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aftr_ooc2018-07-13 08:54 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in aftr_ooc2018-07-13 08:54 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 013 )
Test Drive Meme #13
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 July 17th, and Applications on July 24th!
Two important notes:
Remember that Reserves will open on July 17th, and Applications on July 24th!
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.
Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat
When you wake, it's to the bucking of tumultuous ocean waves and the heavy sluice of rain. The boat you've found yourself on was probably seaworthy at some point, but it's been wind-battered and weatherbeaten to the point where it's begun, quite steadily, to sink into the choppy waves. Looks like you're all in the same, sinking vessel.
That doesn't mean you're completely helpless. There is an island in sight, one that resembles the waking land of Ensō, albeit somewhat far off, its silhouette fuzzy and indistinct from the curtains of rain. But if you can make it...
Well, anywhere's got to be better than here, right?
Gibbon No Quarter
It's been a year since the first adventurers were initially drawn to Mu's shores, and then, later, to Ensō's. And so, in celebration, the dream-island has cribbed only the best bits of the previous year for prospective explorers to sample on their way in.
Take now, for instance. You'll find yourself in a cage of all things, with the pound of drums and excited hoots of hungry simians to greet you upon waking. This particular breed of monkeys was once unique to Ensō, before travelers were forced to more or less thoroughly exterminate them. Devilishly smart and naturally inventive, gun monkeys are so named for their trademark weaponry - coconut guns, naturally - and their generally cunning capacity to craft tools out of very rudimentary resources.
Think fast, or work with whoever's nearby, and you might have a chance. Or you could always call for help. That always works out, right?
To Be Continued
Stories, stories, stories. Anyone who's hung around the block for any length of time can tell you, dear newcomers, that those little things are of the utmost importance in this neck of the woods. There's no mistaking the purpose behind this inviting scene - log seats set up around a roaring campfire, and even a packet or two of marshmallows if you're feeling hungry.
It almost might be enough to distract you from the fact that there's no fuel for said fire. And what's more, the darkness surrounding the woodland backdrop is so impenetrable that you may as well be an isolated blot of warmth in an otherwise unforgiving void. And within that void, if you listen close, you might hear something - a snarling, an indistinct rumble of massive jaws parting, hungrily, in search of something alive.
It's stories, of course. Regale us with tales of your past exploits, or with fairytales or nursery rhymes you remember from your childhood. Relay your tales of triumph and of grief, of laughter and of agony, of anything you can possibly imagine. As long as a story of some sort is being told, the fire will burn merrily onward, and the blanket of all-consuming darkness will be kept at bay.
Just try not to embellish too much. If your story is too vague, if it is more lies than it is something genuine, the fire might start to gutter dangerously low as a consequence. And that beast, whatever it is - oh, it's hungry.
AHHH HI!!!
She cracks an eye open against the wind and rain. Magnus stumbling across the ship a few feet away from her; the sight of him is incredibly relieving, even if he doesn't know what's going on any better than she does. It's okay that she doesn't know exactly what's going on, because now they can figure it out together! One brain is always better than two, right?
... Right?? Ah, he's just smacked face first into the mast. Lucretia winces and relinquishes her death grip on her own post so she can slide across the wet deck toward him, catching the mast with one hand. She drops a hand onto his shoulder, gives it a bolstering squeeze.)
Are you okay?
ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ
Yeah--yeah, just- a couple of teeth. Are you--
[ And he stops.
What the sound of the storm made him fail to recognize, a look at her helps him catch up. She's a little different than when he last saw her, certainly a good couple of decades young, but he's seen that face before. He saw it for a whole century.]
Holy shit! Lucretia?
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(Hey, hold on!
Similarly, once up close Lucretia is also having revelations. This is for all intents and purposes Magnus Burnsides in the flesh, but he's a bit different. He is noticeably older for starters! He has lines on his face. He has scars that she's never seen before. Is this magic? It's Davenport doing illusions again, isn't it. It's the only answer she can think of right now that makes even the slightest bit of sense.
For a long moment she just stares at him, at a complete loss for what to say in return, mind racing.)
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It's a few seconds of staring before another wave hits the ship and his feet slip, forcing him to tighten his grip around the mast. Okay, maybe they should leave the Talk for later.]
So, hey, what the fuck?! Who's ship is this?? [ Forced to yell over the crashing waves and pouring rain, good thing he's a very loud boy.]
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I have no idea! I just– uh, opened my eyes and I was here!
(It's the rockiest start to a cycle she's dealt with in a while and she's feeling a little offended about it?? The one she just came from started out with the Starblaster landing in an expansive field, so what's the deal with this one!)
Can you see any land at all out there?
(It's really hard to see anything through the rain on her glasses. She squints helplessly off the side of the ship.)
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No! Shit.
[ With an arm wrapped tightly around the mast, he scoots his feet and leans down, holding out an arm to help her up.]
Hey! So, huh, weird question! [ Thank goodness he's naturally loud, because it's hard to hear anything.] Have you seen anyone on the ship? Anyone at all? Maybe a big talking rabbit or a dog or something?
sorry for being slow!!
No, (she shouts, her shoulders slumping,) I think it's just the two of us. Unless somebody is hiding– (another wave crashes over the top of the railing and salt water sprays everywhere, making her splutter,) eugh, below deck! And I wouldn't blame them!
But– why would a talking rabbit be here? Aren't you– what about the Captain? Or Lup, or– Merle, the others?
No problem! I'm pretty slow too
We should get below deck! Right?!
sometimes it just be like that
(It's probably pretty easy to tell what point of the cycles Lucretia has come here from: a couple decades earlier and she would have happily gone below deck to wait out the storm with him. Experience doesn't stop her from finding the noise of the storm paralyzing, but it has granted her the ability to withstand it.)
C'mon, we have to– try. (She's trying to untangle a rope from around the mast. Looks like it's keeping the sail tightly furled.)
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He shifts closer and grabs hold of the rope.]
Wait, the-- isn't the sail gonna rip if we drop it?!
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(This is ridiculous. Lucretia wipes her glasses and stares at the sail and tries to think again.)
Maybe if we– do it together, and slowly. Don't make a sex joke. (funny how decades of living with taako have caused her to automatically tack that last bit on the end, there.)
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However, something tells him this is a bad idea. And Magnus doesn't get that feeling often! Specially not when the idea is by someone like Lucretia.]
I don't think that's gonna work! It's going to break the mast!
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(They can't even see land, so swimming is out. Magnus wanted to go below the deck before but she just doesn't see how that will help. Letting the ocean carry them where ever it wants until the storm dies out is a little frightening: too unpredictable.)