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.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

[yallstupid]

The core of this bad apple's none too sweet, neither. [And the look he gives her does indeed push the matter - drop it. Her words are kind, they come from the heart, but Guzma's not one to believe simple words, no matter how well they may be dressed. He can agree with some things - he did well by his little brothers and sisters, sure...but his methods were still pretty terrible. Things aren't as simple as black and white with Team Skull.]

Tch...well, least one of us thinks that. [That's as much of a 'thank you' as she's going to get, and Guzma shifts again so she's more comfortable. He gives a brief look over his shoulder, still half expecting to see the witch following them, but...nothing. Thank god.] Anyway, I got a favor t'ask you.

When you wake up, kiddo, you come back to the house, yeah? Or call me on them rock doohickeys. I'll try'n wait for you there, or come get'cha. Don't forget, a'ight? [He's quite serious about that, kiddo. Don't let this just be a dream. He's seen too many specters of the past, and he...he's starting to realize being alone like this isn't as cut out as he thought it may be.]

[flower_of_innocence]

[That's right, there's a bit of a mystery to solve. How she wound up asleep after having gone to take a walk on the beach. She remembers leaving her things at the shack early in the morning, getting up just to take a stroll around the islet and try to grasp that feeling of being in between worlds that she always gets at dawn and dusk. something to hold onto for herself before getting to work on Nuidan.

Had she simply never woken up? Dreamed the start of her day?]

Oh...have I been gone very long? I only stepped out just this morning, I thought...

[yallstupid]

[There's a pause, as Guzma's steps seems to slow, and his grip on Lillie seems to sag a little. He still holds her firmly, but there's a very immediate shift in his body that's hard to miss, even if he were trying to hide it better. His muscles tense after a moment as he readjusts the girl in his arms and breathes out a bit, not exactly meeting her eyes when he responds in turn, his pace coming back, but now a bit...fevered. Like he's moving purposely faster with no real direction. Just trying to move.]

...Yeah. It's--uh, i-it's been a while. [He purses his lips, and there's a scowl that begins to form, the...not quite anger, but frustration, beginning to fill the spaces where every other emotion begins to flee.] 'Bout a month...maybe longer.

[flower_of_innocence]

[Lillie gets the immediate and unshakable sense that in her absence, something terrible has happened. Her heart sinks at the way Guzma's step slows, the way his strong voice falters in the face of something she can only guess at. A month? Maybe longer? Her mouth hangs open in silent shock - she's never lost time like this before.

Beside them, Nebby seems to sense the sudden weight in the air and makes a quiet, questioning sound that prompts Lillie to speech.]

Oh...! I'm so sorry! I have no idea what could have - I don't think Nebby could have...

[She and stutters the start of a sentence she can't finish - can't get herself to ask what happened because judging by how strongly he reacted, she doesn't want to know. Quietly, she concludes:]

We'll be home as soon as we can.

[yallstupid]

Don't sweat it, s'fine. And your creampuff ain't to blame, neither.

[Not...quite a lie? He did enough to keep him preoccupied, for the most part, but it was a bit rough in her absence. The house - which got quite a few nice updates, thanks to Harv - seemed so much emptier with just him in it. He barely touched her things, entering her room only to make sure everything was still in its place. He's also well aware of just how musty an old, abandoned bed can feel after a long time.

The silence is a little awkward as he finally sets Lillie down when they reach the mana pool at the back of the Storyteller's temple. He's not one for conversation, really, and he doesn't want to bring up what he did or how he felt - or what happened to him - in Lillie's absence. She doesn't need to know, and hopefully never finds out. He is curious, however...]

...Y'don't remember nothing of going back? To Alola?

[flower_of_innocence]

[Lillie smoothes out her clothes and hair, and helps Nebby back into the bag. It was...nice, to be held. Reminds her of better times. But that's not something she'll indulge right now - lest it summon the specter of her mother again. At Guzma's question she looks a bit confused.

Did she go home during that time? Is that where Luna went? To her, it was as if she'd blinked and just appeared there on the beach. The thought that if she ever did go home, she might forget all of this makes her stomach twist. Maybe...maybe the islands weren't so bad. Maybe she could stay here, if Guzma stays. And even if he leaves, maybe she'll be okay staying anyway. She doesn't want to forget the side of him she's come to know.]

No, I'm sorry...I'm not even sure I went back. I was on the islets one moment and here the next.