TEST DRIVE MEME ( 010 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #10

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 April 17th, and Applications on April 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.

Friends on the Other Side
When you open your eyes, it is to a shadow-tinted cityscape. The buildings are clay-built and colorless, plunging seemingly infinitely onward into the sky before disappearing into a dense pool of foglike sky. The silence weighs heavily like a mantle across every inch of this place, and no matter how you squint at them, every structure seems strangely blurred, as though being viewed through distorted telescope lens, or in the reflection of a pool of water.

All told, it's probably obvious from the start that all is not well here. From the moment you arrive in this strange nether-place, your eyelids have begun to grow heavy. Something about this city and its perpetual, misted darkness leaves you inexplicably drowsy, ready to curl up and fall asleep on the spot.

That wouldn't be a problem, perhaps, if you were alone. Mu does not boast a great deal of flora and fauna, but what it does have is a creature capable of inflicting much in the way of misfortune - clockroach. They occupy this city in swarms of wraith-like wisps, both intangible and curiously amorphous. But when they draw close, they instill a sense of terror like no other, usually igniting one's fight-or-flight response as a result. Sure, they might not be capable of actually hurting you, but why should that matter, when they have a skill for inducing a sense of utter dread in their targets?

Ever try to get some sleep with fresh adrenaline pumping in your veins?

Pretty Fly for a...Fire Guy
With indigo-blue skies, lush fields of green, and miles of rippling grass hills for as far as the eye can see, Mu has cast you into the perfect and picturesque evening. As the imaginary sun lips the very edge of the horizon and the last glow of orange fades to the purple of dusk, the fields come to life with a smattering of bright, wavering lights. LifeAftr has its fair share of fireflies native to its many regions, but this particular kind is special. They're the size of quarters, very pretty to look at...and incredibly volatile besides. It's hard to interpret what these wondrous little glow-bugs might view as a threat or not, but at least it's remarkably easy to discern as much based on the sight of them alone: they're handily color-coded depending on their moods.

While they glow a contented amber by default, those that fireflies warm to will find themselves bathed in a green-blue glow as those bulbous, organic lanterns tint with a soft, cool turquoise. A few of them might even settle across your arms and in your hair, if they take that much of a shine to you.

Of course, those the fireflies don't warm to will be able to note as such when they light up a blazing crimson, mere seconds before the insects spit a stream of glowing orange, molten-colored acid. It stings and burns in equal measure, just as likely to scald you as it is to set the surrounding fields aflame.

Flower You Doing That?
Adventurers were both wary and relieved to discover that the next island on the horizon, known as Ziziphus, appeared to be a rather vegetation-rich paradise. They were considerably less relieved to learn that this island contained predators just like all the rest of them, despite the rich green backdrop of its meadows and the promise of lush woodland at its heart.

So it is that you, too, will learn that sometimes tufts of ferns are not tufts of ferns at all...but dangerous creatures called spindlanks. What might initially appear to be a leafy hillock will very quickly prove to be something far more...mobile, if you get close enough. That clump of grass and red ferns will abruptly hoist itself up on six vine-like tendrils, crawling for its prey like a very large, mossy spider. While it's fully capable of swiping at its foes with its massive, leafy arms, the spindlank's favored method of dispatching its prey is simply to scuttle forth until it's positioned directly above you and drop down. If its weight does not crush you and choking on the clods of earth doesn't smother you, don't worry; the spindlank intends to eat you alive with a set of fleshy jaws set deep in its center.

For despite their leafy appearance, spindlanks are very much carnivorous. Their size can vary from anywhere between six and ten feet tall when their appendages unfurl entirely. They burn as easily as any plant matter would, but the size of them can make them quite difficult to topple alone.

And they are almost always hungry.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

slides into your DMs---I mean comments

[covertizer]

[ When Akira sees someone running through the gloom and mist, he ends up falling into step. The creeping sense of dread wasn't lost on him - but it wasn't overwhelming right now, just... there. Going to get worse, absolutely, but manageable right now. ]

Where are we going?

[ Clearly talking will either help calm his new running companion, or terrifying him completely. 50/50 seems like good odds, honestly. ]

eyyyy

[nightcure]

[ Instead of calming him, though, Akira's sudden appearance gets him to stop dead in his tracks. Alright. So. Pyrrha is here. So is Ardyn, but a different Ardyn than the one he'd grown close to.

... Tentatively: ] Akira?

fingerguns wink

[covertizer]

[ He keeps running, but his head does turn to look at this man. Is it someone he should recognise?

...

He doesn't. That's either concerning, or ... well. Mostly it's concerning. ]

...

Yes?

[nightcure]

[ Well. Alright. ]

Sorry. This isn't my first time being taken to a weird place--I met a version of you, last place I was in.

[ Might as well be upfront about it! ]

[covertizer]

[ The wary look isn't going anywhere, but he does pull an exaggerated face at that. ]

Do you always start out talking about alternate world theories, or is this a special occasion? It's a good conversation starting point, though. I'll give you that.

[nightcure]

Nah, it's just an explanation for why I know your name. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have bought "I know someone who looks like you."

[covertizer]

No, I'm pretty unique.

[ He's half joking. ]

...

Then again we're currently running through an eerie, empty island, having been plucked from our lives to scavenge out a living in the wilderness. [ ... ] You get the benefit of the doubt.

[nightcure]

[ Lightly, he chuckles. ]

I appreciate it. I'm Noctis, by the way. Noctis Lucis Caelum.

[covertizer]

[ "Lucis Caelum" ... ... what a surname. ]

Nice to meet you. I won't worry about introducing myself, unless you really want me to.

Did you just come to here?

[nightcure]

Nah, I think we're good.

[ He nods. ]

A little while ago. Already ran into some people from home, actually.

[covertizer]

Oh?

It's good to have friends here.

[ Insert mental montage of Fond Memories Of Shenanigans With Akechi Since Arriving™

...

Mm. This face. ]

... Usually. Do you mind me asking who they are?

[nightcure]

[ Noctis just barely manages to hold back a laugh, god. ]

Two out of three, yeah. Prompto Argentum, Ignis Scientia, and... Ardyn Izunia.

[ That was quite the hesitation there, gee, Noct! ]

[covertizer]

[ Oh? That gets another look. ]

I know those names. Perky blond, world's-most-creepy-chocobo-uncle, and tall, brunette and attractively terrifying?

[ Hesitation noted: Ardyn is..................... Ardyn. He's not spoken to him much, but each time there's been something off about him, flickering around the edges. ]

[nightcure]

[ ... ah. Now, Noctis can't help but laugh. He clears his throat and nods. ]

Yep. Sounds about right, actually.

[covertizer]

[ That's a better sound. A laugh to chase the looming dread away. ]

Does he always give off the impression he could cook you a gourmet meal then snap your neck with his pinky finger after you've thanked him?

[nightcure]

Oh yeah. That's why you stay on his good side, for the awesome food.

[covertizer]

And the getting stepped on afterwards?

[nightcure]

[ And Noctis, Chosen King of Light, makes a sound like he's half-choking. RIP in fuck. ]

[covertizer]

[ Akira slows down, keeping a careful eye on Noctis as he elegantly chokes like a loser. He's beauty and he's grace. He's probably choking on his own spit. ]

Do you need the Heimlich manoeuvre? I'm pretty good with my hands.

[ Akira Kurusu: making things worse since 2k16. ]

[nightcure]

[ Oh my god. He's fine, he's cool. ]

Do you always make passes at engaged men?

[covertizer]

[ He's fine. It's fine. He's calm, he's cool, the epitome of s m o o t h. ]

Oh? I didn't realise tall-dark-and-terrifying was engaged, I don't remember seeing a ring.

[nightcure]

I was talking more about the "good with my hands" comment. Far as I know, Iggy hasn't found anyone to tie the knot with.

[covertizer]

[ He hums, a little dismissively. Pretty as you are Noctis, he genuinely wasn’t flirting at that point. But the fact Noctis thought he was is kinda fun. ]

That was just fact though. I am very good with my hands. [ There’s a pause for effect— and then a smile. ] So if you ever need a lock picking, let me know. I’ll only charge you 2/3rds of the original labour fee.

[ Ah. ]

Somewhere out there in the worlds, you just made a lot of people sigh in relief.