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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.
Lavernius Tucker | Red vs Blue | OTA
[A long time ago in some ancient historical landscape where there weren't any alien wars, it was a simpler time with really good - if not slightly meme worthy - music. Among the seas of audio visuals, there was a video for a song, Take On Me, that was only good to watch when one was some delightful level of intoxicated and absolutely bored (something he had been known to experience on occasion).
These motherfuckers reminded Tucker of that video.
It was surreal watching it in real life, even more surreal squashing something that was flat but not flat, not exactly paper but something else, the living embodiment of television static. It didn't take long for someone like him to get tangled up in the worst case of shibari he had ever been a part of. He frantically struggled where he was stuck to a large rock, trapped sitting in the grass with his back flush against it until the lines were shockingly heavy weights and thick bands. Stubbornness made him try harder, which only worked against him in the end, a strangely familiar scenario. If only his sword worked--
The second he heard footsteps, his head jerked up, brown eyes wide. Yes!]
Holy shit, tell me you've got some scissors or something, because safe words sure as hell aren't working.
Quarantine Breached
[There were nightmares, and then there was this. The dark hallways of a dilapidated building echoed with footfalls and breath, the scuttle of something small as it darted around. Tucker didn't think much of it, usually unshaken by the setting of a bad horror movie, until he saw the eyes.
Or. You know. Whatever those lights were.
Robots themselves were not terrifying (unless they were twenty foot tall Mantis' under Caboose's control), but Tucker knew menacing when he heard menacing. Quarantine. Quarantine sounded bad. Quarantine sounded real bad.]
Just so you know, your bedside manner sucks.
[So the Sim Trooper turned and ran, dashing through the twisting maze, shutting any door behind him. Window. Door. Something. He had to find a way outside or get a weapon or something, like an old I.V. pole or pump on an extension cord. Something.
Come on, guys. He could use a little help here.]
The New Farm Simulator Looks Great!
[So, it should be no surprise to anyone that Tucker fell asleep.]
Motherfuck--
[And it should be of no surprise to anyone now that he was actively chasing after these animals with a stupid plan in mind (stupid plans were Blue Team's currency).
Was he totally trying to get in front of them? Yes. Was he also planning on doing some cinematic move where he would grab onto their fur as they ran by and try to climb up onto the top of the leader? Also, yes.
This idiot was probably going to die, and he probably deserved it. But really, what was the big deal? He had seen this happen a ton of times in just about every action movie ever and it looked easy enough.
It couldn't be that hard, right?]
With a moo moo here
Not an animal person in the least, Carolina would think that common sense would dictate that you don't go chasing after them. And is he? Yes... Yes it looks like he might be trying to ride one? Dropping her own fencing supplies, as someone hadn't been asleep on the job and had actually been repairing the posts that had been in disarray, she starts to make her way towards him, trying both for speed but also trying not to spook the animals any further.]
Tucker. [That raised hiss even as she brings her hands up, as if to say easy big hairy creature.] You're supposed to watch them, not ride them.
And a moo moo there...
Oh, it might also have been to stop them. Totally that part.
The hissed words reached his ears, threatening to break his concentration; come on, Carolina, it was like you wanted him to get trampled. Just have a little marginally deserved faith that wasn't really deserved at all. You should know how this Sim Trooper thing went by now.
His eyes flickered to her as he braced himself for when they got closer. One grip in that shaggy fur, that was all it was going to take, right?]
You're just jealous you didn't think of it first!
[And maybe he said that louder than he should have...]
here a moo
[It isn't a question of if, but rather a question of when. There's no Caboose around to do his weird animal whisperer thing, and even if they are docile enough, they are huge, and they are still animals. They don't appear to be able to be reasoned with, and at best, maybe they could be bribed with food to go back to where they were supposed to be.
What that food is? That Carolina has no idea. The seem to be decently happy on the other side of the fence, where the proverbial grass may well be greener.]
You're supposed to watch them, and not literally watch them do stuff, but watch them to keep them from doing anything!
[Her voice might have risen a little in turn, because somehow Carolina doubts that they are broke to ride. No giddy up and walk them back in to the pen (or...?) But no, she is not putting that to the best.]
there a moo
Yeah, that was boring. [And it was, really; it was boring and the air had been perfect and soft and it had all felt peaceful for the first time...in a long while. It was too easy to succumb to relaxing, and too easy for an outcome like this.
Besides, sure, he could have done this whole babysitting thing, but did he want to? Nope. His skills were better suited elsewhere. Like riding one of these things. A Chosen One - even a fake one - deserved a steed.]
And I didn't watch them do stuff; I was asleep. [Which almost sounded like a Grif answer he realized. One hand fisted into the fur, and he tried to get footing on the side of the thing, hoping to climb his way up. See what training did, Wash? It gave him stupid ideas.]
Come on up with me! [If he could even really get up there, which was debatable at best. He was probably going to eat dirt.]
everywhere a moo moo BECAUSE TUCKER DIDNT WATCH THEM
No, it's fine. I'll wait for here for you to get trampled and then herd these things back where they belong.
[Faith he'll last? Nope. Heck, he might even get stepped on before he gets up.]
YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE IT MORE EXCITING
...Well, at least some of them. There were...a lot.
Fuck. Okay, so maybe this wasn't the best idea in the world. But could you blame him when riding one really looked like so much fun, like one of the covers of those old fantasy novels that always had the big-breasted, mostly naked-armored chick painted across it.]
Then what's your genius plan?
quarantine; let me know if this is ok!
He's ambling down the hall, not running as fast as many people younger than him would be able to manage, but he's keeping ahead of his captors, at least.
Tucker's running much faster when he slams into Leonard's chest.
That's what I get for running blindly around a corner, Leonard thinks to himself, but makes no outward sound other than the initial Ooph and continued gasping and moaning afterward. He was knocked flat on his ass, and he didn't have much cushion in that particular spot, so he can tell this is going to linger as a bruise. ]
It's great!! ♥
Hyped on adrenaline, he barely felt the collision, instead making sure this guy didn't have the same lights-for-eyes before breathing. Okay, at least he wasn't alone, wandering in this hell with his footfalls being the only human sound. Tucker had a million questions ( who the fuck are YOU being at the forefront), but they didn't have time. Not yet.
And if there was more than just this stranger, well, maybe there were bunches of people. Enough to make a stand, to overrun these mechanical motherfucks.
Tucker looked at the curtain rod, back over his shoulder, then down at the guy. He looked...vaguely familiar, he realized as he held out his hand.]
Dude, you'd better grab me, unless you want those nurses to give you probably the worst enema ever. [What? He didn't know what they wanted.] We need to fucking get out of here!
no subject
I do thank you.
[ He gasps once or twice more before peering around the corner Tucker had come from. Yes, there were more of those things over there, too. ]
This way.
[ He makes the decision abruptly, considering there were two potential paths to take still at this T-junction, but someone had to choose and had to do it fast. ]
no subject
You can pay me back later.
[That...was one heck of an accent. Maybe Tucker could have thought better on it, but the impending doom of an actual robot force was making the moments to dwell on tones and inflections nonexistent. The aqua-helmeted head turned, looking down the hallway, and he had a feeling that a curtain rod still wasn't cutting it.
Fuck. Why didn't his sword fucking work?! This would have been easy.
But hey, at least the guy knew where he was going. Or had an idea. Or something. Didn't matter, because Tucker was behind him, moving, tentative glances behind him to see how many red eyes he could spot (the answer was "Too Many"). Fuck.]
I'm glad you know where we're going!
[There was a beat.]
You do know where we're going, right?!
no subject
[ There's a mirror ahead, or is it simply a pane of glass? In any case, it seems to denote that there's a space on the other side to hide in. Leonard moves past the glass and looks for a door. ]
Here!
[ He opens the door and slips inside, leaving it open enough for Tucker to be able to grab it and get inside, too. ]
drawn to you!
[No, she wouldn't be sloppy enough to get caught. Ideally. It'd just be really stupid to be hopeful in thinking that it'd be someone he'd remember, someone from home like - ]
...
[Dead silence, muted shock.]
Wait, Tucker?
♥
Tucker was frustrated with this stupid place, with these stupid creatures, with a rock that wasn't nearly as comfortable as it was back home a long time ago; it showed in his face, in the narrowed dark eyes and the tightened jaw, in the way he struggled against the damn weird thread-things. Not that it could be seen through his helmet, but there was a level of body language that others who had been around them long enough understood: a cock of the head, a rise in the shoulders, curling of fingers. He was a walk--er, sitting stress ball ready to burst.
At least, until he saw Wash. A familiar fucking visage, finally, someone who could get him out, someone who could explain this shit to him, someone he could
completelymarginally trust. He felt the tension ease a little out of him, the first time since fucking landing here.It was Wash. He would totally know what to do. He usually did... Kind of.]
Dude, where the fuck have you been?! And how the hell do I get out of this weird scribble BDSM fantasy!?
no subject
[The weapon drops. He starts crunching forward, armor over leaf litter (it's real? is it real? dream? real? dream? Fuck this - ) and there's movement in the trees, catching the corners of his eyes. More of those things trying to creep up on him, maybe. Sometimes that terminal paranoia has its upsides; namely, the fact that you're never really caught off guard.]
[He just didn't expect Tucker to show up. Is he real? He's got to be, right? Why else would he - ]
Never mind, just - give me a minute.
[Mag-clamp his rifle to his back (real?), grope for his ka-bar (real?) and then flip the blade upright.]
See if this works.
no subject
Who was watching Caboose?
Tucker still didn't like knives, and while he logically knew that Wash wouldn't hurt him, fuck that being close to him. He tensed again, his shoulders squared, straining as the bonds grew fucking tighter. Look away. Cool. Look up at the sky. Look at his reflection in Wash's helmet. Look at literally anything else.
He barely noticed that it wasn't working.]
Dude, seriously, what the fuck is going on?! Where is Caboose?
no subject
[The ka-bar, it turns out, is not doing a thing against this stuff. Which seems illogical, given that it looks like a child's bored scribble more than it does something that should repel a titanium composite blade, but that's fucking Mu for you.]
People show up from wherever, okay? And from...whenever. [Trying again, and the blade skids harmlessly over the stuff. Christ.] Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me. It's just been me and Carolina here, and...a couple others.
[Those "others" being a) C.T., and b) the Director, but that is a bridge he doesn't feel like crossing right now.]
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here's some pirates in ur farm simulators
one gentleman, leaning against the fence, brushing off the dirt being kicked up from the creatures running about. ]
I'd watch your language! I heard they don't like foul talk!
[ he has no idea if that's true or not, but watching the man attempting to grab at the creatures for some reason balthier hasn't determined is, quite honestly, hilarious. ]
nooo, i sprayed so i wouldn't get pirates in my crops!
Mad? Really?]
Um, are you suggesting that they actually know what we're saying?
[And there was a pause as Tucker looked up at the animal. Took a breath. And calmly said--]
Shit fuck cockbite son-of-a-bitch.
[What? He had to test the theory. You know, like a scientist or some shit.]
too late it's catching
Ah, there you go. What better way to get them back inside than to make them follow you?
[ the popo don't seem to give one ounce of shit, for the record. although a few turn their heads at the new tone. ]
And it's fools that don't know what someone says, not animals. Even if they're willfully ignorant.
Drawn to You
[Yet another person she knows who doesn't recognize her? Probably. That seems to be the pattern here. She walks up and takes a look.]
It'll wash off. Don't suppose you have a water bottle or something on you? I'm out.
no subject
[Charming as always, as if she knew him. But that didn't make sense, because it wasn't a set of armor he recognized, a voice that registered. She sounded a little like Carolina, but that wasn't it, he knew that, so maybe it was a reputation thing?
After all, he was a war hero. Of course people would know who he was.]
It's always nice to meet a fan, especially a hot one.
[Which was always hard to gauge, considering what they wore. Whatever. Bottle, water bottle, sure.]
It's on my waist, but you're going to have to get it fo--wait, what do you mean "wash off"?!
no subject
I'm not a fan, I'm a journalist. And if I go for your water bottle, you have to promise not to make it weird.
no subject
Except for at night, when it was Pants-Off-O'Clock for sleep, anyway.
A journalist? His own head cocked to the side a little, confused. Okay. Yeah, he had dealt with them before, after the whole Bringing Down Project Freelancer thing, colorful space marines blah blah blah. Huh. Weird that she's out here...
Weird that he's out here, too.]
As long as you don't make it sexy.
[You know, like "accidentally" touching something else. He knew how irresistible he is.]
no subject
[The flat delivery leeches the words from any potential sexiness. She awkwardly reaches for the water bottle on his waist.]