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

[flask]

[Between the leaves of the forest, hidden from the scribblets, is a three foot tall green skinned woman with large, batlike ears and teeth like a bear trap. Most of her exposed skin is covered with bandages, and her clothing is tattered and worn. She wears an expression on her face like she's very annoyed with her own ingenuity working better than expected.]

Haven't you seen the fake monk trick before? It won't distract them much longer!

[She gestures a motion to follow, and starts off from root to root of the surrounding trees, away from anything that looks like it might enjoy tying the armored woman up some more, looking back to make sure she's being followed.]

[ourcurrency]

Considering this is probably the first time I've seen any monk....

[But she won't throw away an escape. She crashes after the green woman, trying to keep her footing as best she can, but she's definitely not as used to this kind of terrain. She doesn't quite fall, but she stumbles more than she'd like.]

[flask]

[It's not long after they start running that the illusion dissipates, and Nott feels it when it does. Her short bursts of speed followed by impatient waiting for her rescuee to catch up are full of anxiety—after all, the conjured image can't exist further than 60 feet away from Nott. Which means it isn't perfect as a quick getaway, and she'll have to hope the armored woman she's picked up can handle being stealthy.

When they stop for breath and Nott waits for the woman to catch up, though, that gives her an idea.

She pulls off the secondary cloak on her shoulders, a Cloak of Elvenkind, and tosses it over the woman's helmet.]

Wear this. It'll hide you better.

[The cloak is enchanted to make its wearer harder to notice, while Nott herself is skilled enough on her own not to necessarily need its additional help. Besides, her main focus is helping this person right now.

So she ducks into a bush and disappears from view with a deep sigh.]

[ourcurrency]

O...kay...

[This isn't the weirdest thing that's ever happened to Dylan, but it's up there. But the tiny green person seems to know what she's doing, so Dylan adjusts the cloak as best she can with her tied hands. Then Dylan follows her into the bushes.]

I need to find a way to free my hands.

[flask]

[Nott whispers back, careful she isn't overheard by any wandering scribblets.]

Right! Your hands... Uh...

[It's a bit cramped in the bushes for her shortsword without giving them away to any who happen to glance over, so she pulls out a crossbow bolt and reaches for the woman's bound hands.]

Let me cut that for you.

[ourcurrency]

[Dylan nods and holds out her wrists, careful to make sure the gun is pointing at the ground, not at her rescuer.]

Name's Dylan, by the way.

[flask]

[Nott sets on the crayon scribble of a tether around Dylan's wrists with the crossbow bolt, straining a bit. Bolts are more made for piercing than cutting.]

Ben...jamin.

[Yeah, that doesn't sound convincing, but Nott's a little distracted by trying to remove the binding on the other woman's wrists.

Eventually, she groans and puts away the bolt and finally brings out her shortsword. Obviously these things are tougher to cut than she thought.]

Keep an eye out, okay?

[ourcurrency]

Benjamin. Can I call you Ben?

[She's lying. And not very well. But she did just save Dylan's life. She'll use it. For now.

And then Benjamin pulls out a sword. Dylan takes a few steps back, holding up her hands.]

...I don't think cutting it's working. A bigger sword is probably not the answer.

[flask]

I didn't ask for constructive criticism!

[But she does concede and put away the sword with a small huff.]

But you can call me anything.

[Thankfully, that doesn't sound remotely flirty coming from the dulcet tones of Nott's shrill voice.]

Okay, well, I don't see a lock on this either, so lockpicking's out of the question. Maybe there's a big eraser monster, too.

[ourcurrency]

Right, I suppose one made up name's as good as another.

[She might not be pressing, but she's not going to pretend she's fooled.]

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if an eraser monster did show up. But let's try something simpler first. Soap and water?

[flask]

[Nott pulls a face at being caught in the act, but doesn't say anything more. She's already forgotten the fake name she gave Dylan, even. She goes through fake names like she goes through booze: constantly, and with an unlimited supply.

She makes a noise of displeasure at both that and the suggestion of soap and water. If she has to, it should be fine. It's not like she's being asked to take a dip herself, at least.]

...Fine. We'll try it your way. But I don't have any on me.