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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Comments

[sealedvessel]

[Knock them out, he asks... The Hollow Knight stares a little helplessly at their nail. Their style of fighting is not exactly made to be careful. But it's... a command, of sorts, technically. There is no reason to do what he asks, but doing what someone else wants from them is familiar.

So they do what they can. The next machine they rush up to, they don't slice or stab, but strike with the broadest part of the nail, hoping to disable, rather than destroy.

They look at Newt, expectantly.

Like so?]

[fortunefavored]

[Newt watches as the next automaton gets smashed with the...weapon? Sword? Whatever it is that they're using. It crumples, but fortunately this time it's not pierced. He can't help but grin, almost a bit maniacally, as the Hollow Knight looks back at him.]

Fuck yeah, dude! [he's darting in behind them, dropping to his knees next to the automaton, pulling out a small flashlight and flicking it on] Hold them off for a minute, okay? I have no idea how these work or if they're anything like a jaeger but I'm gonna see what I can do--[and that being said, he shoves the end of the flashlight in his mouth to hold it with his teeth, leaving his hands free as he starts looking for a panel to rip open, running his fingers along the metal]

[sealedvessel]

[Hold them?

They're really not sure what the point of this is. Why is this squishy creature so interested in these machines? But they do as he asks, holding the machine securely, while watching Newt curiously.

Just what is he trying to do...]

[fortunefavored]

[The person helping him out just....holds down the automaton, and Newt looks up at them, blinking--before he pulls the flashlight out of his mouth, nose wrinkling a bit in confusion]

No--dude, I didn't mean literally. Like, keep an eye out for more of them and keep them off me while I figure out how to make this thing work for us.

[sealedvessel]

[they're so fucking confused have you considered giving clearer orders and doing less of all the talking

But they realize they misunderstood and look almost sheepish as they let go. Their father was always... more literal. Clearer. More direct. So all the long sentences to describe what they need to do is... a lot.

Still, they... think they get it, now? They pick their blade back up instead, holding that tightly, and keeping watch.]

[fortunefavored]

[the day Newt does less of all the talking is a day you should be concerned for his health]

Cool, let me know if anything's coming.

[and now you're going to have to listen to him babbling as he pries up one of the panels on the automatons]

Okay, buddy, what the hell are you made of in here--shit this is complicated, Hermann would flip over this. [yep just gonna...shove his hands in there and start futzing with the materials] I hope they weren't sentient though and that whole sick thing is part of their programing otherwise I'll feel like a total asshole.

[Is he talking to the Hollow Knight? Is he talking to himself? The world may never know.]

[sealedvessel]

[The Hollow Knight does keep an eye out, as they were told. At the same time, they can't help but glance over now and then, at what Newt is doing.

...They're definitely staring a lot, at some point. What are you finding in there?]