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The Mods of LifeAftr ([personal profile] lifeaftr_mods) wrote in [community profile] aftr_ooc2017-12-14 08:45 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 006 )

Test Drive Meme #6
Hello, and welcome to LifeAftr! 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 December 17th! Due to the holiday season, Applications will be opening on December 26th, with an app period shifted to end on January 2nd instead of the usual timeframe!

Two important notes:
1. LifeAftr's test drives take place on the island of Mu, which 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, largely in the form of test drive reward items.

United We Stand
This particular month, Mu has seen fit to recreate the strange, dichotomous island of Monsun. Most of the information regarding this peculiar land can be found in the informational post linked, but as a quick rundown: Monsun's western side is a hot wasteland of a desert prone of disasters and mishaps, but will affect your character's emotional and psychological state in a positive sense, while its eastern side is a verdant forest filled with endless resources...as well as a tendency to bring out the absolute worst of your character.

The western region blazes with a vengeance, the imaginary sun roasting overhead. The psychological effects of this area of island will shine far more kindly upon you than the sun does; your character's best qualities have been brought to light, and the longer they remain here, the more profound those qualities will become.

This is probably a good thing, too. Because those cactus plants on the horizon seem to be moving closer...and closer...

In fact, they aren't really plants at all.
Those who squint may find themselves thinking of another, cuter version of sentient cacti found on other worlds, but the mutual relation to a certain desert plant is where the similarities come to an end. Walking cacti are silent predators who prefer to slowly approach their prey, avoiding being noticed by their targets until it is too late.

Luckily, these creatures do not rely on projectiles to attack. Rather, their needle thin spikes can extend up to one foot out of their bodies in a fast, powerful motion - more than enough to puncture flesh and muscle. If you've ever wanted to try death by acupuncture, these are your kind of monster... but if not, a sharp weapon or fire will certainly help whittle down their numbers.

Regardless, all of your best qualities will come to light quickly in a fight, whether it be courage, diplomacy, compassion, earnest hope, or whatever other positive traits you might bear. Such is Monsun's boon to you.

Divided We Fall
The east, on the other hand, is the polar opposite to that desert wasteland. The sun shines evenly through the thick spread of deciduous canopies, which shade you from the worst of that unforgiving heat. The verdant greenery is perfectly temperate and even tranquil.

A pity that you'll soon find your worst qualities manifesting at a rather rapid rate. The proper Monsun generally gives you a twenty-four hour window before your most despicable traits start to flourish, but Mu, it seems, has sped up the clock significantly.

Scattered across the rich landscape, a herd of deer can be found prancing eagerly about, seemingly oblivious to their potentiality as a food source. In fact, they hardly seem to react to the approach of foreign entities at all. They're quite placid, and content to sit idly back until attacked - at which point they'll do little more than flee at a brisk pace.
What an ideal set of circumstances, truly. But should anyone else impose upon your peace, you'd better hope they don't mind encountering you at your absolute worst.

Don't Fear the Succ
You wake on a boat. It's a very nice boat, make no mistake, weatherbeaten and worn as it may seem, but it's still a boat, and you're still surrounded with lapping waves, as far as the eye can see. Or as far as the eye can sea.

Still, no reason not to make the best of this, right? Just sit back, relax, and let the wind take you wherever it may. You hardly need to eat or sleep in the regular sense in dreams, and this might be a good deal more picturesque than many of the dreams you're probably used to. All told, this is really quite a nice diversion -

Hold on. Did something just bump up against the hull?

Yes, in fact. Something did. Something with long, long, reaching tentacles that will soon snake over the deck to try and grasp your vessel in a death grip much like that of a boa constrictor: designed to crush and destroy.

It seems you've run afoul of that legendary creature of the depths; the one that every sailor most fears.

A kraken.
Hope you're not averse to a little hentai.

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
hyperresonance: (who made the world that way?)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-28 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
... I mean more in general. This... not-Auldrant place?

[ Yeah, he's got no freakin' clue, cap'n. ]
hyperresonance: (you will cry)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-28 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
... somehow, I'm too tired to question even that. Just what is this place? Why am I here...? There should be no way I --

[ He stops, defeated. He thinks, therefore he exists. Just have to accept it and move onto something more sensible, like Tear would do. ]

A better question's probably that someone brought me here, isn't it?
greatcleavage: (talky man)

[personal profile] greatcleavage 2017-12-28 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I completely understand, I wouldn't like it either, even if it was in fact the rational and logical choice. But pointing out that part helps a little, I think. [He shrugs, because really, what can you do? It is what it is, even if you don't like it.] In any case, let's just hope we don't have to put discussion into practice.
greatcleavage: (talky man)

[personal profile] greatcleavage 2017-12-28 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's sort of the opposite. Our good tendencies come out here, I think." Roy shrugged slightly. "I'd like to think I don't notice the difference, but to be fair, it might just be digging up a little optimism."
walkietalkie: ((s2) you coming?)

clementine | twdg (season 2)

[personal profile] walkietalkie 2017-12-28 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)

( 1 ) divided we fall

it's been almost two and a half years since lee died, and everything any adult has ever told her about death or losing people was complete-... she could say it: complete shit. it doesn't get easier after a while, not even a long while. it kind of seems like it hurts less, but then you realize that you just... feel less. the next time she really felt that much was when that stupid girl shot omid, and now?

now she doesn't know where kenny is. where aj is. she doesn't know where she is. she doesn't know if it even matters where - it's not like they had a real destination. not a physical one. maybe a time one, the milestone in a series of milestone you're hoping to survive. like, right now her destination is tomorrow morning. to be alive until then.

this isn't what lee would've wanted.

Her hand slips into her pocket for the picture, but she can't pull it out. It's almost like she doesn't want him to see her like this, even if it is just a picture.

but beside the picture sits something much more solid, plastic. heavy. her brow knits, and she seizes the object, pulling it out into the open. it was her walkie-talkie. that's... this is impossible. god, she hadn't seen this thing since -

since haven.

it hits her like a load of bricks. she remembers haven. she remembers her old bunk, she remembers yaocorp, she remembers wade and jesse and-...

she never remembers any of this, back in the snow and the woods. back where she came from. it's like it falls out of her head or something, but then she comes back and so does everything else. does that mean she's back? is this... haven? impossible. it's so green here, so-

a rustle of foliage nearby has her dropping the radio into the dirt and slipping to her feet, quickly but smoothly despite the fact that her first reflex was to jump. her gun's out now, even while she's hedging her bets on whether the handgun's loaded like before or empty like it was in haven.


You don't want to try anything, ❰ she warns whoever it is the instant they come into sight, her voice low. ❱ I only aim for the head.


( 2.1 ) don't fear the succ

clementine's never been on a ship. a boat, sure, out on the lake once or twice before the dead started to walk - a world that almost feels as hazy and dreamlike as this one does, when she tries to think about it - but never a ship. this is a different thing altogether.

and y'know what? it's not so bad. it made her more than a little nervous at first, and then nauseous once the nerves passed, but now? now, she's sitting cross-legged on the very edge of the main deck, her handgun tucked muzzle-out under her thigh for safe-keeping. her arms are crossed on the lowest rung of the railing and her chin's resting firmly on her arms. it's almost the posture you'd see in someone deeply invested in shipboard pouting, but far from it, her eyes glow with intrigue as she watches out over the sea.

at one point, she can be heard humming 'row, row, row your boat...' under her breath. the dry grin tugging at her lips suggests that she's at least peripherally aware of the irony.

( 2.2 )

unfortunately, all good times in clem's life inevitably come to a quick and jarring end, and the muffled thud that glances off the hull is precisely that. her gun's in her hand before she can think, and she's on her feet, backing away from the edge toward at least the illusion of safety. an illusion which shatters pretty rapidly when her quick scan for some sort of life raft catches the tip of a tentacle working its way up over the railing.

Holy shit. ❰ she's backed up against the mast now, for lack of anywhere more secure. her gun hovers half-raised, a reflex she knows is so very very useless right now, as she takes a deep, deliberate breath through the fear squeezing her chest.

bullets won't hurt this thing. if you can't hurt something and you can't hide from it, your only real option is to run. her eyes dart to the nearest person - stranger or no, they're the closest she has to a teammate in this mess - with a sharp:
Can you swim?
Edited 2017-12-28 18:46 (UTC)
quietknight: (Hello?)

[personal profile] quietknight 2017-12-28 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"I DID feel a little more eager to jump to the defense of a noncombatant than I think I normally would, now that you mention it..."

Nevermind that he hadn't turned out to be a noncombatant.
quadjumps: (2786721 (5))

[personal profile] quadjumps 2017-12-28 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she survived--her round had survivors. that makes yuri envious, bitter to the bone, but the effects of the desert are making him less sour. ]

Congrats.

[ he sounds sincere. nobody deserves to die in that hellhole.

well. maybe manaka. ]


This isn't part of the simulation, right? Tell me we're out of there. I don't care if we're in the middle of nowhere--just as long as we're not in space anymore.
bloodyashes: ([F] Sorry about him)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-28 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
...That's really about the best description of it.

[Not-Auldrant place - yeah that's about the shape of it.]

It's a small chain of islands. Beyond that, hell if I know.
bitch4bitch: (got no fuckin steps.)

[personal profile] bitch4bitch 2017-12-29 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
Erika is barely shifted by having a child leap into her; she just scoops them up, and sort of... pats their back? Listen, she's not great at this part.

"Whoa-- hey, one thing at a time, kiddo! First off, who's everyone? And, uh. If they're here, why were you worried about seeing 'anyone' again?"
demonpuppy: wait did i say they get better? what i meant to say was "things get worse" (things get worse before they get better)

[personal profile] demonpuppy 2017-12-29 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
You...you tried, Erika. You tried.

"All..all of everyone else that got stuck here. It's not...anyone from home."
bloodyashes: ([D] Hybrid)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
[He shrugs. As he told Xion, he doesn't think there's anything wrong with wanting fate to play in your favor if it's going to collect random people anyway.]

Generally speaking, a chain of some sort of magical islands.
ohnehalfte: (3)

it's ok bro i gotchu we worked together on this one

[personal profile] ohnehalfte 2017-12-29 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Newt slows to a stop by the riverbank, watching at the guy manages to haul himself to his feet and looks...okay???]

...okay, honest question: how are you not more injured than you are after that? Because that looked like a nasty fall.

[because honestly if Newt had taken that spill, he'd be way more banged up]
hyperresonance: (29 - ETYNbGG)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
... Do you remember dying?

[ He has to know. Absolutely has to. Because Asch won't remember him dying, obviously. ]
bloodyashes: ([F] Why do I let you talk me into these)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
...If I didn't, that would have been a damn concerning question.

[LUKE YOU ARE... You are really not good at this like replica like original.]
hyperresonance: (72 - kQBiMir)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
Look, I had to take a chance on asking it!

[ That would have been awful, wouldn't it? But it was the truth. ]

Because... me, too.
bloodyashes: (Maybe he's born with it -)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
...Idiot.

[It's still that weirdly gentle tone, almost completely without bite.]

I tried to make sure that at least you would live.
hyperresonance: (6 - M6SDr0D)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:23 am (UTC)(link)
It had to be done. Otherwise, your own sacrifice would've been meaningless...! To save the world, and the people we cared about in it.

[ He won't question Asch's disappointment, but he wouldn't regret his decision, either, either. ]

Everyone will be okay.

That's good, right?
bloodyashes: (//tilts head)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 07:31 am (UTC)(link)
Except, of course, for us.

[He sighs. Unlike Luke - he values himself enough to be bitter about it, and in some ways, hanging around Ardyn and Ignis and everyone else telling him that he shouldn't have had to do that in the first place -

It hasn't helped. Even the desert's mood-lifting nature can't entirely erase it.]


I don't have to like it.
hyperresonance: (19 - IcLAtTV)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Luke was begging for self-sacrifice the entire game and got it ever since Akzeriuth. Maybe that's why he's okay with it...? No, he's not okay with it, he abandoned his friends to save them, but they still have to go on without them.

Mixed feelings, even though he's finally accepted himself. ]


You shouldn't.

You deserved to live.
bloodyashes: (Bedroom eyes dot png)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
[A harsh snort.]

If we make it about deserving, then no, I probably didn't.

But I wanted to.
hyperresonance: (Default)

1/3

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:46 am (UTC)(link)
We both deserved to live! We--
hyperresonance: (32 - NgQaA8C)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ wait a minute ]
hyperresonance: (so much depth)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
... Aren't we alive right now?
bloodyashes: (FACEPALM)

[personal profile] bloodyashes 2017-12-29 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
[LUKE.]

Yes, technically, we're both conscious and respirating normally, our hearts are beating, and so on.

There's not a way back to Auldrant from here, though, so it's not like that means anything as far as being alive back there.
hyperresonance: (41 - T5c9zRl)

[personal profile] hyperresonance 2017-12-29 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
Well, uh-- maybe we can get back there? I mean, what if when I carried you before I-- uh, you know, it was just a giant hyperresonance?

... That...

... brought you back to life?

[ LUKE ]

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