TEST DRIVE MEME ( 015 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

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:

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. If you're not careful enough, the scribblets will fasten a peculiar tether to you. It looks very much like it is made of the same materials they, resembling a sketchy line of crayon, drawn into the third dimension. Their intent, tonight, is to tie you to something that will make your life difficult - binding you to a tree trunk or to a branch far above the ground, tying your hands together...or even tying you to someone else. These bonds will only grow progressively denser and heavier the more you struggle against them.

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? "Attention," chimes a pitched, automated voice, doubtless issuing from one of the many automatons that have begun to stir awake, one by one. "Potential host sighted. Quarantine breached."

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. While the scenery of the quiet countryside may be ideal, the state of the farm's buildings and and fences is far from it. For the curious creatures such as popo, there really isn't much to keep them in one place for long, wide stretches of fenceline ruined by fallen sections. Meaning that these massive, shaggy creatures can simply step over the crushed regions and start plowing their way contentedly in the direction of the fields of grain - fields that were certainly not intended to end up in some silly beast's stomach.

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.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

[demonpuppy]

[Fortunately, Chip doesn't really need much of a response at the moment. They've already grabbed the sketched-out string and are tugging on it, sharply at first before they start really putting their back into it. For such a fragile-looking thing, it's surprisingly tough!]

Come onnnnnnn...! The scribbles didn't take this much!

[sealedvessel]

[They're curiously watching as Chip tries to free them from the string. Not entirely sure why they're bothering. They wonder if perhaps they want something.

Then, of course, the tether gets heavier. They might not be struggling themselves, but it doesn't seem to matter. And at that, the Hollow Knight does flinch, just a little, as the string gets harder to ignore.]

[demonpuppy]

[Chip huffs with annoyance, now planting both feet onto the tree and just. Honestly kind of of hanging there as they try to pull the magic-not-magic tether apart.]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

[--until their grip slips and they fall flat on their back with a thump that blows all the air out of them. There's a beat or two of silence before:]

...I think I need an eraser.

[sealedvessel]

[The Hollow Knight continues to watch as they fall. They don't have the ability to vocalize their thoughts, nor the understanding of body language to make it clear silently.

So they can't ask this small creature if they're okay. All they can do is look at them. The best they can do is lowering themselves a little, as much as they can while stuck to the tree, and tilt their head when looking at them.

...Really, are they okay...]

[demonpuppy]

[Chip has never been okay in their life, but it's fine, probably.]

[The Hollow Knight's movement catches their attention and they flush with embarrassment, realizing just how stupid they've been about this.] Oh, uh--s-sorry, I'm trying to get you out, just--

[They scramble back to a sitting position, pulling there backpack off to start rooting through it for an eraser.] Those things, um, they're made of drawings and they all got destroyed when I hit them, but this string is really weird and I don't know why I can't pull it off but if it's all just pencil then I GOT IT!!

[So much for that explanation; Chip jumps up again with a small pink eraser in hand. This time they rub that against the bindings, clearly expecting something to happen, but all it really accomplishes is leaving a smear of pinkish flaky residue on their shell.]

[...this is getting really awkward.]

[sealedvessel]

[IS IT, THOUGH.

They continue watching, always watching. They seem... to be very driven to do this, for some reason. They don't really understand it. If they could, they'd tell Chip not to bother, because it's fine? They're fine? Please child you must have better things to do.

The eraser plan leads to nothing, really. They poke a bit at the pink stuff that's remained on their shell. Huh. That's new.

When they look back at Chip, they raise their hand and... gesture a little vaguely, but it seems to be an attempt to communicate that it's fine, really.

Please don't worry about it.]

[demonpuppy]

[POT AND KETTLE MY DUDE, POT AND FUCKING KETTLE.]

[Chip looks up at the Hollow Knight, blinking for a moment before they parse the meaning of the gesture and scowl.]

I'm not just gonna leave you here! I don't care if it's a dream or not, it's not fair! [Besides, those dumb little scribble-beasts might as well be fae with how they're acting! Who knows what else they'll come and try to do if Chip walks away?]

[They huff and look down at the tether again, grabbing it and tugging it between both hands a few times.] It's a drawing, but it won't erase so it's not a pencil...but what else are doodles made with? Crayon?

[sealedvessel]

[Yes, but, consider? Shut up.

They really should leave and they're half inclined to make their point again, but that just seems like too much effort.

A drawing that can't be erased... The Hollow Knight hasn't ever made use of writing tools themselves. It hadn't been allowed. Why give a vessel a way to communicate? That would just defeat the purpose of depriving them of a voice. But they have seen others use them.

So they... try... miming holding something and dipping it into something else. The movement is a little stilted, but maybe the thought gets across anyway.

Ink?]

[demonpuppy]

Paint? [No, that's not right, doodles aren't with paint--wait!] You mean ink? I can't erase that, but--

[They go digging into their bag again, this time coming up with a small glass jug wrapped carefully is spare cloth to keep it from breaking. Uncorking the top, they pour a bit of water onto the bindings which immediately start to break apart.]

It's washing away!

[sealedvessel]

[They're actually a little surprised it's working. In all honesty, they'd already resigned themselves to simply being stuck here. The fact that they're actually being freed is surprising. Now, it's easy enough to pull away the remains of the bindings. Which they do. Not out of any desire to get away, as they don't move away from the tree any. But there's no more purpose to the bindings being there, so they may as well be gone entirely. Free now, they kneel down, to get a better look at Chip. You sure are an odd looking creature.]