aftr_ooc | 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.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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[United We Stand: Look out behind you.]

[The desert is no stranger to Rey, so it's no surprise that she would dream of it. It almost feels like being back on Jakku, and with it a strange pang of anxious need follows. Softer than before and growing ever smaller, that feeling of urgency lingers under her skin, like the Force that (sometimes) guides her. A hand raises to shield her eyes from the bright sun, giving them a moment to adjust to the glare. One... Two heartbeats, and the feeling slips away again, replaced by the awareness of the satchel on her shoulder and the weight it carries inside. This isn't Jakku, but she still has a purpose. She has a future to look forward to.]

[She sets off across the sand, her legs falling into an old rhythm as her stride adjusts to the shifting beneath each step. This may be a dream, but survival still drives her. There's a line of green on the horizon, some canopy that she can barely make out. With no water in her pack, it would be best to head in that direction. Green means life; and where there's life, there's water.]

[Nevermind, of course, the cacti creeping over the wastes. She's bound to notice that those aren't plants. Eventually. Probably.]

[Divided We Fall; Watch your heads.]

[The majesty of the forest is overwhelming. Her eyes take in each fern, each vine, each leaf like a starving man takes in food. If the desert wasteland was like Jakku, then this forest haven belongs on Takodana. She drinks from the stream and breathes deeply the air, like she can pull all of this rich vitality into her own body. This is such a beautiful place... So why doesn't she feel happy here?]

[That resolute feeling that she had in the desert is gone, turned sour under this vivid canopy. Anxiety rears its ugly head--not just about her absence from Jakku, but other things as well. Like the budding power that pulls at her thoughts and guides her actions. It feels far larger than she is, leaving a sense of being overwhelmed and helpless in its wake. Something has started, and she doesn't know how to stop it.]

[She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be out roaming the galaxy, searching for some lost myth. This was someone else's fight. This was someone else's destiny. Not hers.]

[She reaches into the satchel and pulls out the lightsaber. This was the thing that started everything, wasn't it? And somehow she had been roped into being its carrier, when all she had wanted was to never see it again.]

[Her grip tightens around the metal cylinder, a frown creasing her brow. What if keeping it near her made that power stronger? What if she couldn't control it? The fear overwhelms her, and all she can think of in that moment is to get it away from her. With great effort, she hurls the weapon out into the forest, sending it spinning through the air and landing with a few clattering thuds in the distance.]

[This dreamlike feeling tells her it's not Monsun, not really, but it doesn't change the fact that she's here in this verdant paradise and her mind is not her own.]

[Gobbet has been wandering the forest for hours - or maybe days? Maybe minutes. She's just kind of waiting to wake up at this point. This has to be Mu. This has to be Mu. Otherwise she's lost time again and she hates that idea.]

[A metal cylinder strikes the tree in front of her, showering her in chipped bark and wood. As an ork she's taller than average, but she still drops into a crouch and makes herself as small as possible. She squints at the thing, reaches for it hesitantly. What if it's a grenade? No, it would have gone off by now. Probably. Maybe. What else could it be, though?]

[Rat isn't here to tell her where to go. Rat isn't here to tell her what to do.]

[So she picks it up and hurls it back the way it came with more force than she's ever put into throwing something in her life. There. Problem solved.]

[Normally things only come back to Rey when she calls them. Which is weird enough in itself, but she's not even doing that much. And yet, the lightsaber comes flying back in her direction with enough force to make her leap out of the way. She stares at it wide-eyed, then whips around to look in the direction that it came from.]

[Her hand is on her quarterstaff in an instant, her heart hammering in her throat. There's no doubt that there's someone or something out there. It could be dangerous. Even if it's not, she doesn't have the luxury of assuming that. So she walks forward slowly, her eyes darting from tree to tree in her search. The only problem is that she's more used to walking in the desert. The forest terrain is unfamiliar under her feet, and she can't help the noise that she makes.]

[It's actually kind of sad how much noise this lady is making. Gobbet rolls her eyes, making her way up the nearest tree to perch in its branches and await the woman's passing. She could face her head on, make a fight out of it, but that takes effort and involves the risk of injury.]

[Plus she's pretty sure this lady just threw a grenade and god knows what else she has on hand. Last thing Gobbet needs is someone pulling out a rifle and opening fire on her.]

[Unfortunately her natural environment is urban, so while she keeps the noise to a minimum through sheer habit of moving deftly, the bobbing of the branches and leaves give away her position to anyone paying attention.]

[Rey wouldn't have gotten anywhere without being observant, so when the branches jostle overhead, she snaps her staff up, pointed at the canopy. There's someone up there. Or something? No, it's most definitely a someone. That would explain why the lightsaber came sailing back at her. Someone had thrown it.]

[But now they were hiding from her. For what reason? An ambush was most likely. It doesn't even cross her mind that they might be just as afraid of her as she is of them right now.]

[She feels a calm settle over her as she reaches out mentally for that power--the one that buzzes in the back of her mind at times, and settles deep in her soul at others. Her gaze focuses intensely on that bobbing branch and the person that she knows is there.]

You will climb down from the tree and stand where I can see you.

Edited 2017-12-31 19:03 (UTC)

[Gobbet's initial reaction is to laugh out loud at the suggestion. Like HELL she's-]

[A deep calm sets over her, relaxing muscles she didn't realize were tensed. Her mind picks up the words and turns them over gently until they register as a command. It only takes a second for her to come to a conclusion: Yes, that's reasonable. That's what she'll do. Her lips move before she tells them to:]

I will climb down from this tree and stand where you can see me.

[The tree rustles with movement for a moment before depositing a tall, dreadlocked woman with tusks in front of Rey. Two sets of beady black eyes peer from the folds of her clothing at either hip, clearly unaffected by the mind control but looking deeply suspicious of the situation. Even these new companions seem to sense how out of character this action is for their owner.]

[The calm still holds her as she crosses her arms over her chest and waits for...for what?]

[The realization that she just put herself out in the open for no apparent reason sends spikes of cold panic through Gobbet's chest. She tries to maintain the cool, collected look, but is clearly disturbed by the revelation. This stranger's next move will determine her next action, she decides, rocking back on her heels impatiently.]

[What in the world gave her this idea anyway?]

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 006 )

Rey | Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Divided We Fall

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requested and received permission for mind control from az!

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