TEST DRIVE MEME ( 009 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #9

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 March 17th, and Applications on March 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.

City Slicker
The walls of this place are uniform, gray-tinted, built from sandstone and clay. The architecture is deliberate and monochrome to an unkind extent; homogeneity, here, is the order of the day. All told, while a bit colorless, the place is not unpleasant, particularly with that periwinkle blue midday sky blanketed with soft tufts of cloud overhead.

Except for the shouts of armed guards pursuing you. You've broken the law, you see. Maybe your hair is too colorful, or your apparel contained pockets. Maybe you carried a weapon without a permit. Whichever one of those ridiculous, lengthy list of laws you've broken, it's put you in the guards' bad sights. Their technology hasn't progressed beyond that of spears and shields, but at least like this, you're being allowed something of a fighting chance.

We say "fighting," but really, your best bet is probably to try and avoid them. Mu has recreated the ironclad system present on the island of Ai'tuoh, though it's eased some of the unfair advantages stacked against you: the militia are no longer cunningly concealed among the populace, and they do not fight with needles slid into arms before you can understand what, precisely, has just gone wrong. This way, at least you have a chance to run before they seize and sedate you.

Which we recommend, by the way. The running.

Sky Islands, or Skylands
While waking on islands is all very well and good - practically par for the course in LifeAftr, in fact - one might need a moment to adjust to the strangeness of this one. This one, it turns out, is floating. Suspended in midair, this island is one of several dozens peppered throughout the sky. They drift to and fro, close to one another and then away again, but that's far from the most curious thing about them. No; their most peculiar quality is the fact that these islands shift, warping in shape as though caught in a state of perpetual flux. They ripple seamlessly from one visual to the next,: cycling through the varieties of an ice-swept tundra, a lush rainforest, a half-crumbled ruin, and infinite others in the span of mere hours.

And, if you concentrate just enough, you might find that these islands are pliable to even your will. You may be able to mold them like clay through focus of will alone, causing them to gradually shape into something familiar, even desirable: a home you miss, a place you wish you could see. But no matter how you try, you can only fabricate that which is non-sentient - plants, buildings, rocks, trees.

Just take care not to take things too far. You might find that the landscape does not take too kindly to being overly micromanaged. Too much projection of your conscious or subconscious desires will cause the entire thing to start to darken, crumble, and wither away...taking you with it.

And it's a very, very long fall back to earth.

[This prompt is a miniature version of our February event! Feel free to experiment with whatever details you uncover on the info post if you like!]

Kick Back, Relax
It's not all survivalist shenanigans and horrifying, mind-bending events. There are, in fact, plenty of moments of relaxation, of relief, and even fun to be had. Mu is not a wholly unkind being; it can allow you a much-needed respite in the form of something it suspects everyone might enjoy: a good old-fashioned party. A volleyball net has been strung between two palm trees. A length of driftwood table has been laden with any kind of food you could imagine might be found on an island: drinks served in coconut shells, carmelized shrimp, smoked oysters, skewers of fish. The aquamarine tide laps up at the soft white sand, and those who test the temperature of the shallows will discover that they are pleasantly warm.

And at the center of it all, a cheerful bonfire that kicks up hot flares of sparks into the warm, rich blue of the sky. What a peaceful sight! What a jovial celebration!

Better enjoy it while it's here.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

[splendored]

( good, at the tail end of that sentence Eichi will feel Wataru's own back awkwardly pushing into him, pinning him against that wall. then he'll crouch, wrapping his arms behind Eichi's thighs as he does, and forcing him into a piggyback conundrum. yes, lean forward and hold on to your Wataru, Eichi, or suffer just flailing hopelessly in the wind behind him! )

Oho? To say it all with such lack of faith, have you come to kill me? But danger and love are also a part of the same coin, aren't they? Yes, all love involves risk, and both give the stomach a similar sensation! ☆

( he straightens a bit and forces Eichi up his back with a bounce as he does. )

[finethanks]

[At first, he's surprised, but then he's quickly leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Wataru's neck. He holds him close, pressing his face into that soft hair and staying silent for a few moments too long. Now his eyes are watering... It's just that they're watering, right? As a side effect. It doesn't have to do with the way his stomach feels so sick in those many ways at all.]

I suppose that is true, isn't it?

[He always has the right things to say. But Eichi wants to stay like this, now, where he can't be seen at all. Even if he's embarrassed for Wataru to be carrying him by his too-bare legs.] I hate to say things like this normally, but I do feel more than a little sick to my stomach.

[Danger or love?? Both?? Help him.]

[splendored]

Hm, mine too. You'll have to explain everything to me after, right? Improvising is still a specialty of mine,
but without a script it all feels even more dangerous and loving! ( he's clutched with enough need and strength that it provides the smallest of reliefs, for if Eichi can do that he might not faint just yet. he ducks forward just a bit, feeling the weight on his back shift with the motion. he takes a few careful steps forward first, measured and smooth, not wanting to disturb that upset stomach too much if so. once they reach the mouth of the alley he gives a quick lookover in both directions, ready to make a break for it, positioning himself and speaking with a rare gentleness to his tone, one quieter and personable. )

Keep your eyes closed and hold on tightly, okay?

[finethanks]

...I will.

[To all of that, that's his reply. It's not like him, and it reveals how he's feeling too much, but there's not much he can do about that. Is this really Mu, or just his imagination? He can't tell at all, and he's afraid to know the answer, either way. Holding on tightly to Wataru, he keeps his eyes closed and ignores how they continue to feel more irritated, even in this dream world.

Thank goodness he doesn't have to cough. His stomach feels ill, but the distance means he doesn't think he'll actually cough anything up. It's just very unpleasant, which is something he's used to dealing with.

For now, he'll pretend they're not in this place at all, and focus on the familiar scent of Wataru's hair.]

[splendored]

( he'll honor Eichi's wishes and not "play around" too much, because a performance isn't any fun if it's only upsetting or worrying the person he wants to entertain. Wataru instead keeps beneath awnings and pillars of storefronts, moving along a street as quick as he can, behind erected markets of colorless foods served swiftly and, amazingly, quietly. he can feel the other man behind him practically burrowing into his hair, melting against for what he can only imagine is relief from the throes of his sickness. whatever pain he was in, Watar will have to vanquish it as soon as possible.

his heels cut quickly across cobblestone and pavement, gaze darting to and fro as he moves through a small neighborhood to get to what he's pretty sure is the water's scent, what he's pretty sure is its sound, if his own heartbeat doesn't get in the way. )

You've gone quiet on me, just as I'm teleporting you to your destination. ♪ You often fade away before the good part. How tragic. ( a pause as he thinks he sees-- no, false alarm. clear. )

So very quiet. Hey, say something for me, yes?

this is so fucking gay I'm sorry, he never stops

[finethanks]

I'm sorry if I'm worrying you. It's just that I'm thinking.

[He responds to the request, taking a deep breath as he makes himself keep his eyes closed. If he looks, he'll panic. He has to trust and wait while holding him tight.] I was thinking, is it possible that Wataru heard me calling for him in my heart and came? I wonder if I shouldn't be happy due to the nature of this place, but I can't help but feel a bit relieved.

At the same time, if you were to vanish right now, I'm not sure that I could take it, so please don't perform any disappearing acts.

i mean. it's eichi.

[splendored]

( there's a weighted silence after as he considers, keeping the task at hand his focus while measuring the words spoken with his heart. Eichi could say bold things, but there is a wide open sort of vulnerability to this that makes him wish for the chance to look into his eyes right now.

there's a shop that seems to be recently closed— a list of various violations is sealed against its window, as if to shame the rule-breaking owner ad create a mythological example of it all. surely some of it should be an exaggeration, yes? he has no time to think on it as he scrabbles for a safe location, ducking into the store for just a moment as some shady looking men pass by. it's quiet and dark and a bit damp and dusty, not the ideal place for Eichi's lung capacity, but their stay will be short and there's water just beyond this next block, Wataru knows it. definitely. )

Were you feeling lonesome? Of course I heard you. Did you know that? Whenever you need me, I want to come. That's the kind of relationship I want us to have. ♪ My heart just knows.

( his eyes stay ahead, peeking from the corner of the store's window to make sure nobody else is around. )

I wonder, it's a bit of an overwhelming feeling, isn't it? To not be able to leave even if you wanted to. But your Wataru will happily stay by your side, so don't say such worrisome things!

point

[finethanks]

[It's Wataru. Even his own imagination couldn't craft words as beautifully as Wataru always can. On sad, lonely nights he might try to craft him in his dreams, to dull any pain or fear in his own situation, but there's always some sort of a tell. There's none right now, so this must actually be Mu.

His fingers curl into Wataru's jacket, and his face presses further against him. His tears have finally calmed themselves, but this sick feeling is still there. He's worried.]

As always, Wataru knows just what to say. Fufu... Or is it just that I'm easily pleased? I wonder. [He takes deep breaths, and it's helping, a little.] If that's the case, then I should tell you that you haven't reached me yet.

[splendored]

( he keeps his sights set on an opportunity for an opening, using it to justify the fact that he's pretty sure Eichi has been crying. it's an unsettling thought, one he feels immense guilt at ignoring the possibility of, but he's simply going off Eichi's orders and trying to get them to water for whatever reason. no, he doesn't even need a reason or an explanation. Eichi's desperation for it was enough.

in spite of the jovial atmosphere he's attempted to cultivate, it seems he isn't helping Eichi forget all of his problems just yet. the laugh is encouraging, but it sounds tired and nearly contrived in resignation. he can feel every breath against his curtain of hair, its warmth barely hitting the nape of his neck, the dampness of some spots on his hair more evident and visceral with the subtle movements. )

I haven't? ( he isn't quite sure what Eichi means by that. does he mean his heart? that he hasn't cheered him up quite yet? with a clueless cant of his head, Wataru keeps a hand on the worn wood of the door, waiting. )

Ah, do you want me to try harder then? If that's the case, I will go through all heroic trials necessary to reach you. Jump through fire, battle titans, tame Cerberus...! But is this the part where I'm not allowed to look back at you, or you'll disappear?

[finethanks]

[He's definitely crying. Even if it's 90% of his eyes being irritated and bothering him even here, any emotion is harder to hide than normal. His eyes are always the window to his soul, and now they're wide open and he can't stop crying.

Still, the next laugh is a little more genuine, as tired as it is. Wataru is always so eager to help... He's speaking as if he's the one causing this distance, which makes Eichi feel a little bad.]

It's true that I might disappear, so keep your eyes ahead. We haven't been moving for some time now, so are we okay? [He still doesn't want to open his eyes.]

It's not that you have to try harder, Wataru, though if you could somehow will it past this point I'd be grateful. Thinking on it, doesn't it feel strange here? As if we're in a dream? When I wake up again, I'll be alone, unless Wataru manages to speak to the Storyteller and pass through as well.

Ah, but I have no idea if that's a choice, at this point.

[splendored]

( shifting his gaze back over to the window, Wataru ducks his head to a slow nod, trying to intuit what Eichi means. the surreal nature of his arrival and the subsequent events leading up to this moment haven't escaped his notice. )

Hmm it's difficult to distinguish, since life always feels like a dream with you. ♪

( he pushes on the door once again, opening it ajar, peeking out for a double take on conditions before shoving it open with his foot and exiting the dingy building. he feels more confused now than he's ever been today, for the traces of sadness have been forcibly expelled from Eichi's tone, though the content seems resigned. still. Wataru wants to eradicate that if he can, because he's intent on preserving the Eichi who will take on any obstacle that gets in his path. or rather, get around any obstacle if he must. weaken foundations, sabotage pillars and so on. a sad Eichi is not fit for the stage, not at all! it's imperative that this world is shaped to something that can make him happier.

but, to be needed like this... ah, he feels a bit selfish. now's not the time to be happy. )

To leave you unaccompanied is unacceptable. If you want me to follow you into this world, then that's what I shall do. You only need to ask! Truly, there is no place you can go where I cannot follow. ☆ So don't be sad! At least when I cannot see the expression you're making...