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.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[savedbyasong]

Closer... and closer. Shion leaned in further, stepping forward a little stretching out his hand and the man pulled on the belt. His hand reached out to grasp the other mans and he pulled with all his strength, stepping backwards onto solid ground. He gripped the mans hand as hard as he could, whatever he did he could not let go. Dream or not Shion had seen far too many people die.

So he pulled and hoped it was enough.

[suspecteverything]

The little bit of help was enough, even though part of Jullien's mind was screaming about being so close to someone else (and helpless). He dragged himself the last few feet out of the muck. Even though he was exhausted, he didn't have time to simply lie there. That was far too dangerous. The moment he was on solid ground he was pushing himself to his knees. He could take a breath once he was balanced and ready for an attack.

"Thanks."

Until Shion does something to set Jullien off, he'll continue to be polite. If it weren't for the kid, he'd still be trapped.

[savedbyasong]

Shion staggered backwards not letting go of the mans hand until he was sure he was on solid ground no longer stuck in the sand that had returned to its proper place. For a moment he just stood still and forced himself to focus on his breathing. They were fine. The man was alive, he had escaped.

He watched as the man pushed himself to his knees giving him a moment before he moved closer. He didn't touch the man but he did stare at him intently, looking for injuries. It was practically instinctive by now. Though quicksand shouldn't cause actual injuries Shion had gotten used to expecting everything to be even worse than what it seemed.

"You're welcome. I'm not sure I was that much help anyways, you did all the work." His powers were fascinating. "Are you alright?"

[suspecteverything]

"Hard to pull yourself out of quicksand without something to pull on."

Without Shion Jullien would have had to resort to teleporting himself out. Chances were that wouldn't have gone well. His head was absolutely splitting as it was. Not that he let himself show that. Showing pain was a weakness, and weakness meant possible death. He has hidden a lot worse than just a headache.

"Peachy. My skin is just going to glow after this."

And it was going to take him ages to get rid of all the sand and probably ages more before he could get his blasters working again.

[savedbyasong]

That was true, it was hard to get out of such situations alone. He smiled softly at the man. "Well then I'm glad that this weird dream brought me to you." He met the mans eyes for a moment before glancing over him one last time, just to double check that he had not missed any obvious injuries. Not that he had anything with him to do first aid with but he could improvise.

"I'm Shion." He held a hand out, to help pull the man to his feet. "I'm afraid I have no idea what is going on."

[suspecteverything]

Sorry, Shion. Jullien wasn't going to accept that hand. He got up by himself. It was easier that way. Safer. Forcing exhausted muscles to move was hard enough. Fighting off an attack would be worse.

"Dagger. And I don't have a clue either."

Definitely not a pleasant feeling.

[savedbyasong]

When it became clear that the hand was going to be ignored he just stepped back, hands by his side awkwardly as the man got to his feet. He kept smiling though, there were many reasons people didn't like being touched, Shion wouldn't take offense.

Dagger? Was that his name? Or did he just want his dagger? Or both. Shion could go with both. He offered the dagger back to the man, hilt first. It was probably notable that despite the fact Shion did not look anything like a fighter he handled the dagger with the ease of someone who knew how to.

"Well it's nice to meet you, despite the circumstances." Which had been his standard greeting for two and a half years now. "This place seems to be a dream but it is also seems more... solid than a normal dream. I am also pretty sure you are not a combination of my imagination and brain chemicals."

[suspecteverything]

Jullien noticed that ease, and it set his paranoia off again. The best assassins were often the ones who who didn't look dangerous. That was why Jullien himself had survived so long. Underestimate your opponent and you will likely end up dead. Of course an assassin going for the "I'm a harmless kid" method wouldn't reveal his ease with a knife that willingly. Unless he was new at the job. All the more reason to stay alert.

He slid the dagger back into its sheath and buckled the belt around his hips. He wasn't going to lose his blasters even if they wouldn't be functional for a while.

"No sane person would dream me up. Not unless they're on drugs."

warning for mild existational crisis- just to be safe

[savedbyasong]

No sane person... Was that what had happened? Was Shion insane now? It couldn't be. He had fought hard to stay sane. It could not be that. No it had to be some strange effect of the machine.

"I don't think I'm insane.... I don't think you are insane either, at least I don't feel like I am a person you just dreamed up." And frankly, impossible crazy things might not scare Shion anymore but the idea of him existing solely as a figment of an insane persons imagination is a thought path he is not taking another step down. It is enough to make his head hurt.

Breathing. He is real... Sort of, he can guarantee that this is his soul anyways. That was enough. Breathing. Focus.

"I guess we could walk until we find answers, and try and avoid the sand. Or stay here, but we might not find answers and we could be here forever. Or until we wake up or wake out or whatever. However it works. Last time I was in a weird void place there was a pull, a tugging in the direction we were meant to go but I can't feel anything like that."

He's babbling. He knows he is babbling. He snaps his mouth shut. Breathing. Babbling was not a way to prove he wasn't insane.

[suspecteverything]

"Oh, I'm totally insane and accept that. I didn't dream you or this place up though. Not enough things here trying to kill me."

And he had just pulled himself out of quicksand that could have killed him. That probably said a lot about Jullien's life experiences.

Shion's emotions suddenly slammed into Jullien. The kid was going to tip off into the deep end really soon if he kept going. Instead of trying to kill him, this kid could use his help. Go figure. He rested his hand on Shion's shoulder to try and steady him.

"Breathe, chizzi. No point in overthinking it. Won't do you any good."

[savedbyasong]

Breathe. Breathing was good. Touch was good, a hand on his shoulder did more to calm Shion than a thousand words could. Shion took another breath and forced himself to focus on the other mans face. No overthinking. He was a bit embarased actually. Still after everything he still let himself get overwhelmed. Still had to rely on others.

Strangers. People who Shion had tried to save, he still needed saving himself in the end. He took another breath. "Sorry... no overthinking. Got it."

He still wasn't calm. But he tried to focus. Stared at the other man. "Okay... what do we do?"

[suspecteverything]

Shion's talking to the master of stupid plans due to not thinking things all the way through, so Jullien can't quite relate. Of course he's also talking to the guy that put himself into self imposed exile for what his family considered to be way overthinking things and being stupid. So maybe he can relate. In the end it doesn't make much difference either way.

"We walk and figure it out as we go. Preferably without ending up in more quicksand."

[savedbyasong]

"Right." Walking, figuring it out. Avoiding quicksand. They could do this. Shion managed a smile and looked around, to see if any direction looked less quicksandy than another.

"This way then? I figure if we keep an eye on the ground and go slow we should be able to avoid quicksand." Unless it moved. It would depend on the type of dream really.

But he had already figured it wasn't a normal nightmare. So anything could happen. He smiled again, a stronger smile this time.

[suspecteverything]

There was no doubt in Jullien's mind anymore that Shion was just a scared kid, and not an assassin using his youth to disarm a target. He was more than happy to let the boy feel in control if that helped steady him.

"Sounds like a plan."

And like any plan it had the possibility, if not likelihood, of blowing up. Jullien would deal with that if it happened though.

probably about a wrap. I figure these dreams fade out?

[savedbyasong]

A plan. Plans were good. He smiled at the man again before going back to scanning the path in front of them. Making sure they didn't inadvertently end up back in quick sand.

Walking. Not falling into quicksand. Looking for anything that was different. A way...