TEST DRIVE MEME ( 007 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #7

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 January 15th, and Applications on January 24th!

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.

Ice of You to Drop By
The winter has well and truly settled in, both on LifeAftr and here in Mu; when you wake, you may discover that it isn't on dry land at all, but on a thick crust of ice. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any land in sight, in any direction - just ice, stretching on and on for as far as the eye can see.

Assuming the chill doesn't get to you first, you'll find that there are much more pressing matters than frostbite. One of those things will start cutting to the chase rather quickly in the form of a wickedly pointed fin, glinting beneath the weak winter sun, shearing through the mantle of ice like a hot knife through butter. Ice sharks sound like something out of a sci-fi B-movie and probably are something out of a sci-fi B-movie, but rest assured: they are still quite dangerous. Fragments of undersea ice animated to suit a particularly sadistic shape and size, ice sharks almost look like delicately worked sculptures of glass or diamond, right up until the point where one of them gets their jaws around you. Their preternatural strength and tenacity allows them to "swim" through ice as easily as water. In fact, that happens to be one of their hunting tactics, as they tend to circle a target and break at the ice around them until they're surrounded by icy water, with no means of escape.

Much like real sharks, they can smell blood, and will set upon it eagerly. Unlike real sharks, they are also innately hostile. Anyone who looks like they might be an easy target will be quickly zeroed in upon by several ravenous, but nonetheless quite pretty, of these glittering creatures.

With Our Wassailing Bowl
The rest of Mu might be more forgiving in terms of setting, but that does not mean you're safe. Waking on dry land is generally considered preferable to waking on nothing more than a layer of ice, even if said dry land is nothing more than a jagged spurt of dark, coastal cliff. It's obvious from the start that nothing truly lives here. The island itself is simply some fragment of rock, eroded away from its mainland until it is all that remains.

The island itself isn't special, no. What is special is what is at its center. A massive clay pot of piping-hot wassail steams temptingly at the island's heart, nestled between the crags of rock. Just looking at it, you can know that drinking that heated, blissful drink of cider and cinnamon will surely chase away the unforgiving winter chill, and warm you from your bones to your toes.

Really, the only problem here is that everyone else wants it too.

The second you lay eyes on that treasure, you'll be seized with an instinctive, inescapable need to have it. No one else can be allowed to partake; it is yours by right. You saw it first, after all, didn't you? You'll have to race with your peers to seize it before anyone else does, and you might even have to start fighting dirty to claim your prize. Sure, you could fight that initial instinct, but where's the fun in that?

Dig a Little Deeper
It's not as though actual, real dry land is out of the question for Mu this go around. It's just that there aren't very many desirable options, evidently, when it comes to the manner of islands that resemble those in the proper archipelago. This island in question might be a bit cold, brisk as the winter air is, but it is otherwise quite ordinary. In fact, one would not be remiss in thinking it bears more than a passing resemblance to the island of Chol.

Unfortunately, it's also chosen to emulate a rather unpleasant, if rare, aspect of Chol's landscape: quicksand. No getting out of this one, we're afraid - Mu has dropped you right smack in the middle of a patch of it.

The myth that one can "drown" in quicksand is largely without much scientific bearing. Indeed, the most prominent danger is that one will start to sink and quickly become mired in the stuff, but eventually they'll cease to properly sink at all. No; the real peril lies in the fact that, once stuck, it is nearly impossible to get out of it. Most victims of quicksand risk death by dehydration or starvation, though we wouldn't fault you for fearing death by, er, sand. Who doesn't hate sand? It's coarse, it's rough, it's irritating, and it gets everywhere.
There doesn't seem to be much in the way of ropes or branches one might grab onto for purchase, once stuck. You'll have to ask passersby for a helping hand, and hope they're feeling charitable...or just drag them in with you, if you're that sort of person.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Jules Dagger Samari - The League

[suspecteverything]

Ice Sharks

Of course something was trying to kill him. The novelty of that had long since faded away. It would have been nice to escape that in his dreams (at least he was pretty sure this was a dream), but that was probably asking for too much. Jullien was on everyone's hit list. He'd been dealing with that fact since he was five, and only more often in his adult life. Some monster made out of ice? The thing could take a number and get it's ass kicked just like everyone else.

Any normal person might start getting nervous as more and more fins starts to appear. Jules wasn't a normal person - hell he wasn't technically a person at all, but that was beside the point. All the circling sharks did to him was piss him off. Majorly.

"I've seriously sunk to a new low when even overgrown fish are trying to kill me."

He wasn't going to wait around for them to whittle down his room until they could drag him into the water either. Nobody could mistake Jullien for passive. He narrowed his eyes on the biggest shark. Taking that one out would make a point and could potentially chase the other ones away without him needing to do anything else. While he had a wonderful weapon against these things, his fire would also melt away the ice he was standing on. He'd prefer to avoid a swim if possible. Still, it would be more than worth the risk...

Quicksand

"Minsid hell!"

How had he even gotten himself into this situation? He was smart enough to identify quicksand long before he wound up in it. Given being stuck in one place made him a sitting duck for everyone after him, staying vigilant was important. Jullien was good at it too. Very good. So how the hell had he gotten here? He didn't remember, which was terrifying all by himself.

Now he somehow had to figure out how to get out. It wasn't like anybody was going to be helping him. Nobody would even help him by shooting him to save him from a slow death. They would simply revel in that slow death and do everything they could to torture him worse. That was pretty much how life went for him. There was no way Jullien was going to let that happen though. Nothing had killed him yet, and he definitely wasn't about to let a freaking patch of quicksand take that win. No frigging way.

[savedbyasong]

The dream had shifted. Here there was no ice, but more land. This time Shion's eyes darted around the landscape, looking for threats. He spotted not a threat but a person. A person who seemed to be mired in mud or sand. He didn't recognise them. It didn't matter.

Shion moved before he thought running towards him, eyes wide. "Grab hold of my arm!" There was nothing to brace himself on, nothing to grab but he got as close as he thought was safe and reached out.

Dream or not, Shion was not a person who would leave another person in danger.

[suspecteverything]

Jules was honestly startled to have someone suddenly there and offering to help him. That was definitely not usual, and he couldn't help being suspicious. He was pretty much suspicious of everything, people especially. In this case, however, suspicion isn't the reason he ignores that presumed aid.

Sure, he was known for being an asshole and pissing people off, but this kid hasn't done anything to deserve it. At least not yet.

"Would," he started off without sarcasm but that only lasted for a single word, "but if I wanted you to join me I would invite you in and not just drag you in unwillingly."

Jules wasn't totally human, and he weighed a lot more than your average human man. Even if Shion had something to hold onto to brace himself, he still wouldn't be able to pull Jullien out of the quicksand. Not unless he was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked.

[savedbyasong]

The sarcasm didn't seem to bother Shion much, but his eyes darted around his surroundings trying to find a way around the problem. He had nothing to brace himself on, there was nothing nearby.

He had no rope and even if he had there were no trees, nothing to attach it to. It was as if this environment had been specifically made so that people stuck in the sand had no way to escape. Shion wasn't too surprised, it was another familiar feeling.

Part of him wanted to try anyways. "The ground is more solid here, I can brace my feet in it... if I took my coat off and used it as a short rope it would give me a bit of leverage..."

After all the worse that would happen would be that Shion would be stuck too, that was the less awful option between that and doing nothing to save this man.

[suspecteverything]

"Even if you could hold my weight your coat couldn't, and trust me, kid, there's no way you could hold me."

He wasn't as bulky as some Andarions, but he's well over 300 pounds. Nobody just dragged that around even if it wasn't stuck in cloying quicksand. Jullien did, however, have a possible way to get himself out with only a little help from Shion. There was a major problem with his plan though. It involved giving the kid a dagger, and even people who weren't as paranoid as Jullien knew that giving a potential enemy a weapon wasn't the best idea in the world. Jullien was paranoid enough that he'd rather cut off his own arm. The only reason he was even considering it was that Shion was a kid and Jules didn't sense any hostility toward him. Generally he trusted his powers enough to tell him that much. Still...

[savedbyasong]

Shion finally nodded, his face grim but accepting of the other mans words. It was an awful thing. Though Shion knew the man would not get sucked under completely the reality was worse- at least drowning was a relatively quick death.

He looked around again. Nothing but sand in every direction. No hills or trees to make him believe there might be a place nearby where help could be sought.

Shion blinked sadly at the man and then sat down carefully, making sure the ground was solid. "I'm sorry." His voice was quiet, a string of anger that this had happened. "I won't leave you though..."

Sometimes when awful things happened the only thing you could offer was to stay. No one should die alone.

[suspecteverything]

Jules was so completely stunned by this kid's selfless kindness that his mouth almost fell open. At the last moment he kept it from happening, which was good given his fangs would probably have scared Shion. Finally he just shook his head.

"We all die some day, kid, but this isn't my day. And I'm sure not going to die because of something as pathetic as quicksand. It's not going to be the one to put my name on it's kill list."

That would be beyond humiliating for one, and for two, he can't retaliate against quicksand. He started working at his waist and eventually managed to get the buckle of his weapons belt undone despite the sand glued to it. A quick toss put it within Shion's reach. It was followed up by a knife.

"Hopefully the leather is strong enough on that. Jam the knife through the belt buckle. Make sure the blade is angled toward me and the hilt toward you. Get it down as deep as you can get it. Just make sure I can still reach the end."

[savedbyasong]

They all died someday. The resignation there, the finality was enough to make Shion want to scream. Shion was no stranger to death, far from it but he still held the belief than other people shouldn't die. Nothing so far had stopped him from feeling anger at other peoples pain.

Also this death would be real, final. Maybe. It was a weird dream he might wake up. He might not. But it didn't really matter, Shion knew that even knowing you would return after dying did not make it any less painful. Did not make the final moments less horrifying, less lonely...

The mans continuing words knocked the thoughts out of Shion's mind. Stopped the worry and the anger in their tracks. It seemed the man had an idea. Something Shion hadn't thought of. He didn't question him he just gathered the belt and did exactly what the man told him to do.

A task, something to concentrate on. Something to make this less awful. Shion took a deliberate breath to calm himself and pushed the knife through the belt buckle, making sure it was tight and that the blade was pointing at the man.

"Can you reach it?" He checked when he was done.

[suspecteverything]

When you were surprised to wake up alive each morning, it was hard to view death as anything horrifying. It has been a fact of Jullien's life since he'd been five. He'd learned the world was cruel and death took anyone early in life. That didn't mean Jules would just wait for his death. Everyone wanted him dead, and he was far too ornery to let please them.

"Yeah. Should be good."

He grabbed the end of the belt and gave it a tug to test the strength. It seemed to be holding. At least for the moment.

"Alright, let's see if this works. Keep your hand on the hilt if you can."

He wanted that sucker as secure as possible.

[savedbyasong]

Shion held on tight, holding the hilt as he was told. He had no idea what the plan was. There was still nothing to brace on, the belt might give leverage but the man had been adamant that Shion would not be strong enough to pull him out.

Still he didn't argue, just held the hilt as he was told to and focused, watching the man to see what he would do. "Alright. Ready."

Ready for something anyways.

[suspecteverything]

"Let's see if this works..."

It was muttered enough that it wasn't totally clear whether the sentence was meant to be heard or not. Jules tried to pull himself forward using the belt and knife anchor. It didn't get him far and became obvious right away that either the belt would break or his anchor would come free long before he got out. Apparently his only hope was going to be a little mental power along with his physical power.

He focused his trisani powers on the quicksand directly in front of him and slowly pushed it aside. It allowed him to move a few inches forward. At this rate he was going to be in a lot of pain by the time he got out. If he got out before passing out...

[savedbyasong]

Shion held the dagger tightly, focusing on not letting go. His jaw was set as he tried to focus on stopping the belt from slipping off the dagger. There was not much he could do if the belt snapped though.

He blinked as the quicksand started moving and allowed the man to move a little, but did not seem too surprised. He was used to people having strange abilities.

"Keep going." He urged. The man might have only moved a few inches but it was a few inches closer to the shore than he had been before.

[suspecteverything]

"Nah. Think I'll stop right here. Much more comfortable than where I was a minute ago."

The words slipped out without Jullien's control. He couldn't help it. While Shion may be young enough for him to count as a child, and therefore Jullien would try to restrain his biting sarcasm and ass-holishness, he was still old enough to potentially turn on Jullien. He'd seen it before. Besides, whenever he was in a tough spot his attitude took over without consulting his brain. It was an automatic response.

Even so, he forced a bit more sand away and pulled himself another inch forward. At this rate he was going to be bleeding long before he reached the edge.

[savedbyasong]

Once the sarcasm would have upset Shion, he wouldn't have understood it, taken it as a criticism. Now it just reminded him of Reno, so much that it hurt but in a good way. Shion smiled, despite the situation.

But he focused again quite quickly, he was interested in the mans power. Exactly how he was moving the sand. Was it some kind of speed that let him go faster than the sand? Or an ability to move through objects? Now was not the time for such questions though, Shion kept his mouth shut and focused on gripping the dagger.

[suspecteverything]

Jullien shifted another small amount of sand and moved forward another inch or two before he decided he was done with that strategy. It was taking far too long, and patience wasn't something he was usually good at. Chances were doing one bit amount of telepathy would cost him the same as doing multiple smaller works. At least he assumed. It wasn't something he had a lot of experience in. It might be a terribly, terribly dumb idea, but he was pretty much the king of dumb ideas. Might as well just go for it. He would just have to be able to hold on long enough to keep Shion from killing him, if he planned that.

He took a breath and braced himself for the pain that was sure to come before shoving at the sand with his mind. The sand moved and opened up a path right to dry ground. It also sent a spliting agony through Jules' head that took him a moment to push his way through. The sand was already glooping back into place by the time he started trying to pull himself in.

[savedbyasong]

Shion kept holding the dagger as the man inched closer. When all of a sudden all the sand moved at once Shion blinked in surprise. But he did not let go of the dagger.

At least with one hand, the other hand he reached forward to grip the belt, pulling it towards him trying to lend his strength to the other mans, he could see the sand returning and guessed that they only had so much time before the man was submerged once more.

He watched the distance, ready to stretch out his hand further when the man got close enough, to help him get to safety. They were so close, Shion wasn't about to let the man get stuck again now.

[suspecteverything]

With his headache raging badly enough that Jullien could hardly see, he struggled his way toward dry land. He would hopefully know it by feel... and get there before the sand got him stuck again. Trying to do anything else would not be a good idea. It could easily leave him unable to get out once he moved the sand.

The thought pissed him off, which drove him forward even faster. There was no way he would let quicksand be the death of him. Not after all the hits he'd survived. He pulled hard on the belt with one hand as he reached out with the other.

Ice Sharks

[shatteredlenses]

Because he can't see, Ignis has very quickly come to tell the difference between the sound of the sharks just moving from place to place and the sound of them actively circling something. Movement in a random, though generally straight, direction means he only needs to be cautious. Circling means someone is in need of assistance.

His daggers appear in his hands with a scattering of blue crystal, electricity sparking to life around them only a moment after. The sharks' circling paths make it harder for him to pick a target that won't cause him to run into their victim when the magic pulls him to it, but at least the victim's muttered words allow Ignis to place roughly where he is in the circle so he can pick a shark moving away from him.

As for the statement, it's something he can find out more about when they are no longer on such thin ice.

Target selected, Ignis locks his focus on it and allows the power of his blades' Stormbinding to draw him to it. The shark's fin shatters with a satisfying crack. Even before the shards have hit the ice, he's moving toward his next target.

"The shore's back the way I came! Head that way!"

[suspecteverything]

Jullien's eyes snap toward this newcomer, intent on the possible new danger he brings. He doesn't trust people, especially those with weapons, mainly because people don't just help him. Generally they try to kill him. Having someone he doesn't know try to help him is highly disconcerting.

Ah, well. If this person is going to turn on him later, at least he's getting rid of some of the snarks first. This won't be the first time he's had to keep his eye on multiple enemies at a time. And as an added bonus, he know knows that blades work perfectly well against ice sharks.

"Head toward..."

Seriously, that irks him. Despite what most of his family believes about him, the last thing Jullien is is a coward. He doesn't run away from fights.

Humans.

Pulling his warsword from his back, he wants to start going to town on the sharks. There's just one small problem. The ice is thin, and Andarions weigh a lot. Fine. He'd just bring the sharks to him.

"Come on you stupid, frozen fish. Come and get me."

[shatteredlenses]

As soon as the man makes it clear he's going to engage instead of moving toward the shore, a mutter of exasperation that sounds very much like 'something something stubborn, Astral-damned something something' comes from Ignis' direction even as he takes out another shark's fin. The ice groans and creaks unhappily under their weight and the movements.

"Go toward the shore! The ice isn't strong enough for prolonged fighting and they will just keep coming!" This has nothing to do with bravery or proving a point. It's about survival.

[suspecteverything]

Jullien doesn't need to hear all of that to know it sounds about right. "Damned" and "stubborn" are enough. Besides, whatever Ignis called him it won't even register on his scale of insults. He's been called worse by his own family. When he was under the age of ten.

"Then I don't make it prolonged!"

Not retreating into something that could be a trap and not putting some unknown factor with weapons at his back were also matters of survival. To Jullien, he had much more of a chance to live out here with thin ice and sharks than he did in the other scenario. Everyone stabbed him in the back or led him into a trap.

[shatteredlenses]

If he could roll his eyes, Ignis would, but since he can't he focuses himself on more important things. He's not quite sure how this particular skill will work in his place, but focus is at its base and focus he has in spades. For a moment, he falls into complete stillness, reaching out to his surroundings with all his available senses. Only when he can all but see the movements of the sharks around them laid out over the darkness of his sight does he suddenly start moving again, hitting one shark after another at blinding speed. His last movement brings him to stand almost face to face with the other man, expression deadly serious. Despite he sunglasses covering his eyes, almost anyone can guess from the scarring peeking out around them that Ignis is either blind or at least partially so.

"I've skated on thin ice to help you so far, but I have no intention of becoming an ice fisherman should you break through. We have but moments before they start to swarm again. Come on!"

And, without waiting to see if the man will follow, Ignis turns to dash back toward solid ground.

[suspecteverything]

Well fine then. Go ruin all the fun. Irked or not, Jullien isn't going to argue it while he's still at risk of dying. Ignis makes it sound so simply to get off the ice, but he's human. Two steps in Jullien realizes it's not going to be as easy for him. The ice is thin enough were the sharks were that his near 400 pounds will break it for sure. After a quick investigation of the ice nearby, he discovers there isn't anything more solid for a long way.

There's another way out of this, but that comes with risks too. Teleporting would leave him exhausted and vulnerable. Not only that, but he could land on a portion of ice just as thin as the strip in front of him - he couldn't tell from where he was what was truly solid and what wasn't. Taking a swim after teleporting could easily be a death sentence. What choice did he have though?

With no good options, Jullien analyzes the ice ahead, picks what looks like the strongest spot, and teleports over. Thankfully the ice holds. He ignores the twinges of a headache and keeps his guard up. People don't ever help him for free.

[shatteredlenses]

Ignis is torn between being curious and irritated when he doesn't hear the man's footsteps following him, but then he hears the sound of something--someone it must be--coming down in the ice in front of him. Irritation is pushed to the side and replaced full on with curiosity. How had the man done that? Can he warp like Noctis can or is it something else completely?

Questions for later, for sure. Considering the sound he made when he returned to the ice, he's probably built like Gladio or even heavier, which means the ice is even more dangerous for him than Ignis first suspected.

"If we can stay ahead of them, the ice should get thicker from here," Ignis motions in a forward direction, signaling that that's the way the man should continue heading be it by running or whatever other manner he chooses to cover the distance in.

[suspecteverything]

Well, at least he hadn't fallen through and frozen. Definitely a step in the right direction. The ice seems a lot more solid under his feet here too, so maybe he'll be alright. Or he won't, which is more his luck.

"Technically all I have to do is stay ahead of you."

Not that Jullien is really going to try to do that, but he can't help being a bit of an ass. It's his default mode, and it comes out even more when he's in a bad spot.