TEST DRIVE MEME ( 014 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #14

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 Applications 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.

One Magic Night
The waves are aglow. That might not be the first thing you notice when you wake, but it will probably draw your attention at some point: the way the sea foam glistens with an effervescent light as it rinses the beach in a crystalline, deep blue shimmer. Further out, lurid explosions of color ripple soundlessly beneath the waves - an underwater fireworks show. The atmosphere is peaceful, a blissed-out calm to suit the lazy lap of the surf-spray against the sand. Maybe turning around will shed a little more light on the situation. What this is, in fact, is the echo of a celebration that was held on Ensō back in June. Torches and campfires crackle with a merry, companionable blaze, and there is food and drink in abundance - including some of the alcoholic persuasion, for those of you who are over the age of twenty-one.

There is, naturally, all sorts to do in a celebration like this. Friendly sparring matches have sprung up along the shoreline; beach cushions and blankets decorate the party site; coconut shells laden with bioluminscent body paint can be dipped into at will, if you fancy shining like a glowstick throughout the artificial night.

Just because you've got no idea how you got here doesn't mean you can't enjoy a good party while it lasts, right?

Growing Pains
The island you've ended up on today is very, very beautiful, particularly if you're a botanist: it's covered in flowers of all sorts. They grow in rich clumps, seemingly at odds with any sense of convention. Here, you can find common dandelions flowering alongside tropical strelitzias, snowdrops spangled beside water lilies. No matter the impossibility of it, despite the discrepancies of seasons and temperatures in which these specimens should be blooming, you'll find that nearly every species can be found represented, flowering in tandem. It's gorgeous. Breathtaking, even.

There's only one problem.

That problem being that the flowers are growing out of you as well. As might be obvious, this is not exactly a pleasant sensation. There is, in fact, a full list of rather painful symptoms that has been very well-documented of late. All you have to worry about in particular, however, is what has caused these flowers to take root in you in the first place:

Lies.

Is there something you need to get off your chest? Some confession that's aching to be made? Some guilt or regret that you've repressed, that's been dragging you down for years?

Then you'd better get to it. Those flowers aren't leaving unless you spill. And if you'd rather not, well...they're more than happy to fertilize the earth with what's left of you.

Hoo Ha Ha
Stop us if you've heard this one: you and some stranger wake up on a boat. There are no landmasses in sight, and nothing as far as the eye can see but lapping waves and a peaceful, periwinkle, cloudless sky. It's good weather for sailing. Perfect, in fact. There's even a tight breeze that might helpfully guide you along.

The punchline, of course, is the fact that you're surrounded by sharks. Sorry, did we say sharks? We meant tigersharks, of the most literal sort possible. Part fish and part feline, these dual-headed beasts are summarily more naturally carnivorous and more aggressive than your bog standard tigers or sharks. They're wickedly fast in the water, and just as lethal on land.

And they're currently trying to climb aboard; armed with four sharp-clawed legs, they're more than capable of doing exactly that unless you can fend them off.

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Comments

[thegoodestboy]

[If that stick is flying, so is Dogmeat. Careful, Guzma...he'll play fetch until your arm falls off if that's what you wanna do.]

[Or rather, he would, if it weren't for the intriguing smell of something he has definitely never encountered before. A sweet smell, with hints of bitterness and that weird medicinal tang that accompanies things like homemade stimpaks and rad-x. Instead of skid-sliding into another sick stick grab, Dogmeat leaps over the spot it's landed in and heads for the treeline.]

[Yeah, that's about what he thought. A coconut sits half-buried in the dirt, top half slightly separated from the bottom. Leaves protrude from the crack between the two sections, leaves that Guzma might even recognize as medicinal.]

[He stands over the strange container and barks repeatedly, ears straight up and tail held in a steady neutral position.]

[Dogmeat found something.]

[yallstupid]

[Guzma's endurance is pretty high up there, Fido, he may have you panting pretty soon. Guzma's always wanted a Houndoom - they're perhaps his favorite pokemon that isn't a bug type - and he's pleased as heck to get to play with a canine that shares a similar enough look to its pre-evolved form that he's raring to go for a while. Besides, the wait between his throws is enough rest to at least get some of his breath back.

However, when the dog goes racing past the stick he's thrown, Guzma blinks, somewhat shocked, and stands up. Uh oh, did the dog spot something else that's he's ready to chase? Hopefully not any of the baby turtles that were scuttling about the shore months back, otherwise these dreamy versions of the Jormun were probably going to smack his nose with one of their clubs or sticks. Gotta avoid that... Guzma's already grown fond of this dog - and he'd rather not encourage them picking on little critters.]

Hey there, Houndour, what'cha got? [He's uh...he's definitely seen this plant before - his mom was a really good gardener, and even had pursued opening up a flower shop at one point, before...things happened. However, he's never developed the green thumb like his mom did. He may recognize it, but only on a base level. PLus, Guzma's been adverse to flowers since...yeah. A few weeks ago.] Hey, homie, don't go sniffing at any weird plants, yeah?

Lemme see here... [Idly, he scratches the dog behind the ear and looks at the herbs, wondering if they could be taken back with him.]