous sound, Guzma digs his pinky finger into his ear to drown out the ringing.]

The who-what now? Never heard'a no stone like that. ...And y'all pronounced Karrablast wrong.

[50shadesofburaza]

[He doesn't remember there being a genre shift but okay. He clears his throat pointedly which is about the rudest he's going to be to a guy at least a head taller than him with muscles hahahehfhhhh]

Karamatsu. Is the name of our hero. Heh... it's a name renowned where I'm from. The name of the man who obtained the Philospher's Stone- from the lady of the lake.

[yallstupid]

[Wise.

Guzma raises a brow slowly - did this creampuff just shush him? He stares a moment in sheer disbelief, but lets it roll off easily enough. Not enough to warrant a reaction, and color him curious - he wants to see how far this tirefire will spread. Where I'm from warrant a frown - Guzma still isn't happy about this whole thing, and doesn't exactly want to believe he's been transported to a whole other world entirely.

Again. 8')]

...Okay. [I mean, what else is he supposed to say? Guzma scratches his chin. Ugh, he's tarting to get some stubble, that's gross.] So what's the stone even do?

[50shadesofburaza]

Heh. Isn't it obvious?

[What's it do?

Shit. What the hell does that stupid thing do? Something something elixir of does he look like he reads books for fun Guzma does he why are you questioning such a small detail of his great feats???



Then again. This guy doesn't look so well read either.]

If you keep it in your pocket when you play pachinko, you will always find victory!

[solperierat]

...really.

[Oh, Edward can already tell this is going to be good. He stares across the fire at Kara, sat on an over-turned log and skepticism radiating off of him. His tail swishes a few times against the sand in agitation--he's heard and read his fair share of outlandish stories about the Stone, but after everything he's been though his tolerance is at an all-time low.]

[50shadesofburaza]

[Everyone around this campfire is not a petite, fawning woman and that is a shame.

But really, could a few of them be...a little smaller, maybe? L-less beefy? This is the part where he bows out, before someone turns him into mincemeat-]

Really.

[Of course he's absolutely not going to do that. Aware that he has an...audience, of a kind, Karamatsu's fingers tap across the body of the guitar, expression screaming confidence.

And his eyes hidden behind black glasses screaming fear.]

It all began a long time ago, when a wicked creature known only as Iyami set fire to my home...

[solperierat]

[Feel lucky he can't smell that sweat running down your neck, Kara. Or maybe not--he's not super into terrifying humans if there's no need for it.]

Iya-what? [Ed's ears flick upward and he pulls a face, a little baffled.] The hell is an Iyami?

[50shadesofburaza]

[Please don't tell him you can smell fear Edward that's probably one of his kinks not going to make that sweat leave any faster.]

A demon. A terrible creature with two, large fangs as big as my arm. Legend says that those who hear it's signature cry never live to tell the tale.

[A nod, very serious.]

Much scarier than you.

[fortunefavored]

[Newt, on the other hand, doesn't bother to hide his wince at all at the guitar chord, hands coming up to clasp over his ears] Holy shit, dude, do me a solid and never do that again, because that was horrible. You've gotta know that was horrible.

[50shadesofburaza]

[Eh?

Eeeeeh???

Are you- questioning his guitar skills, sir? Some of the only skills he has? His only skill? His only reasonably semi-realistic skill, of which he is very proud of?

Karamatsu looks over at him slowly, and


Twang.]

[fortunefavored]

[Newt's eyes narrow at that, sitting up straight from his previously-hunched position and glaring in this guy's direction] Dude. Did you just seriously play your shitty, water-logged, probably-ruined guitar again after it clearly sounded like shit the first time? Because, like, I originally started with the assumption that you could normally play the thing when it's actually not totally destroyed by the water the wood as absorbed, but I'm seriously starting to reconsider that if you're gonna keep playing it.

[50shadesofburaza]

[Newt he has five brothers and they all hate him- icon keywords.

For someone who's usually very good at running his mouth, Karamatsu is still uncharacteristically silent. Nor is he running away because-- truth be told it's not like Newt has a terrifying physique or anything. It's like if the leader of the chess club tried to shush him in the library back in high school. That is to say, not intimidating.

So he's going to try and absolutely fuckin fail to strum. some. more.

Problem? Buraza?]

[mermaidol]

[There are some constants in the world. And although this may be a dream, and that might not be the real Karamatsu, Totoko knows, in her heart of hearts, what she must do.

She stomps across the sand, seizes the treasured guitar from his hands, and with all of the strength her lithe, idol body possesses, slams it splintering and shrieking into the ground.]

1/2

[50shadesofburaza]

[SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE HIS BABY?!?!?!?!?!]

Ah....................

[50shadesofburaza]

Ne, ne, Totoko-chan, it was just a joke!

[Hahahahaha. Instant grovelling is a go. He's all smiles, despite the fact that she just broke his fucking soul.]

The Real story is about the beautiful mermaid princess, of course!

[mermaidol]

[In seconds, there exists no remnant of the guitar-wrecking, soul-sucking beast she had momentarily become. Her smile is small and unassuming, and the air seems to sparkle with her mere presence. She could never do something cruel. Ever.]

Don't you agree a story like that deserves more than a simple bonfire telling? Something grandiose, I think.

[50shadesofburaza]

Ahhh, you're so right, Totoko-chan! Absolutely!

[She's so smart! He's nodding enthusiastically, right before he leaps to his feet, pointing off into the distance.]

There's some beautiful ruins in that direction! Ancient history meets beauty in the moonlight...

It is the perfect setting for such a tale.

[Please don't make him work for this.]