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aftr_ooc2018-09-13 08:58 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in aftr_ooc2018-09-13 08:58 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 015 )
Test Drive Meme #15
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 September 17th, and Applications on September 24th!
Two important notes:
Remember that Reserves will open on September 17th, and Applications on September 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.
Drawn to You
The forest is dark, silent but for the snap-buzz of cricket song. Nearby, the soft babble of running water threads its way between the rough-barked trunks, though the origin of said water is difficult, at first, to pinpoint.
Granted, you probably aren't paying much attention to the forest, or the water, or the darkness. You're probably more concerned about the creatures flitting to and fro in sparse groups, most of them quite small. They tend to vary in appearance - some look to be totally benign, while others considerably less so - but all belong to the same species.
Scribblets are wily beasts, dream-haunters by nature, and they seem to revel in the idle torment they inflict upon those who cross their paths. You, dear travelers, are no exception. And while they are quite easily crushed into dust once caught, they are exceedingly slippery, agile creatures that are most difficult to pin down.
Fortunately, the solution here is very simple. Like any drawing, it can be washed away if you find water. You'd simply better hope that you're able to collaborate with whoever you must in order to access said water, whether it's working alongside whoever you might be tied to, or convincing someone to lend you a hand.
You'd better hope the scribblets don't go after them either, by the way.
Quarantine Breached
Whatever this place once was, nature has long since claimed it for its own. A darkened, secluded laboratory now nearly swallowed by thick snarls of overgrowth is probably not your ideal vacation spot, particularly since there's a dearth of any decent lighting sources here. Drenched in shadow as this place was, it might have been helpful if you had thought to bring a light.
Fortunately, that problem is soon to be solved! Twin smoldering points of light abruptly ignite several yards away from you, paired with the pitched mechanical hum of engaging circuits. Another pair of lights immediately spritzes to life just beside it, and another pair, and another...and another...and...
Well, there seems to be a lot of them, doesn't there?
You must understand, traveler: the island of Umui was nothing like this. The guardian units there were conscious nurse-bots, charged with caring for the sick and dying populace of a hospice island. Most did so with as much care as they were capable. But in the initial days of Umui's exploration, a great deal of explorers' anxieties revolved around these fallen automatons, and what possible purpose they may have served.
We invite you to imagine a scenario in which this went horribly wrong.
Consider these automatons to be shadowy, overzealous mirrors of their long-dead, real-world equivalents. They have learned to become hyper-devoted to their task of keeping their patients safe; so devoted, it seems, that nothing will stop them from fulfilling those obligations. They intend to catch and sedate you so that you can be...returned...to a place of safety.
Unfortunately, this place of safety probably entails an inescapable four-walled room or a hospital bed, and it's doubtful, to say in the least, that enough of their programming remains for them to remember to care for and feed you once you've been returned to whatever passes for a quarantine zone. In a decrepit, dilapidated building like this, it's probably not pleasant.
Our advice is to simply not get caught. If this means doing some inevitable destruction to all this complex hardware in the process, well...at least there's no chance you'll be billed for damages.
The New Farm Simulator Looks Great!
It is possible that you vaguely recall being asked to take watch this evening. By whom? Oh, please, that doesn't matter! With the pleasant hum of crickets in the air, and a backdrop of paddocks and grain fields around you, there are plenty of worse ways to spend your evening than this. All you have to do is keep an eye on passive livestock. The farmer's life is a simple one, where your biggest problem is trying not to fall asleep before your shift is over.
In theory, anyway.
For others, sweet grains aren't as appealing as that sweet, sweet taste of freedom. A word of advice: once the popo are over those hills, you won't be seeing them again. And they might not be terribly fast on their own, but in a herd, they can get to be as dangerous as a stampede.
Hope you weren't expecting an easy night, because in LifeAftr, there's no CJB cheats menu to save you.
Hero | The Property of Hate | OTA
[At first, Hero had been trying to avoid the scribble-things. They're pretty cool, and normally she'd want to meet them, but they remind her a lot of that wild Idea. That was...that all went really, really bad. Even if she's not sure that these are the same kind of thing, she doesn't really want to do anything that reminds her so much of that day. She can leave them alone, and they can leave her alone, and they'll all be okay.
So initially, she creeps quietly around the dark forest, looking for people or lights. But there's nowhere to go, and you can only hide for so long.
A small child vaults a fallen log and runs past, yelling to you as she goes:]
Run!
B.
Hey!
[Hero's jumping up and down in front of one of the popo, waving her arms.]
Don't go that way! [As it starts to walk past her, she grabs its trunk and tries to tug it back towards the center of the paddock, such as that is.] Ugh, c'mon!
[She probably wasn't the best choice for this job.]
A
They look around in clear bafflement and then run after her. If she's running from something, she likely needs the protection, since she doesn't seem to have a weapon in hand. And if something is coming, they'd probably do better to make themselves scarce.
They're a faster runner, so they keep pace easily. What are they running from again? ]
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Go!
[She's not really gonna explain much, but she points back behind them. Looks like she attracted the attention of several many-limbed, sort of loping doodle things.]
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But - ah, she's being pursued, that's bad. They don't know how to get rid of these things quickly; they'd caught one, but it had required their hands rather than their nail. So running seems more prudent.
At least until they come to the river, or a river. It flows fast and they can't see the bottom, though it would be hard to see in this relative darkness. Not for the first time do they wish they had their lantern in hand. They suspect it's deep, however.
Still, she doesn't seem to have a talent for combat, and they do. The solution here seems obvious.
They nod at her and gesture to the river, and then step forward towards the enemy, drawing their sword. It gleams in what little light there is.
They can distract the monsters for a little while, and buy her time to cross the river safely. ]
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They're not planning on going across too, though, are they?]
No! [She glances back at the monsters; they're so much bigger.] I can't just leave you here! I brought them!
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(The Knight takes note of that - what has changed, what hasn't. The river, the running water, is at their back.
Perhaps it's water, then.)
They don't spare much time to think about it when all of a sudden, three of them charge at once; the blade sweeps in a gleaming arc, driving them away temporarily.
They glance back at her shout and gesture again, their meaning clear. But - she seems to want reassurance, that they'll be okay, which is....new.
No, not entirely new. But it's an odd thing, that concern. The kindness of a stranger.
They back up a little more, using their free hand to catch at one of hers. Squeezing gently and looking up at her for a moment.
It's okay. They'll be fine. She can go, and they'll follow. ]
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They have a sword, though. It's little, but it's working, and she doesn't have anything at all. She should have grabbed a stick.]
Okay....
[But she sounds doubtful, and she just sloshes into the water until it's just about to hit the hem of her shorts before turning back to see what's happening.]
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Little Vessel, shaped by those they look up to. Those they cherish, those they love and want as family.)
They listen for the sound of water, the sign that she's started to cross, and their moment of distraction almost gets them tethered. But the scribblet isn't quite fast enough, and they slash at it to keep it away from them.
Things are getting a little too close. They sheathe their sword and leap into the water; their technique might be lacking, but what they lack in finesse they make up for in sheer effort.
Still, they're one small creature against the current. Hero might want to grab onto them just to make sure they don't get swept away. ]
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Her boots have good traction even in the water. Still, it's fast enough that it's hard to walk across. The water comes up to her chest at one point, and she's careful to hold the Knight up above her head.
When they're across, she sits hard on the ground, holding them up to her face.]
Are you okay?
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They sort of just flop there. This is an entirely unexpected development, they have to admit.
The monsters mill about some distance from the river's edge, clearly trying to judge whether it would be worth jumping, but thankfully decide not to pursue and find some easier prey.
Are you okay? They gently pat the hands holding them, because patting people's faces is, as they've come to learn, a little rude. Yes, they're fine.
They tilt their head, inquisitive, and after a moment they look her up and down. Is she all right? ]
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[She shifts the Knight to one hand so that she can mime a sword with the other one. That implied question will, it seems, not be answered.]
No one lets me have swords. What's your name?
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What's your name?
Hmm.
They raise their hands, signing a few words slowly and carefully. ]
can-understand-this?
[ If not, there's always writing. But they want to check, first. ]
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[It's not that they can't talk out loud; lots of people probably can't. But she doesn't get the way they do talk, and she wishes she did.]
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b
Looks like you could use a hand. What are you trying to do?
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[Hero points off towards the fence the popo was heading - is still heading - towards. There's a broken section over there, and it seems like she should fix it, but she can't do that while the mammoths are escaping.]
It's a mammoth farm, and I'm supposed to be helping! [Who asked her to do this? Who knows]
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Okay.
Maybe they're as docile as chocobos? If that's the case, they might be able to guide them back another way.]
Looks like it's Iris to the rescue then. Don't worry-I've got a great idea!
[And what is this incredible, amazing, wonderful stroke of genius that fills her with so much confidence?]
Let's grab a bunch of food and toss it in the middle. I'll bet they come running back when they smell a good meal.
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That's a good idea! [The popo starts to move towards the fence again while she's distracted, and she scrabbles at the ground with her big boots for traction.] Can you get some more while I hold him?
B
They see the child and her predicament, and decide to approach, holding out ...they don't know what these things eat but they're assuming plants and thus that is what they offer.
They don't actually say anything. At least, not yet.)
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Hero, meanwhile, is just glad for the help.]
Oh! Thanks! You feed it, and I'll fix the fence!
[She darts off towards the nearby broken bit of fence. No indication of how she plans to do this.]
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(And for now, they'll just do exactly that. In order to occupy the poppo longer, they parcel the food out, giving it only a small amount at a time.)
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...well. It's a fence intended to keep mammoths in, which makes it a pretty darn big fence for a human child. The pieces of wood that used to form this section are broken, lying on the ground, so after a second she picks up the largest one - the end of it, anyway - and tries to shove it back into place.
Kinda heavy.]
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Switch tasks?
(How about she comes to feed the poppo and they work on the fence.)
a
She shrieks in her shrill way and starts to run after the child.]
What the hell is that thing!!!
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[aka, she doesn't know, but she knows you don't want it catching you
It's really dark out here. Hero doesn't know how well the monster - or this person she's with now - can see in it, but she can't see, and the noise of herself rushing through the forest is making it hard to hear. Running away isn't going to work forever.
The next time she sees a tree with a branch she can reach, she reaches out to tug Nott, just to get her attention, and then jumps for it.]
C'mon, up! [She's going up, at least, you should too!]
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When the kid hops up into the tree, though, Nott brightens somewhat, though her nervous panic still shines through. She nods and clambers onto the branch fairly easily, being quite nimble. She takes her Cloak of Elvenkind and drapes half of it over the child, hoping its magic of obscuring her appearance can extend to the girl as well.
Meanwhile, she stares below, waiting to see what the creature does when it finds it's no longer chasing two little individuals.]