TEST DRIVE MEME ( 017 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #17

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 November 17th, and Applications on November 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.

Is Anyone There?
What initially promises to be a relaxing island getaway is anything but. The tropical backdrop is all there - swaying palms, crystalline shores, white sand beaches, the whole hog. It's as idyllic as Ensō ever gets in the real world, the waters sparkling just that much more with a polish of dream-shine.

The real problem here is that you're not alone.

While they might be little more than a misted, formless shape at first, they'll rapidly take a more solid form as time goes on: a specter of a single person of great emotional significance. Whoever you might be seeing, they're here to rouse some aspect of your life that was not fully resolved. Someone you did not mourn, someone you did not grieve, someone you loved, someone you cut ties with unkindly, someone who represents a chapter in your life that you have thus far sought to repress. Tailing you relentlessly, refusing to be ignored or brushed aside or forgotten, this specter is hungry for your attention to the exclusion of all else. They will bring every painful association to light and rub those wounds raw, to a terrifyingly parasitic extent. They crave your attention, your love, your devotion, your fear. They are tethered to you, and cannot tolerate the thought that you might pay attention to anyone or anything else.

However they might have been in life, however fondly or not you may remember them, this shadow of them is merely that: a shadow. Desperate for your attention, and likely to grow jealous if you dare direct it anywhere else. They can't live without you. Why should you get to live without them?

In fact...why should you get to live at all? If you don't give them the attention they crave, they might start to demand it a shade more vigorously. They're only going to grow more solid as time wears on - and while no one but you can see them, they have the power to affect you very physically if they so choose.

Choose Your Own Adventure
What you have before you, dear traveler, is a very linear path forward. Deep, tropical woodland, jungle-like in texture and evening-dark, and a well-trodden path that stretches onward in a seemingly infinite, winding road. There is no way to go but backwards or forwards. Or, for the particularly brave...well, you could try moving off the beaten path, but we wouldn't recommend it. As it happens, the surrounding vegetation in this area is mostly comprised of a very irritating sort of foe.

As it happens, most traditional mimics take the form of wooden chests to befuddle and then snack upon any intrepid explorers foolish enough to open a container without checking for teeth first. Such is not always the case, however! Mimicries are what we will tentatively dub...distant cousins of your more conventional mimic. In the waking world, most of them prefer to assume the form of bushes, waiting for an unsuspecting traveler to tread upon the roots that will then snap around their ankles and reel them in, leaves parting to reveal a row of very nasty, very pointed jaws. Tonight, on Mu, their aptitude at blending into the vegetation to prey on the absent-minded explorer is out in full force.

While mimicries are very skilled at impersonating their surroundings, there are plenty of holes in their disguise for those keen of eye. An alert enough traveler may glimpse a pair of yellow, reptilian eyes blinking out from the vegetation before they fade just as fast. Mimicries are highly hostile, prone to attacking once they feel you've drawn close enough for them to take a good chomp, and don't tend to let go of their prey until either it is dead or they are. Armed with spiny teeth and a terrier-like refusal of relinquish their grip under any circumstances, mimicries can vary from genuine danger to outright irritant.

The good news is that, despite their number, mimicries are terribly vulnerable to fire. Happy hunting!

Caught in the Rainbow Current
On the more peaceful side of things, you're also liable to wake on a much quieter island destination - and this time, neither ghosts from your past nor RPG-styled foes will be there to spoil your stay!

Instead, you can take heart in the drifting, multicolored lights that shimmer off the seafoam and flotsam. A bale of kaleidoshells are passing through this region, and they're certainly taking their time in doing so. Resembling a cross between turtles and dugongs, kaleidoshells are so named for their distinctive radiance. Their scales and rainbow-colored shells can get as large as six feet across. The shifting colors on their backs are both bright and reflective. A vast enough number of kaleidoshells can allow for the illusion of an underwater aurora borealis, which is precisely what is occurring now. Kaleidoshells are placid and peaceable creatures by nature in addition to being unfailingly pretty to look at. As they are largely sea-dwelling, their presence in the archipelago is usually seasonal. However, despite the autumn season, Mu has elected to make an exception. Kaleidoshells are particularly slow and unwieldy on land, and thus not much of a threat, but you're probably better off not trying to poach their eggs. They do, however, make a very fine sight around the waters of Mu, especially in this artificial evening. Luminescent, their rainbow patterns glow underwater with the dim pulse of drifting mood lights.

So relax, take in the sights...or wade in to swim alongside them, if you like. They won't mind the company, and there's something singularly enchanting about getting to swim in the tide of a rainbow.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

Bucky Barnes | MCU

[semistableman]

I Choose Your Own Adventure
[If he’s been in thick jungle before, Bucky doesn’t remember it. He’s not dressed for the weather, but that’s not slowing him down any. Anyone close by will notice him, because he sticks out—red sweater, black shirt. The humidity doesn’t help with his clothes situation, because they stick to him and he looks utterly miserable, but he's alert and incredibly aware of his surroundings.

There’s a flash of something, suspiciously like eyes in some nearby bushes, but they’re gone before he can get a good look at it.]

The hell was that?

[Anyone nearby is free to help; but for the moment, he looks like he’s keeping his distance, wary and very much not wanting to go near anything that might be hiding nearby.]

II Caught in the Rainbow Current
[To say that waking up suddenly on an island is alarming is kind of an understatement. Bucky has enough memory problems to know that washing up somewhere unexpectedly means something has gone down, something bad. But there’s not much he can do right now, besides try and pull himself together, dry off his clothes a little, and see if anyone has washed up with him. If he’s ended up in a situation with civilians, well…

It’s not good. All he can do is help, to look for people who look as out of place as he does; covered in soaked clothes and sand. That’s very much his goal, anyone who looks too out of place will get him approaching them, still wearing a sweater much too thick for the weather.]

Are you all right?

[Eventually, though, the turtle-looking creatures will attract his attention. He’s transfixed, mouth slightly open as he comes closer—though still keeping his distance; they’re still wild animals, and he’s not exactly interested in getting bit by a turtle today.]

Damn, they’re beautiful.

II.

[ideismo]

[Alexei hasn't quite let himself make his way to the water yet, though he's strongly contemplating; this is...well, "beautiful" is a bit of an understatement, he's fairly sure.]

They're unlike any monsters that I'm familiar with.

[His voice is odd, almost flat-affected, and he isn't doing much with his face; just the same, there does seem to be some sort of genuine appreciation for all of this in his eyes, so it's entirely possible that the whole effect is just...kind of his personality, who knows.]

They are lovely, though. It's definitely worth being out here for.

I

[scythegun]

[Yeager isn't exactly traveling with Bucky, but he just so happens to be here, and better yet, he's aware of the eyes.]

Don't look now, but there's at least two more sets behind you. I think they might be trying to surround us!

[...He seems completely fine with this idea and sounds completely relaxed. He's keeping his eyes on the movement in the underbrush though, and he's got a tight grip on the briefcase he's carrying with him.]

Futaba Sakura | Persona 5

[promiselisting]

[ ooc; Giving this another go! Prefacing this by saying that Futaba will not remember her previous stay at LifeAftr ]

Double Rainbow All the Way Across The Ocean

[ Okay that is. Really cool? Like.... she's heard about those beaches with the algae that glow in the dark. Bioluminescence in general. But most of those were like... invertebrates. Insects and jellyfish and the like. This was just. Something else entirely.

She wades out as far as she dares, but she looks out still further, to where the shimmering lights of the Kaleidoshells dance. You can catch her like this, shifting from foot to foot nervously. She definitely can't swim so she's nervous but it's still amazing to see, in its own way.

Alternately, you could be walking up right as she takes a deep breath, cups her hands around her mouth, and shouts: ]

But what does it MEAN?

[ when in doubt, shitpost. ]

Adventures of the Genre-Savvy

[ There's. A single Mimicry that isn't even trying to disguise itself? That's odd. Instead, it's barking and snarling at a tree, not unlike a rather rabid dog. Even odder. Or at least it will be until you get close enough to see Futaba sitting on a branch, clinging to the trunk like some kind of monkey. She looks... a mite bit flustered?

There's a stick that has very clearly been bitten into pieces right near both the mimicry and the tree Futaba is hiding in, by way of explanation. ]

I hate being right.

[ Help a girl out? ]

Ghosts of the Past (cw: P5 spoilers for through August, allusions to verbal abuse)

[ Well this. This is fine. Probably not even the first nightmare she's had like this. With her mother following her. Appearing in the corners of her eyes. Saying all those things, the things from the note, the things her relatives and neighbors all said. She ignores the specter at first, ignoring the hot, tight feeling in her chest. She wasn't supposed to be here. She's supposed to be gone.

The first time it more directly approaches though, Futaba lashes out, jerking her arm out of the reach of the ghost of her mother. ]

Stop it! I know you're not her!

[ But there's more of a shake to her voice than she'd like. The words are still hitting their mark, in one way or another. They'd fixed this. They'd fixed this. It wasn't her. She knew it wasn't. Just an echo of that fake and yet- why was she here? ]

Wildcard

[ Got another idea, hit me up! ]

double rainbows

[antepone]

[ The kaleidoshells are downright beautiful, and Mira finds herself kneeling at the water's edge. Behind her, her corgi and cat are in tow, and they seem pretty interested in this new person!

Mira jumps a little, when Futaba yells-- ]

It must be...

[ --and very seriously, she lifts her hands. ]

Aliens.

Genre savvy

[thermalwind]

[A large bird lands next to her radiating heat. It turns its face towards her as something moves in the shadows of the tree line. A single note breaks the silence and the bird dives from the branch, catching fire as it slams into the mimic.

At the same time, glass-like blade hurls through the air and sinks into the mimicry right at the joined branches of its fake bush appearance. The bird leaps up and comes down again like a blazing fury. A man bursts out of the shadows and pins the creature to the dirt with a long jab of a spear made of coral, shells, and various other sea bits. He frowns at the struggling thing.]

That's the third one in thirty minutes. [He looks up, shifting his head so he can see her in the tree with both eyes.] Hey. Are you hurt?

double rainbow

[ladytakamaki]

...Futaba?

[ forget the beach, forget the fish. futaba is here. ann runs up to her and immediately wraps her arms around her friend. ]

Futaba! You're here! [ she missed her small tech gremlin friend so, so much. ]

Ghosts

[pidgeypidge]

They're not really here. Whoever it is.

[It almost sounds hypocritical coming from her, considering the way things had been going, but she feels like it's important to point that out.]

I'm not sure why it's happening, but people have been seeing... other people. Or rather... the ghosts of other people who aren't here.

Lillie | Pokemon Sun/Moon (Games)

[flower_of_innocence]

i. Eyes To The Sea

[She doesn't remember going to sleep, but this is clearly a dream.]

[The waves are alive with color and motion, the night sky overhead teeming with starlight to shine off of the glistening shells of the turtle-like creatures making their way across the beach. In the middle of it all, Lillie sits in the sand with Nebby on her lap and watches with a smile. It's so beautiful, unlike anything she's ever seen before...it's one of those things that makes her stop and fall in love with the world all over again.]

[The cloudy puff in her lap cries out, a strange and echoing trill, and wiggles free to splash about in the shallow waves not far away. Normally this would bother Lillie, but. Nobody is around. The night is peaceful. The kaleidoshells won't hurt either of them. So instead she just laughs, shielding her face from the spray of water the over-eager Cosmog is creating.]

[She's not liable to notice anyone approaching, caught up as she is in the peaceful beauty of this dreamy night.]

ii. Eyes To The Ground

[It's her. She's here. She's here on the islands and - good lord, Guzma is going to throw a fit - but more importantly she's perched on a rock, elegant legs swaying back and forth almost childishly as she rattles off all the things Lillie is doing wrong. Her hair shouldn't be tied up with a scarf of all things, and where is her dress, and it's not very pretty of her to wear patterns like that.]

[Lillie stares silently at her mother with tears in her eyes. There's a tight ball of heat in her chest, anger and sadness, that catches the words before they can escape. The accusations she wants to make her confront, the insults she wants to hurl back at her, the pleas for mercy and forgiveness she knows she's supposed to say. After all she's been through, she thought she'd be able to handle this situation. Dreamed of seeing her mother again just to tell her the truth of things and cut ties formally. But now that she's here...it's different. It's not cut and dried.]

[Nebby cowers in her bag, uncharacteristically silent and still. That makes her twice as angry as anything. That this woman would follow her here and terrorize them still.]

[When Lusamine reaches out to grasp her arm, sickly sweet voice sneering that she'd better follow mother, to a better place, away from all these awful influences, Lillie snaps. Struggling against her grip, feet digging into the sand, she screams the words that have been caught on her tongue for the past several minutes.]

Let go! I hate you!

ii.

[yallstupid]

[It's probably bad, that Guzma really can't tell these dreamscapes from reality nowadays, given he's been sort of trudging along after his death and revival like a ghost of himself. He's...there, not not all of him. It still feels like a piece was left behind, and as her wanders with no real purpose - listing off his tasks mentally, because...why not - he stumbles across this lovely scene playing out before him. He's shocked and stunned to see the girl again, and feels a brief sort of elation - a fragile hope that she's actually the girl he knew before, and not some sort of grim shadow or...or something else. Someone else, who doesn't really know him other than a thug. It's so hard to tell, with this place.

He hesitates only a moment, standing at a distance from where Lillie is fighting with something unseen. He's quiet, before the pieces fit--no, they snap together and he feels his muscles tense, the realization burning in his gut like a freshly struck match. He exhales sharply through his nose, teeth clenched behind his tightly pursed lips. One step forward behind a quick march, eyes dead set on...nothing. Nothing at all all. Hilarious, how he sees nothing, and yet he knows exactly what's going on. He knows who's there, and what's happening. He's went through it, and lived through it only by the good graces of the Storyteller.

He can't see the witch, but he knows she's there, staring her dead in he eye as he clasps a firm, but protective hand on Lillie's shoulder. The image of the devil woman is hers and her alone to see, but his imagination fills in the blanks where it needs to. He doesn't need to visualize the woman when his brain can do so just fine, and he snarls--]

...Take your slimy mitts off'a my girl, you sleazy Trubbish. She ain't your family no more. [He squeezes Lillie's shoulder, not taking his eyes off where he knows the ghost of Lusamine is.]

I

[hurricane_clown]

[Pretty as it is here, Karako is hesitant to wade into the water, or even walk too boldly along the sand itself. The seashore is a pretty dangerous place to be on his planet, dangerous even by the standards of a world where the mortality rate is so high that the natives are bred in batches, and they murder each other at least as much as anything else murders them.

It's actually the natives that make the beach such an especially dangerous place.

So it's... sort of strange to see a pale, hornless figure splashing freely in the waves, laughing and playing with... he's not really sure what it is, even if he has an idea of what she is. He had another dream before, one with creatures like her, and creatures unlike her, and they were generally pretty harmless... the danger was always in something else. Like the alien wildlife.

Watching her like this, his curiosity gets the better of him. It'll be fine if he stays out of the water, right?

Hopefully it's not too startling for her when a short, grey-skinned knife-bearing clown crawls out of the bushes.]

ii

[thegoofball]

[He can't see who the girl is yelling at - he vaguely recognizes her, from the clothes, when he couldn't talk - but that's not what's important.

What's important is that whoever it is she's seeing, whoever it is the girl is yelling at, is somebody cruel. Somebody she doesn't want to see, but these shades...

They want people to join them. They want people to die. Lance swallows, and he's not quiet about his approach.]

Hey, back off!

[He doesn't know who he's talking to, and there's not much he can do, but no kid should be so afraid.]

She doesn't need to go anywhere with you.

[And maybe saying it will help her realize that, and she can break away, get away from this shadow that's haunting her.]

[diplomacycheck]

What's a double rainbow?
[Keith's words yet ring in her ear when she opens her eyes to the sight and sound of the waves, a small turtle slowly making its way to the water's edge catching her attention. Well, the brightness certainly matched for what she recalls. She vaguely recalls a crash, but then--]

Is this a dream...? [She mutters aloud, reaching up to remove her helmet after sitting upright; legs tucked underneath her on one side. She can't help but smile faintly and warmly as she gazes out upon the water; at all the colors reflecting just below the surface of the waves. It takes one glance at the small turtle to realize it is their shells reflecting the light. What a fascinating sight.

The water laps at her feet with each wave that comes in, but she finds she doesn't mind. Allura had seen many wondrous sights both before and after she had met the current generation of Paladins, but it has been quite some time since she was allowed to simply take sights in with wonder.

That is when she picks up ths sound of sand crunching beneath another's foot and she turns her head, helmet still resting in her lap. At least, until she stands up straight. Her helmet remains in her left hand, freeing her right either for a friendly gesture or to defend herself should the need arise. She sincerely hopes for the former.]

Hello? Is someone there?

Face From the Past.

[How she longed to hear his voice again; to seek his guidance and council once more. But not like this. She had beamed at the praise, to hear him say she has done well guiding the other Paladins. Yet that was some time ago. Now, he doesn't even sound like the father and king she once knew.

She had been foolish to trust Lotor. She'd been foolish to let him close to her. Yet there is no way he could know of such things, even his memories had been lost to them for decaphoebs, and any remnant of him save the hologram of he and her mother she'd grabbed from her quarters for even less time.

You don't have to continue walking this path of sacrifice, Allura. You could return with me; be with the rest of our people. With me. The shade reaches for her hand, but the moment she felt the pressure on hers, she throws him like a ragdoll. It will do no good, but at least she will feel a little better.

A very miniscule amount.] I would love for that to be so, but you are not my father, [She spits out; it hurts to even say as much, even if it rings true.] The real King Alfor would never say personal sacrifice for the good of our people is too great.

[Allura sets her jaw as she stands tall, though anyone who knows her could tell her shoulders are shaking.] The Paladins and the people of Earth are my people as much as the missing remnants of the Altean colony Keith and his mother found.

[Whatever the shade says next has her grit her teeth and ball her hands into fists.] How dare you insult him like that? We may have our differences, but I would and do trust him with my life as much as the others. Keith is not Zarkon!

face from the past

[antepone]

[ When she finds herself in Mu, and she sees the other yelling at nothing she can see, well... she knows what's happening. She'd suffered through it; so many others had, too. She counts herself lucky she hadn't "joined" her shade, that she'd realized that the real one would never have wanted her to die because of him.

So... she very carefully walks over. Mira makes sure the other woman can see her before she starts to speak; she isn't sure if she'll be startled into attack.

And then she says Keith's name, and her eyes widen. She files that away at the back of her mind for later. What's important now is making sure the newcomer is okay. Softly, she says, ]

... He's being loud, isn't he?

double rainbows

[galrarm]

[ It's impossible to miss that head of hair, to mistake it for anyone else's. That, and the voice. Shiro almost can't believe his eyes and ears, but... yeah, that's definitely Allura. So she's been dragged into this place, too. He's not too thrilled about it--at least, the part of him that knows how dangerous it can be here.

But he's glad to see a friend, nonetheless. ]

It's been a while. Are you doing alright?

[ He's smiling, and to Allura, he certainly looks much, much more different from the last time she saw him. He still has his first prosthetic, still has that undercut and tuft of white hair.

... And to him, she looks different, too. At least, she's dressed differently--in Paladin armor. ]

Face from the past.

[thermalwind]

They're shades that try to lure people to their deaths. [The man of the hour stands not that far away. Half in the shadows, he steps entirely into the light. His hair is longer than the last time she saw him, falling about his face like a lion's mane.] You have to endure and ignore them. They're using your memories against you.

[He glances around to see if anything else is coming out of the woodwork. Nothing. They're alone except for the shade in this patch of Mu.]

Giving it attention gives it strength. ...and uh thanks for defending me. [He's not sure what to do with that but he'll accept it. He trusts her too.]

So, how about I explain this place. This is Mu. It's a realm between reality and dreams. This place reflects what we've dealt with in another reality. I'm stuck there but you might just be passing through and wake up back home.

double rainbows

[thegoofball]

[He's not expecting to see a familiar face - isn't quite sure he wants to, with everything that happens here. Enso is dangerous in a way space never was, and he wants his team, his family, to be safe. They deserve peace, not...everything this is.

But it's not like he's the one making that choice.]

Allura?

[It's not like it could be anyone but the Blue Paladin, stopping Lance in his tracks.]

Allura!

[Don't mind him picking back up, crossing the sands in a sprint. A part of him knows this isn't quite real - this is just another dream, but this dream could mean-]

You're here!

Alexei Dinoia | Tales of Vesperia

[ideismo]

I. I Can Only Blame Myself
[Alexei isn't sure why this is what his mind has chosen to show him.

He isn't surprised that it's the sea; there's a part of him that was always going to be there, he suspects, and it's really of no consequence now. What strikes him, however, is how calm it is, how the water glimmers and shines with all the colors of the aurora, and how his gaze takes to the sky and no matter how he seeks out the things that should be there (the things he knows won't be there, no matter how much he seeks them out) everything remains deepy and blissfully unfamiliar.

It's a lot to take in, really.

After a while, however, he'll move; his clothes aren't really suited for any of this but eventually he'll find himself thigh-deep in the surf, long coat wicking up water like no one's business and this entire thing is going to be cold and troublesome later but for the time being he doesn't care, this is almost too much for him as it is and while his expression is distant, it's in a vague, vacant sort of way that implies that his body is here, but his thoughts are not.

He isn't unaware of anyone approaching him, though; when he speaks it's just as distant as his expression, but at the very least it's acknowledgement.]

It's almost overwhelming, isn't it? The beauty of it...

I've never seen anything like it.


II. You Can Only Blame Me
[There are people who are troublesome, and people Alexei isn't particularly certain what to do with anymore. The one who's following him now seems the latter.

He's remarkably quiet, actually, the near-silence both tight and respectful; his back is straight but his head is bowed, brown hair falling into his face and covering his eyes. It's a familiar stance, and one Alexei isn't sure he cares for; the first time he addresses the figure it's almost flippant, a sardonic tone that doesn't quite suit him creeping into his voice, coloring his words.]

And here I thought you were someone else entirely nowadays. Are you here to just abandon your post yet again? You've proven surprisingly adept at doing that, after all.

[The figure doesn't respond, nor does he flinch; he just shifts a bit and settles his left hand over his heart for the briefest of moments before shaking his head, the meaning clear. No.

It isn't precisely unnerving to Alexei, knowing that this person is here; it's the notion that he's always there that's striking him as odd. Simply waiting for orders like the puppet he's turned out to be, staying close to his side like he did back in Zaphias, never questioning and never drawing away.

He hasn't done that for years, not since- ]

You can consider yourself dismissed for the time being.

[It's clipped but it isn't harsh, there's a hardness to it that's undeniable but he isn't raising his voice; it's very much an order, and he doesn't know what to do with the response when it eventually comes.

This is what you wanted, isn't it?

That gets him to pause in what he's doing - he's been trying to get a feel for the place, to re-orient himself a little more, to...not face him and Alexei still isn't facing him now, he's standing stock-still on this godforsaken beach and he can feel his hands forming fists at his sides, body shaking tightly for a brief moment before he forces himself to stop.]

...Yes. Yes, of course.

[It's a more subdued reaction than one would expect; he's gone stock-still, eyes closed for a moment, still giving his back to one of the few people he knows for a fact won't bury a blade in it.]

II

[scythegun]

[Unfortunately, the apparition isn't your only company here. Yeager is the sort to bury a blade in someone's back, and maybe if the situation was different, that's the approach he'd be taking here. He is somewhere behind Alexei after all; not close enough to hear what the Commandant is saying, but not far enough away to miss the obvious tells that something is wrong.

There isn't anything that seems to be causing Alexei problems, but Yeager doesn't approach right away anyway, just watching for a moment while he tries to get a feel for how he should approach. Not approaching is certainly an option, but he has no doubts that Alexei will find him eventually. It's better just to get it over with and out of the way.

Maybe there's some other reason behind his approach, but it's certainly not one he's going to acknowledge.

He steps forward once he's mad up his mind; he should be loud enough for Alexei to hear him coming, but he speaks up anyway. He has no doubts Alexei will be prepared in case of an attack, but Yeager's careful to pick a more neutral greeting so he won't get a sword swung at his face immediately.]

I can certainly say I wasn't expecting to find you here! Good afternoon, milord.

[The words are easy, the tone is exactly the same as it always is, and even his expression is perfectly crafted to reveal nothing but the usual carefree attitude. It doesn't hurt to be cautious, and right now that's really the best plan he has.]

Michael | The Good Place

[eudaimonikos]

i. welcome to the jungle

[Michael, for one, is absolutely not at all inclined to leave the path! He is getting plenty of nature right where he is, thanks very much. The only reason he's bothering to walk through the forest at all is because there hadn't been much of anything where he was, and there's got to be people somewhere around here, right?

He's wearing a full business suit, but the heat and humidity don't really seem to be bothering him. He's keeping up a good pace, scanning the area as he does. The jungle sounds are largely unfamiliar to him, and there's a lot of plants and stuff here that he's never seen in person before. Bright flowers that he didn't bother with in the neighborhood, weird shrubs that may or may not have just blinked...

...Michael stops.]

...huh.

[He glances up and down the path, and then snaps a branch off the nearest tree. And chucks it at the weird bush. It snaps at it with large, horrific jaws that seem to sprout out of nowhere.]

Oh! Look at that! [Michael seems surprised and delighted by this! This may change, depending on what the mimicry does when it's finished chewing up that stick.]

ii. yearly review

[Michael's no stranger to psychological torture. He knows Shawn can't really be here, so he's held up under whatever's happening here well enough until now. It's not like he cares about Shawn's opinion anymore anyway. Right? He wasn't even that great a choice; Michael thinks he could give whoever created this a few pointers.

Now, though, things are starting to get physical.]

How the hell - ? [To anyone else, it looks like Michael's being dragged by the arm towards the ocean. He's fighting back against the pulling. He and his foe seem to be fairly evenly matched, even though his dress shoes aren't getting much traction in the sand.] Let go! That isn't even a real retirement, you're just going to drown me. Is that what we're doing now? Waterboarding? Real creative, Shawn.

[He takes a swing.

you wanna watch an old man get into some kind of weird fight with the air]

yearly review

[antepone]

[ .... ah. She knows what's happening here, and she feels really bad for the guy. When Lance had appeared before her, she'd absolutely thought he was really.

She clears her throat, loudly. ]

... They're not real, whoever you're seeing.

Yeager | Tales of Vesperia

[scythegun]

I - Adrift

[Finding himself on an unfamiliar beach, with unfamiliar lights in the ocean is not Yeager's idea of a good time. He's content to stare out at the ocean for a little while, eyes narrowed while he tries to figure out what to make of all of this. It won't be long before he's decided that he doesn't like it and suddenly he's turning around and looking for any signs of life that are not weirdly-glowing turtle-things.

Yeager's expression quickly settles into something more relaxed, though "relaxed" in his case is "kind of smirking like an asshole" but you know what, we can't all be winners. He's quick to approach you and he'll strike up a conversation even if you're captivated by the sights.]

Good evening! You wouldn't happen to recognize this area or those creatures, would you?

[His accent is incredibly thick and very German. He sounds incredibly cheerful despite the situation (and his previous somewhat-stormy expression). Hope you don't mind the interruption??]

II - Familiar Face

[Yeager isn't alone here. He became aware of her presence not long after finding himself here, but the ghostly woman following him around has set him on edge. Things started innocently enough, with her asking after his well-being, about his appearance and what he's been doing, but it's quickly become obvious that she doesn't like being ignored, and he's not going to start acknowledging her any time soon.

He's heading toward the jungle when she grabs his arm - you'll see him stop suddenly and his hand tightens on the briefcase he has by his side, before suddenly it has transformed into a giant scythe and he's leveling that at... well, nothing. The look in his eyes is very cold, and his expression is dark.]

You certainly aren't trying very hard. I know you aren't her.

[The ghost laughs, but the sound is bitter and angry - she's been left behind, forgotten, and he's certainly made no efforts to remember her or everything she stood for. He isn't the same anymore, so why should she be?

Yeager draws back, moving as if he's going to swing the scythe at the ghost but he... can't. He honestly can't bring himself to do it, even knowing that it isn't her, and that she wouldn't act like this...

His grip is tight on the weapon, but he doesn't move. He can't bring himself to cut her down (assuming a scythe can even cut a ghost anyway) but he refuses to lower the weapon and leave himself defenseless either.

...This is probably really weird since you can't see the ghost, but it's totally fine. He's fine, don't worry. A scythe the size of a person is definitely not a thing to worry about.]

adrift

[ladytakamaki]

[ for a newcomer, he seems to be taking well to his situation. ann folds her arms, standing near him, bending over slightly to take a closer look at the creatures. ]

Mm, I haven't seen these before, but as for the area? Yeah, I've been here for a while.

[ she turns to yeager, giving him a small smile. ]

You're new, right? I'm Ann. Uh...welcome to the islands.

Noctis Lucis Caelum | FFXV

[warpstriking]

Double Rainbows Across the Sea...
[Well, this wasn't what he'd been expecting when he got pulled into the Crystal. He has no idea how long he's been there, or how long it will be. Yet seeing an unfamiliar beach when he opens his eyes? Which god was toying with him this time, he wondered? Likely wasn't going to find any answers just lying around, either.

Noctis sighs, moving to his feet. Well, this would be a nice place to fish. He'll give them that. His hand itched to test the waters here, so to speak. Yet he pauses when he sees the plethora of colors reflected beneath the almost clear waves.]

Wow, [He exclaims.] Awesome.

[Noctis Lucis Caelum: CXIVth of his line and completely and utterly enamored by sea life. ...He may also be wondering if they'd mind him getting closer or if they'd flee at his presence. He's very tempted to jump in and check it out.]

Of all the things they left out of Eos...
[He was no stranger to linear paths through the wilds. Well, not nearly as much as he had been months ago. Being wanted by an entire Empire had its advantages, he guesses. Though there's something about this tropical forest that feels... different.

Orignarily he'd chalk it up to just him having grown paranoid in yet another linear maze, one far more different than this one, but he could have sworn that bush they past by had eyes...]

What? [He looks back, but the moment he does; they're gone. Huh. That's weird.] Could have sworn I saw-

[... Those sure are roots that just shot out of the ground where he'd been standing only seconds ago.] Sonova- [He lurches back, bluish white sparks lingering as he makes some distance, holding in his hand some sort of glowing red orb. When in doubt, kill with fire, right? That's what he's thinking. Too bad all his very limited quantity of spell grenades are area of effect. He doesn't want to think what it'd do to the surrounding jungle.]

Can't Say He Didn't Warn You, Noct
[He'd grown way too used to ignoring this particular voice. It had nagged at him for hours on end before, egging him on to a point there was no return from until Astrals knew when. That's when it changed on him; turned into the voice he wants to hear so desperately, and he knew if he turned to face whatever entity it was, he'd regret it.

'Dear Noctis.'

His heart aches; feet feeling heavier with every step he takes away from her voice. Noctis wants so much to turn around and wrap his arms around her, yet it can't be her. It can't be Luna. Why not, his heart asks him, but he has no answer. Only a longing to see her again; to listen to her voice and hold her in his arms.

'Come with me. We can see the sylleblossoms together, as we did as children.']

You mean the ones the Empire burned as a reprisal for Ravus's betrayal? Along with the manor and the village? [He remembers the scent of smoke, the child crying into their grandmother's lap stating she wanted to go back to a home that no longer existed. The word of Pryna's death alongside the woman this shade pretended to be.] No. I can't join you yet. I will not abandon our people to the dark.

[He only wishes that the real Lunafreya Nox Fleuret would have survived to see dawn's light once again.]

[witty pun about mimics here]

[scourgingstars]

Get off, I am nowhere near in the mood for this—

[Well, someone didn’t seem to care all that much for the risk of using fire in the jungle. Ardyn was having trouble with a carnivorous bush of his own, or he was until he called up a small burst of flames with a snap of his fingers. Meh, too low-level a Fire spell to damage much. Probably.]

[Looking thoroughly inconvenienced in a way very unlike him, Ardyn straightened out his hat and dusted off his coat, frowning at the scorched ground where the mimicry had been.]

[...Weird, he could have sworn he heard someone familiar just now.]

Castor Westmoore | Final Fantasy XIV | A Warrior of Light.

[littlemhigan]

s h a d e s

It... No. It can't be.

Castor is, for once in her life, stock still, watching in rapt fascination as the Shade in front of her gestures animatedly. Her eyes, glassy with unshed tears, wander from the base of his feet, to his brilliant face a full fulm above her own head. She marks the dark green and gold colour of his mail, and the bright blue-silver of his hair.

"You're dead," she whispers, not trusting her voice to rise any louder. "I watched ye. I saw ye... Haurchefant..."

'Come now,' the ghost of a man whispers, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder, 'there's no need for tears -!'

Castor recoils from his touch and takes a step back. Her face is growing angry, but her breaths are not so even, and her knuckles are white as she wills her hands into fists so they don't shake. "Fury's tits!" She spins on her heel to face away, but can't bring herself to start walking yet. The man steps to close the gap, and rests his hands back on her shoulder and - oh, they're warm. A long moment passes before she brings her hands up to rest over his...and slowly pushes them off.

"Leave me be," she whispers, "please."




r a i n b o w s

"Twelve keep me!" Castor is already calf-deep in the water when she spots the rainbow moving beneath the waves. For a moment, the sight of it completely overrides her sense of panic at the otherwise unfamiliar beach and the strangers upon it. "Do ye see this?!" Is she talking to you? Probably. The wonder on her face is almost childlike; completely enraptured by the sight of the underwater aurora. "What's causin' it?"




w i l d c a r d

[surprise me.]

raaaaaainbows

[thegoofball]

The beach is beautiful - all beaches are beautiful - but the kaleidoshells make the beach and the water even more extravagant. Lance missed the little guys (or not so little guys, in some cases) and he's glad to see them back.

Also, hello, stranger. "It's those weird turtles - their shells are reflective." He squints out over the sea. "Pretty cool, right?"

[complementing]

IS ANYONE THERE?

[Minako isn't running away from the specter tailing her. In fact, she's just sitting there and quietly singing a lullaby. Her specter comes in the form of a slouching guy with his hands shoved into his pockets, the sweep of his bangs covering his right eye. The lullaby seems to soothe him and aggravate him in turns, and once she finishes the lullaby, he lifts his head to glance at her.]

Hey, don't give me that look. I already sang it twelve times for you. I'm done for the day.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

Oh my god--

[Minako backpedals from the bushes, but a few mimicries follow her onto the road, opening their gaping maws and lolling out their tongues. She gives a full body shudder.]

Ugh-- okay buddy, if you think you're going to have a midnight snack, think again, because I'm not delicious. Not. Delicious. Even if my bloodstream always pumped with sugar from all the sweets I eat...

[Not a very convincing argument, because the mimicries lunge for her. Minako dodges one, kicks another away, and then tries to punch through the wood of the last one.

It's huge tongue wraps around her wrist, and she wails loudly.]

So slimy!

CAUGHT IN THE RAINBOW CURRENT

[Bras are kind of like bikini tops, right? At least, that's Minkao's reasoning for taking off her shirt to go swim with the kaleidoshells.

(Don't worry, she still has her skirt and bike shorts on.)

With her bright red hair, she could pass as a certain Disney princess. And she knows that fact very well! If you listen closely, you'll hear her...]

♪ What would I give if I could live out of these waters?
What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?
Bet'cha on land they understand
They don't reprimand their daughters
Bright young women sick of swimmin'
Ready to staaaaaand ♪

[She has a great karaoke voice, if you're curious. And the kaleidoshells seem to be just that, swimming circles around her and adding to her dramatic fling of her arms into the air, sending water everywhere.]

choose your own adventure

[antepone]

[ She hears the girl cry out, and immediately, the part of her that makes terrible decisions kicks into high gear. She's definitely never fought anything before, but she has a glass dagger and a fierce need to make sure people are okay.

So... Mira runs over, and she's thankful for how sharp her dagger is when she cuts through the tongue. Over her shoulder, she calls, ] Are you okay?!

Alucard | Castlevania (netflix edition, potential s2 spoilers)

[pitifulscion]

[a; choose your own adventure]

[Night hordes were a threat all their own; deadly, but not without their weaknesses. Next to that? Some carnivorous shrubbery didn't quite rate on the scale of genuine threats. So, if you should find yourself so menaced by such a problem-]

Remain still.

[-a softspoken warning would ring out followed by a young man dropping down in a streak of gold and black, swinging a thin sword to cut the creature's reaching and grasping roots.]

[b; kaleidoshells]

[Come evening in this peculiar dream, Alucard stood nearer to the shoreline; pale as the sand and with golden hair almost to match, but the black coat he wore made him stick out on the beach. He watched the water and gently sifting lights in tranquil silence--dreams were few and far between for him, and yet he found this one to be almost welcome. It was a sight unlikely to be found in Wallachia, to be certain.]

[...And yet...he was beginning to feel a faint and nagging worry for the castle and hold beneath it. Just how long was he going to sleep this time?]

Honk (A)

[hurricane_clown]

[Karako wasn't bothered by the toothy shrubbery. Alternia's plantlife is at least as bad, if not worse. This extremely aggressive bush is the closest thing to a familiar experience Karako has had since he started this dream.

He's already lost one knife to its lashing roots, but that's why he has so many--once it's dead, he can pull all the knives out of its body and start over!

Alucard's sudden arrival, however, gives him a real startle, and instead of remaining still, he does basically the exact opposite--honking loudly in alarm and jumping at least a foot clear into the air, knife still in hand.

The mimicry opens its maw and flails its roots upward, like it hopes to catch him on the way down.]

Agent Black | Iconoclasts

[noshadesofgrey]

Choose Your Own (Mis)Adventure

When she's pissed off, Black has no need for pithy things like paths and guidelines. She's determined to just plow straight through the jungle, consequences be damned. She's mad because, well. A lot of reasons. The last things she remembers didn't...go great, to completely understate things, and her arms aren't cooperating. They feel slow to move sometimes, the joints feel like they're dirty or clogged. Or they just. Fall limp, even more heavy than before.

This becomes a problem once she steps on the wrong root and there's suddenly a messed-up gnarly plant trying to bite her everything off. She's panicked, trying desperately to make the things work right so she can punch this bush monster right in its non-face. That, and, uh, heal herself, because big nasty teeth sure do do a number on the rest of her that's not metal. Being ascended don't mean shit right now.

[lightlessfuture]

That sure is an angry something stomping its way through the jungle; the Knight feels Black's footsteps and hears her long before they even catch sight of her. Concealed in the underbrush as they are, they don't give the sudden noise special attention; whatever it is sounds too big to bother with them, anyway.

That is, until they hear the now-familiar sound of gnashing teeth and thrashing that signals one of the many creatures that inhabit the jungle has found a meal, and they go to inspect the struggle.

They were expecting another, larger creature, but this is quite clearly a person. They make their decision quickly.

A blur of monochrome launches itself onto the monster, giving it sudden pause at the interference. Tiny bug and vastly larger predator are frozen for a split-second before the Knight jams their nail into something soft and vulnerable.

This doesn't make the Mimicry let go, exactly, but it's certainly far more distracted than it was five seconds before.