TEST DRIVE MEME ( 002 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #2

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 August 17th and that Applications will open on August 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.

I'm on a Boat
The rhythmic rocking may be soothing to start with - perhaps reminiscent of how an infant might feel, rocked in the cradle. Well, up until you wake up long enough to take stock of your surroundings. You're on a flimsy wooden raft, comprised of logs lashed together with straw-like twine. You're surrounded by water on four sides, with the only landmass for miles rearing like an inkblot on the horizon.

Right - and you're not alone, either. You have a raftmate, and they're probably just as shocked and displeased to be here as you are. Good thing the boat appears to have come with a pair of oars - as well as a pair of very large butcher knives.

Those, ah...are probably just for survival's sake.

Probably. Though that's rather up to you, isn't it?

The Beast of the Bay
A roaring bonfire, the sound of waves lapping up against the sand, the uniform dark blanketing all but the orange glow of the embers at your feet - what more could you ask for? Those who huddle around the flames for warmth will find themselves oddly compelled to make something of the setting. It's simply too perfect to resist.

It's time, once again, to tell a story.

In fact, your lives may very well depend on it. As long as there is silence, the fires begin to dim, and the flames sink low. And in the distance, you swear you can hear...a snarling, a liquid yip-growl of a great stalking thing with slavering jaws. Maybe you glimpse it in the corner of your eye, dark-furred and clawed with golden slits for eyes that glow like molten amber.

For as long as your fire burns, you're safe. But you'll need a story to fuel it...and if the story is insufficient, if it's more lie than it is truth, then there's a beast that's hungry for your failure.

Get Spelunked On
The caves built into the cliffs lining the beach may be imposing, but you're going to need protection from the elements, and you might not have much choice if you want to last the night. In you inevitably go - or maybe you simply wake up there, having bypassed the need for a raft and a bad-tempered boatmate.

Never fear if you lack a natural means of producing light - it seems that there's all manner of round, glowing orbs buried in the ceiling of each sea cave. Isn't that thoughtful?
Maybe it would have been, if those orbs dispensing that faint cerulean glow weren't sentient - and annoyed at the sight of so many people invading their dark, secluded, peaceful habitat.

Glowgrubs are pale, wormlike creatures that like to dangle from the ceiling like very peculiar stalactites. Most don't grow any larger than two or three feet, but they can be remarkably fast on the ground when they like to be - and they do like to be, when there are intruders afoot. Armed with fanged mouths on both ends of their slightly striated bodies, glowgrubs can deliver a nasty bite that, while not fatal, is dangerous in its own right.

Those who succumb to the bite of a glowgrub will find themselves drawn, trancelike, to deep water. But while a glowgrub can survive submerging itself in those murky depths for hours at a time, most oxygen-breathing creatures cannot.

So don't go wandering about all alone, all right?

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

hanako 'rosalina' nurumi; oc (haven crau); ota

[hasitsthorns]

I: I got my swim trunks and my flippy-floppies;

[ Rose had fallen unconscious with death's icy grip holding fast to her as she bled out from a shotgun blow to the chest. To wake up instead to a balmy breeze, a soothing rocking, the ambient sound of rolling waves-

Wait. The blond woman suddenly shoots awake, rocking the boat violently. She gives a panicked squeak at the sight of water; her eyes go wide as saucers as fingernails of her only hand dig into the wood seat beneath her. Steadying herself is important right now because her frantic scrambling will only make this whole situation worse. Eyes dart over the entirety of the boat and- Aha! The knives are what she goes for first soon as she sees them. She grabs one and immediately brandishes it against whoever is on the boat with her. ]

Who are you? [ Her eyes narrow. She tries to look as threatening as possible, but it's difficult when she's trembling like a leaf at the anxiety being surrounded by water causes. Being on a boat with a stranger causes. ] Are you working for Yao? Where are we?

[ She should be dead. The blood caked onto the front of her shirt and disheveled, emaciated appearance probably gave that away though. ]

II: every time the moon shines, I become alive;

[ The story Rose weaves is one a monster. A beast made by the design of a madman, a pitiful creature that was twisted to follow only its most basic instincts to feed. It turned on anyone it had known and cared about before. It was a ravenous thing, its hunger insatiable. ]

And if you aren't careful, [ she continues, opening her arms wide only to clap them down dramatically, ] it'll eat you too!

[ She laughs after at any spooked reactions her little flourish gets. Never mind how hollow it sounds, how fake it feels. What would they do, she can't help but think, if they knew the monster she spoke of was herself? ]

III: spelunking we will go, spelunking we will go;

[ Going into the caves alone definitely doesn't seem like the wisest decision in the world. But then again, when has Rose ever been known to make the smart choice? ]

Oh, come on, [ she all but whines as one of those worms bares its fangs at her. She snarls right back at it, however, not in the mood to put up with any more fuckery today. ] I'd like to see you try, you dumb glowing bug.

[ Yes, she is sassing the glowgrub. Maybe someone might to advise her against doing that thing before she finds herself in a watery grave? ]

Everytime the moon shines

[thisisourfuture]

H-hey, don't do that! [Hinata had jerked back too far and fallen off the log he'd been sitting on. He climbs back onto it holds his hands out to fthe fire.] Do you know what happened to the beast? Or is that all of the story?

[He breathes out fast, his heart still hammering in his chest. The creature out in the darkness doesn't help. To keep the fire going he continues in a quiet voice.] I don't have much I want to tell a story about. I guess I could give just a general gist? Or some old stories.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Snrk. Sorry, Hinata, that was pretty funny. She's gotta' get her kicks somewhere in this situation, even if its at other's expenses. ]

The beast is here, [ she hums, thoughtfully. ] But who knows where. Or who it might decide to target next. I'd be careful if I were you, dude.

[ Only a partial lie. She does hope Hinata is cautious because Rose doesn't know what might drive her out of control here, but... For the time being, she doesn't plan on hurting anyone. As she knows, however, plans tend to be derailed very quickly. ]

Old stories are good though. Gotta' love the classics.

[thisisourfuture]

[Why does he feel like she's messing with him? The beast growls in the dark and he stiffens, but still compelled by the need to tell a story he speaks quietly.]

I've never had to tell stories, just recount facts. I can put them together well enough so...I'll do my best. [He stares at the fire still nervous and wary after that beast story.]

...There once was an unusual cat. He was from the land of fairies and his fur showed that. His nose was violet. His ears sky blue and his body yellow. His eyes were indigo...

His front paws were green and his back were orange. His tail was red. He has a number of strange adventures and this is one of them. [The fire flickers and rises a bit waiting for more of the tale. He sighs, he really isn't good at this. But he'll still try.] He was colored up like the rainbow so this isn't going to be a scary tale.

After yours I thought something...well not another scary one.

Anyway, the cat has a lot of adventures. This is about one in particular. This is about his visit to the cloud people.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Only just a little. Not about the beast, however, because that's definitely a danger. More than he knows, considering its sitting right in front of him. ]

That's fair, [ she hums, thoughtfully. No need for more horror up in here. ] But a rainbow a cat visiting cloud people, go on.

This sounds like it's gonna be good.

[thisisourfuture]

...if I remember every thing it should at least be okay. [He hopes it will be good. Hinata rests his hands on either side of him as he continues, his voice becoming more steady. Treat it like a trial.] The cloud people have very little worry about because they live in the sky. Except for Sir Thunder.

[He leans a little forward as the flames rise a little higher.] He's quick to temper and stomps everywhere, kicking in the doors of their beautiful palaces. No cloud person lives in a boring place.

They were really happy to see Rainbow cat. He happened to visit at a good time, they said. [Hinata pauses to remember what that event was and nods to himself.]

They were celebrating the marriage of the Wind God's eldest son, North wind and the daughter of the King of the magical isle. All of the people of the sky were there. Aurora in delicate garments of light. Comet, who rarely came to any event but only the best ones. Their parents, each in their kingdom's best. Everyone gathered there having a good time until a swallow came in and said Sir Thunder was coming and he was furious.

[hasitsthorns]

Sounds like Raijū, [ she comments, thoughtfully. The thunder god takes many forms, but she'd seen him once as a wolf. It'd been a surreal experience. ]

Who pissed in his cornflakes though?

[ He might not get the modern slang, but it's a new world. That means people might be a bit more pop culture savvy, maybe. A woman can hope. ]

III

[greatcleavage]

[By sheerest luck, Roy steps out of an intersecting tunnel he'd been exploring just in time to hear that particular comment. It earns a skeptical arch of his eyebrow.]

[Figuring it's best not to startle her, he clears his throat slightly, and only then speaks.]

I'm not sure antagonizing those is the wisest option.

[Now, it really isn't fair of him to just butt in with his own opinion -- but he hopes at least that his armor and sword will give her the impression that he knows a thing or two about what he's saying. Which he truly does, but he can't expect her to be aware of that off the top of her head.]

[hasitsthorns]

[ The woman's head snaps to find the source of the sudden noise. She's just a little on edge. Only a tad. Can you really blame her though? The fingers of her good hand curl around the knife from the boat she'd kept on her person just in case.

While she hopes she doesn't have to use it against Roy, she's not ready to trust anyone on this island just yet. The fact that he has armor and a weapon only serves to make her warier rather than reassured. ]

Don't think I can take them? [ she asks, half-serious. ] I'm tougher than I look, don't worry.

[ It might be hard to believe, emaciated as she is and missing a hand. It looks more like a strong breeze would knock her over rather than her being any sort of capable of fighting off fanged glowgrubs. ]

[greatcleavage]

[Roy lifts a hand to dismiss that thought, which may also help him be a little less threatening -- his weapon obviously requires two hands to wield properly.] No, no, I certainly did not mean to imply you're incapable of taking them.

[He routinely travels with a halfling, half his size and a fraction his mass, who has murdered his way through a literal army. Roy doesn't judge by appearances.]

The problem is risking injury from them even in a victory. We have no clerics and no healing resources here, and for all we know they're venomous as well. If we can avoid antagonizing them, it's probably wiser. No matter how frustrated we might be by this whole ridiculous situation.

[Logical and tactical as Roy might be, don't think for a second he isn't profoundly irritated by all this.]

[hasitsthorns]

[ She can hear that hint of annoyance in his tone. Good to know even the down-to-earth ones are absolutely done with this bullshit. This isn't Rose's first rodeo, but boy had she hoped Haven was her last world hop. ]

Alright, yeah, [ she concedes, backing off the glowgrub. It still seems hostile but not poised to attack just yet. And if it tries, she'll still be ready. ]

No healers yet, huh? That blows. M'sure someone'll show up soon though. Always do, the people that can't help but, well, help.

[greatcleavage]

[Roy is neither relaxed nor sheathing his sword, so if the grub makes a move, she won't be the only one who responds.]

I hope so, but if this is a demiplane it may be possible that any clerics are cut off from access to their patron gods. That may be something we have to account for. Whatever the case, I think playing it safe is wisest... but on the other hand, I also think we can't just give up on exploring either.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Demiplane... Clerics... Patron Gods... This dude stepped straight out of D&D, it seems. ]

Yeah, no, I agree. But I'll try not to piss off the native cave inhabitants. [ A beat. ] Well. Not as much, anyway.

Guessing you're new to the island too, dude?

ii

[catpiper]

[The entire story has Ren on the edge of her seat. Literally. On her best days, she's jumpy and easily startled. And today, stuck outside with a blazing fire and strange noises lurking around the site, makes it far from a best day. No, this is not a good day for her at all. It only takes a few words into the monster story for her to start looking nervous and when her hands clap down, she immediately jumps up with a small yell.]

H-How do I not get eaten?

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose almost feels bad for spooking Ren. Almost. It's kind of a cute, in a way, just how jumpy the poor girl is. And in another, it's smart. She should be scared as the monster of the story sits right before her. ]

Oh, that's not up to you, [ Rose answers, shrugging one shoulder with far too casual a smile. ] You're just its type too, sorry to say!

[ Rose wishes there wasn't any truth to that, but. Wolves do enjoy the meat of bleating sheep best. But not to worry, she won't actually hurt Ren unless given good reason to. Or if she gets hungry enough. Whichever. ]

[catpiper]

[The look on her face straddles the line between full blown terror and defeat. She escapes one apocalyptic world and now has to listen to scary stories about human eating monsters. Incredible. ]

Are you its type too? Should we run away?

[Run where? Who knows. The fire is safer than growling noises around them, but she's starting to get nervous about this new threat.]

[hasitsthorns]

[ Sucks to suck, Ren. Rose knows those feels though, she's coming from... Well, not the greatest of places. Though that was probably obvious from how worn she looks in every way imaginable. ]

Me? Nah, I'm too cool. It likes the frightened ones. Fear smells delicious, you know.

[ That isn't a lie; instincts drive her harder when she can tell her prey is afraid. ]

So, hey, just stick with me and you'll totes be safe. [ Haha. Ha. Ha. ]

[catpiper]

[Okay, she doesn't know what fear smells like, but delicious isn't the word she would think to use. Maybe she can mask it. Or something. Will flowers or old fish cover up the fear odor?

She hates this. ]

Then I won't be afraid.

[The fact her voice trembles through that whole statement probably negates the words.]

I'll stay with you and that will cover up the smell all night.

[hasitsthorns]

[ ... Adorable.

And, vulnerable. Rose feels bad for thinking, but she still does. But she's sated enough right now to deny her instincts. Ren's safe, for the time being. ]

Hey, I believe in you! You tell that beast who's boss. But I'd be happy to stay with you however long it takes. I'll definitely cover up any smell of fear predators might pick up on.

My name's Rose, by the way. Nice to meet you.

ii

[jokeronace]

[Jamil just rolls his eyes, not impressed by the theatrics behind the story.]

A creature that only thinks of its next meal. That could describe, like, any wild animal. Or any cannibal. Now, if it were a cannibal story, that'd be something to get goosebumps about.

[He knows at least one cannibal story, let's just put it that way.]

[hasitsthorns]

Hard crowd, [ the blond teases, smile easygoing despite the criticism. ]

And what if I told you it was? That the flesh this creature was after was the flesh of the people it thought of as its kin?

[jokeronace]

[A much more impressed looking smirk slowly grows on the Courier's face.]

Yeah. Okay, I'm listening. Anyone try to deal with it, or did the people getting eaten just sit back and wait to die?

[hasitsthorns]

[ There we go. ]

There was a woman who cried wolf, but the beast was so good at convincing people it wasn't only some people believed her. And it was a case of too little too late. By the time they realized she was telling the truth nothing could be done.

[jokeronace]

Insidious. Just like a cannibal. They got ways of sneaking into your life and convincing you they're not looking at you like a meal.

[He still doesn't regret arranging the deaths of the entire White Glove Society. It struck him later that not all of them were cannibals, but, hell... he hated the whole lot of 'em anyway. Good riddance.]

Any survivors?

[hasitsthorns]

That they do, [ she agrees. She'd know better than anyone.

There again, it sounds like this dude does too. Which is interesting. Something she's definitely making a note of, for future reference. ]

None besides me here that I've seen yet. I don't know. The whole world I was in before kind of went to Hell in a hand-basket near the end there, so.