aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 006 )

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*test drive meme

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]

[ Huh. Well, alright then.

Fair to say he's woken up in weirder places, and he's been to...weird endless desserts before, but still!

You know, you never really think about how warm metal and leather can get before you're fucking cooking in it. But, huh, this scene seems familiar, huh?

He stops and just stands there for a second, watching the weird cactus thing gradually move in his direction. ]

...what the fuck are you?

--

[Divided We Fall]

[ Time to get a-choppin'.

Hard to miss him, running through the woods like a madman. Harder to miss when he entirely misses the edge of a small cliff and goes tumbling down (clank clank clank) and straight into the river.

What the fuck was he doing? Who the hell knows. He was doing a thing.

...it seemed like a good idea at the time.]

Taako doesn't really have time to take in exactly what he's seeing as it turns into a clanking disasterlanch ending with a majestic splash. Which, at the best of times, is going to be pretty funny, once the Magnus-ness of it sinks in. At this particular juncture, it's outright hilarious, and Taako is wheezing with laughter.

"Holy shit!" Taako is as close to the bank as he dares, which is not very. "Uh, you good, dude?"

It won't take long until the Magnussness of the situation makes itself clear.

The water isn't too deep, and it's only a momento before the man is pushing himself up on his hands and knees and coughing out water and possibly a small frog.

"Fuck."

But he doesn't wallow in his soggy misery for long, as he spots the elf a ways away.

He raises a hand.

"Taako!

What the fuck!!"

What's he mean, what the fuck? Taako shrugs, picks his way carefully closer to the bank. If he is at all surprised to see Magnus for the first time in months, he's doing an especially good job of keeping it under wraps. Or maybe dream-logic is keeping things chill, maybe seeing this lunk run into and off of shit is just an incidental feature of his dreams, not worth questioning. "Seems pretty obvious, my dude. You ran off a fucking cliff!" Well, a minor one. But still. Taako will gleefully roast this damp dumbass dry, or die trying. "Thought it was a new rogue thing maybe, surprise-attacking the water."

"Like the Green Arrow dude?"

~~What?~~

Well, this is a fucking weird dream. This wet stunt didn't really pan out, but the water pouring out of his chest armor when he gets up feels really realistic.

~~...oh. Oh god. He hopes he didn't pee the bed or something.~~

"Whaddya doing out here? Bird-watching and shit?"

What is he doing out here, actually. Taako has a moment of puzzlement, quickly averted with a snort. He doesn't owe anyone any explanations. And Magnus as a human water-feature is also kinda funny. "I don't give a shit about birds, not like there's any left after the racket you made. Anyway, where else would I be, you see a Fantasy Marriott anywhere? These are my woods now," he declares, with an airy little wave. If you can't vent about being a homeless forest gremlin to manifestations of your subconscious a little, what's even the point.

"Fair enough."

Splosh splosh splosh, out of the river he goes.

He's still holding his ax. What the hell was he even doing?

Doesn't matter. There's gonna be something around here to fight. Dude's just a bouncing ball of muscles.

"So, huh, anything to do around here?"

Once the danger of Magnus shaking off like a wet dog appears to have passed, Taako drifts more in range. There's something like friendly resignation in his bearing, even if his words are still firmly noncommittal. "Your guess is as good as mine. Or, I guess not, huh. My dream, so I should know what's shakin around here."

For a moment there, he forgot, and his mouth twists with the realisation. Taako thinks his subconscious could really stand some lessons in subtlety, which is weird, since he's basically the best at it. "Sometimes there are monsters? If we find any, you can punch 'em. How bout that."

"Yeah, I--wait."

Hold on. That was weird.

"Your dream?"

Oh shit, it's inception??

BWOAAAAAAAAHHHHMM. It's inception.

Taako looks unimpressed. ~~Taako should maybe have participated in more TDMs.~~ "Yeah, my dream. This one's kind of a stinker, huh? Sorry dude, no refunds." Of course it's his dream, may as well confront that.

"Wait, hold on."

Give him a sec.

"I thought it was- okay, what the fuck.

Is this one of your...weird magic dealies?"

Taako, ears pinned in exasperation, is not yet invested in the metaphysics of dream ownership. "Not every weird thing is--what weird magic dealies, why would-- Okay, no. One, it's my dream. Two, it--" He stops and really considers. Huh.

"...It might be magic? I mean, that happens. But it's not my magic. This plane's got weird dream bullshit goin on, that's not on Taako, it was this way when I found it."

"Huh. Alright then."

Give it tp Magnus to hang out with magic users for over a century and still not really understand how it works.

Well, doesn't matter. He's instantly bored with trying to figure out, and he's bouncing on his feet, like a kid on a sugar high.

A very big kid with a very sharp axe.

"So, huh, is there a reason for us tp be here, or?"

~~How far east did his running get him? Gauge it by his attention span and antsiness.~~

This is some bullshit. Like she doesn't have to deal with gross heat and a bunch of boring, unhelpful nature enough as it is when she's awake. Why couldn't she be dreaming about like a restaurant or something? Maybe a boutique? Whatever. Despite these disgruntled thoughts, Lup remains pretty chill and simply dons her heart-shaped sunglasses, pops open her umbrella and wanders through the desert like it's a beach promenade.

The sight of a bear of a man in heavy leather armor isn't particularly startling, but it doesn't fail to fill her with delight and a surprising rush of warmth. Why wouldn't Magnus be standing in the middle of a desert sweating buckets and grumbling at something? Maybe it's not so bad after all. She calls out with an easy smile on her face. "What d'you got there, buddy?"

He does look away from the weird cactus monster, and, deep down, he wishes he could look half as cool in this damn dusty desert as Lup looks right now.

"Oh, hey."

And a half wave, because he's polite.

"You, huh. Got some water with you or somethin'? Maybe a nice soda?"

Can you die from dream dehydration?

It's okay, pretty much everyone wishes they could look as cool as Lup just in general. At his question, she smiles sympathetically and drops the knapsack from her shoulder. "I got something better, hold on." Aand she flips him a coconut, because this is how beach elves do. "You got an axe, right? Crack that bad boy right open and enjoy."

While he's presumably doing that, Lup finally checks out the sights in the distance and spots some cactii that are suspiciously ambulatory. She's got some beef with walking shrubs and one ear twitches pre-nervously but they're some ways away still. No reason to light anything up quite yet. "You know, if you wanna take off just like, one piece of armor, I promise I won't tell anyone."

He catches the coconut and turns it around in his hand with a "oooo!"

He sets it down on a rock, and he's barely paying attention to the...eepy creepy walking cacti bug things anymore.

"One fancy shmancy island drink comic up."

Chop!

"Can't do that. Got a reputation to maintain. You know how it goes.

Want some?"

Now it's just some sweet desert time. Never mind that the shield strapped to his back is probably burning a hole somewhere nearby....

Right, what was she thinking, can't let his guard down around some rocks and plants. She snorts fondly and accepts the offered coconut shell. "For sure, for sure. Forget I said anything." She knocks her shell against his in a lil toast before taking a sip, hip cocked elegantly like she's at the sort of party where the drink doesn't have a tiny umbrella in it so much as a bunch of shrimp lining the rim. Now that would be fancy. But this is honestly pretty sweet just the way it is? Loads better than most dreams in recent memory.

Eyeing the approaching cacti across the rim of her glasses, she hums consideringly. "So obviously I could blow these ugly ass pin cushions into next week before they get anywhere near us. But how about we have some fun first?"

Now they're just both standing there, having some coconut drinks, watching some prickly boys. Sure. Weird, but not bad!

"What did you have in mind?"

[This is Newt's first time really exploring Monsoon. Sure, he's been expecting some weird shit, but watching a dude hurl straight off a cliff and into the river was not one of them. Newt can't help but stare for a minute--before he's running forward, hopping over logs and stones]

Hey--hey, dude! Holy shit, are you okay?!

[ He's fine! He's okay! He's just...ow.

He pushes himself up to his hands and feet and he's spitting out water and rubbing his head. ]

Okay. Bad idea. Check.

[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]

[ The large bear of a man stands up, water pouring out of his cuirass like a majestic waterfall.]

I'm a tank.

[...well, he is.]

Huuh, hey, where are we?

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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 006 )

Magnus Burnsides | The Adventure Zone: Balance

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👀 wiggles brows

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Divided we fall off a cliff

Re: Divided we fall off a cliff (goddamnit I didn't think of that)

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

Hell yeah