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

[lightlessfuture]

[ One of the monsters approaches, but cautiously, as if there's something they fear here.

(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. ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

[Hero's not used to something like this. She's the Hero, not anybody else - RGB will protect her, yeah, but they always go together. They run together, they hide together. He's left her behind; he's never asked her to leave him.

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.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ The monsters approach; they fend them off. A hastily composed dance. (When did they start to think of combat in that way? Probably when Grimm arrived, when they'd talked to him more.

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. ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

[Hero hisses in a breath and lunges to grab them, cupping them carefully in both her hands. The monsters don't look like they're gonna come in the river after them, but they can't go back up there and as warm as it is, she doesn't want to stand in the water all night. So, across it is.

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?

[lightlessfuture]

[ They splash frantically when they're scooped up, and then - ah. They're being held above the water?

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? ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

That was so cool! With the whoosh! and the whish!

[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?

[lightlessfuture]

[ They tilt their head curiously at her enthusiastic reenactment, but don't question it overmuch. If she likes the way they swing their sword, they can hardly argue with it. People like the strangest things, they've found.

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. ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

Oh. [Hero's smile falters somewhat.] Is that sign language?

[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.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They nod, in response to her question, and then pat the hand that's holding them. It's okay. It's all right, if she doesn't understand. She's asking them questions, making the effort, and that alone means more to them than she knows.

Then they hop down, clearing a little space in the grass to write. In the dim light, it might be difficult, but they'll just have to write a bit bigger.

name is knight
nice to meet you
what is yours ?

After a moment, they give her a little bow, as if to accentuate the name they've presented to her. At least they're polite, in their own odd way. ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

[She leans forward, resting her chin in her hands to watch them write.]

Mine's - [She bites her lip for a second. She hasn't had to introduce herself to anyone since...] - I'm Hero.

[Though she's still seated, she gives a little half-bow herself. It seems like the thing to do.]

It's nice to meet you, too! I haven't seen anybody else out here, just those weird doodle things.

[lightlessfuture]

[ Another whose name could just as easily be a word, a descriptor, a title. Like themselves, like the Drifter.

They just nod.

will remember
usually more people
but dreams are strange

Time and space and who has met who; those things distort. It doesn't really matter.

have not seen creatures like that before

They're entirely unfamiliar, and the Knight finds themselves at a loss. Even gods and ghosts of dream had sensible, solid form. Unbalanced scrawls with little logic to them are...new.

have you ? ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

Kind of? RGB said it was called an Idea.

[She looks back over the river, where the other ones went off to.]

The one we saw looked like a crayon dog, but maybe all Ideas look different. That makes sense. [She glances into the woods on their side, just for safety's sake.] He said they're really dangerous. You can't kill them.

[lightlessfuture]

[ There is the distinct impression that if the Knight could blink in surprise, they would. Dream combat is second nature to them at this point, but ideas...

"Tarnished by an idea instilled." The words spring to mind, unbidden, and they shake their head to clear it. No, that can't be what it is.

...They are clearly wrestling with a somewhat pressing question, which is sketched down hastily in the dirt.

what is
crayon
dog

They.......don't know either of those words in a way they can properly visualise. Putting them together is right out. ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

It's like a...

[wait do they not know what a dog is, or crayons?]

It's like those, but it was green and pink, and had four legs! When it got...sad, it kinda turned grey.

[lightlessfuture]

[ They sure don't know what either of those things are. The Knight is aware of the colours, but...

It's hard for a blank, featureless mask of a face to convey sheer bafflement, but the Knight is trying their very best in this respect. Their head tilts, slowly, to the side, with an uncomprehending stare.

Scribble, scribble.

sorry
what is dog
do not know word ]

[ofsterlingstuff]

Oh! It's an...animal? They're furry and they have four legs, and people keep them as pets! There's a lot of different kinds, some are really big and some are tiny.

[You know what? She just leans forward to trace a cartoony child's-drawing of a dog in the dirt with her finger.]

Like that!