aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 018 )

Entry tags:

*test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 018 )

Test Drive Meme #18

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 December 17th! Due to the holiday season, Applications will be opening on December 26th, with an app period shifted to end on January 2nd instead of the usual timeframe!

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.

Upsy Wars: Revenge of the Lift
Over the past sixteen months, adventurers have adjusted to the sight of a wide variety of odd and fantastical creatures, some friendlier than others. Of the more ferocious, it's wise to consider giving them a wide berth - from the indomitable fustercluck to living black holes to the deadly contagious quartzalcoatls. However, only one predator has gained the dubious title of "that weird flying mouth thing."

Invasive to LifeAftr, Upsy the elevator is not satisfied with haunting the memories of those who encountered it during its arrival in July. Now it's here to haunt your dreams, too! While capable of speech and some style of sentience on its home world, it seems LifeAftr has yet to agree with a machine that is equal parts flesh and metal. Driven to silence by whatever forces this world has exposed it to, Upsy is driven by one, basic instinct, and one alone.

To give you a lift, whether you want it or not.

Upsy’s attacks are abrupt and immediate. Swooping down from the sky, it will collect as many living things in its mouth as can fit, before closing its doors and soaring away. Want to leave? Don't worry; Upsy has no intentions of keeping you, or digesting you. Release from that fleshy mouth prison is as immediate as the initial attack. We hope you enjoy flying, because Upsy can spit even the heaviest of creatures a good hundred feet away from itself, at any altitude. Do look out below.

The Emoji Movie
Communication on the islands currently consists of Stones of Far Speech, a relatively adaptable system that is open to requests and suggestions for improvement. One such request has been met with a small bout of confusion, however; as adaptable as the Storyteller attempts to be, you kids with your mobile phones and your texting and emojis get a little beyond them, sometimes.

Beyond Mu as well, it seems.

When you asked for emojis, this is what you wanted, right? Exclusive to Mu, Emojees come in a variety of shapes and sizes; from knee-high yellow orbs with rows of sharp teeth that simply cannot stop laughing, to horse-sized poop emojees that - well. One can guess. Numbering in the hundreds and intending to convey their meaning by any means possible, it's a good idea to avoid prolonged contact with these happy little abominations.

The taller, more objective emojees will simply try to absorb those attached to them in an effort to become even larger, but the smaller infect their prey with the emotions they portray, influencing them into the perfect emotional state for consumption.

In hindsight, this is probably not what the children actually wanted...

Close enough.

Let It Go Snow
LifeAftr may be primarily tropical, but that doesn't mean some of its creatures don't appreciate a good white Christmas - and a white rest of the year, at that.

Gelfs are one such species. While they may be visually reminiscent of Santa's Little Helpers, these small creatures aren't about to start handing out presents. Having snuck onto Mu's metaphysical shores at the beginning of the month, these little critters have immediately set about doing what they do best - spreading ice and snow across the island, in increasingly hazardous quantities.

As the influence of the gelfs settles across Mu, it's quite possible that the abrupt cold snap will lead to severe consequences for any adventurous guests, unless you enjoy the prospect of an avalanche waiting to happen Now may be the best time to hunt these gelfs down, before such disaster can occur.

For those uninterested in massacring a local creature population (again), you may as well enjoy this winter wonderland while it lasts. Ice skating, snowball fights - and for those in the know, the time-honored competition to create the best dabbing ice sculpture. If you're lucky, you might even find a container of piping hot wassail - spiced apple cider - laying around.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Your staff?

(Yasha is busy unwinding one of the leather wraps from around her forearm and wrist to notice Lucretia's distress, otherwise she might not have asked. For some reason, Beau's bō comes to mind... she can't think of why Lucretia would need something like that with her. Perhaps it's for walking.)

Here.

(There's a bit of leather, presumably for the pot handle.)

Yes.

[ She takes the leather with a nod of thanks, twisting it into a loop. Once that's done, she gestures, murmuring an incantation, and the pan of soup rises into the air, hovering over the fire.

A pause, while she makes sure she has it stabilized, before she resumes speaking. ]

I must have lost it out in the blizzard somewhere. I don't even remember when it went missing, or how.

(What a handy spell. Yasha hasn't seen the likes of it before, and she watches the pan lift into the air with curiousity.)

We can look for it after the storm.

(How long had they been walking while looking for shelter? A few hours? They'll have to go back the same way if they want to get to where they started... Yasha yawns just thinking about it, taking a seat in front of the fire once more to warm her hands back up.

She isn't very good at small talk... but while the food is warming up, she should at least try? Yasha rubs her knuckles slowly, trying to think of something to say and eventually settles on:) What... do you do, Lucretia?

[ Lucretia looks up in surprise, nearly losing her concentration on keeping the pan levitating in the process. ]

...Thank you, Yasha. That's...very kind of you to offer.

[ And she's just desperate enough to get her staff back that she doesn't decline immediately. Maybe tomorrow she'll be strong enough to say no, to refuse to let Yasha go back out and subject herself further to the cold to fix Lucretia's mistake.

She looks back at the fire, gazing into the flames as the stew heats up, and humming quietly at Yasha's question. ]

It's...difficult to explain. Most of what I do is, uh, classified.

But I run an organizaion that's...well, we're trying to make the world a safer place.

(It smells really good... Yasha's stomach rumbles loudly, and she shifts a little in place in embarrassment. Lucretia's answer is really not what she was expecting, but that's okay. She's hardly one to call anybody on being secretive about what they do.)

That's okay. (And she means it. She doesn't have to know any more about Lucretia's organisation than what has already been said.)

And that sounds... very noble of you. Is it going well?

[ Lucretia's silent for a moment, picking up one of the spoons to stir the stew a little bit, then testing it to see how hot it is.

Hot enough. She levitates the pan back down to the floor, careful not to touch it. ]

Better than it was.

[ Better now that she has Magnus, Merle and Taako back. Better now that they're actually succeeding at retrieving the relics, rather than Lucretia herself trying on her own only to fail again and again. Wasting time. Watching more people die.

It's not particularly noble, either, trying to clean up the mess she'd helped make in the first place, but she keeps that to herself for now, handing the other spoon to Yasha. ]

Careful - don't burn yourself on the pan.

(Yasha chances a look at Lucretia as she carefully lifts the pan back down toward the floor. She looks like she's lost in thought. There's obviously a lot more to this story than she's getting right now, but she's fine with leaving it too. It's none of her business, after all.)

That's good.

(She blows on her spoonful before she tries the food, pausing with her spoon still in her mouth. It's very good, much better hot than cold for sure. She shifts a little closer, minding the pan, so she can continue to help herself.)

... Thank you. I like it.

[ It's probably rude to be so evasive, but Yasha doesn't push for more, and Lucretia's grateful for that. Really, they're probably both better off not dwelling on something as depressing as Lucretia's Whole Situation.

She follows suit, sitting crosslegged on the other side of the pan and dipping her spoon in to take a bite. She closes her eyes briefly, savoring the sensation of hot food, and hums in agreement. ]

Much better than beans.

[ Once she's taken a bite or two, satisfied her initial hunger pangs, she looks back at Yasha, curious. She still knows almost nothing about her, except that she's reserved, and unassuming, and unfailingly generous. ]

What about you?

(Yasha pauses for a moment with a spoonful of stew halfway to her mouth, surprised to be asked. She blows on the spoon, then pops it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Usually she doesn't talk about her circumstances at all, but, well, they're going to be stuck in this cabin for a while most probably, so it would only serve Yasha to cease being standoffish, so...)

Well... (A pause, as she swallows.) I am travelling at the moment, in a group. We sort of... go from place to place, and kill people for money.

Bad people. (That last bit sounds a bit tacked on, but she lifts a hand up, palm out toward Lucretia to show her she means no harm.) It's... um, mostly bad people. Sometimes guards get in the way by mistake.

[ Lucretia has the unfortunate luck to be taking a bite of her stew just as Yasha speaks, and she nearly chokes, just barely managing to swallow before she starts to cough.

When she finally manages to compose herself, though, she's smiling, wiping away a few tears of laughter. ]

Guards - ah, guards tend to do that.

(Was that a good reaction? Yasha honestly can't tell. She's watching Lucretia wipe at her eyes with her spoon in her mouth, uncertain, but she isn't accusing her or anything or demanding that she leave, so it must be okay?)

... You aren't bothered by that.

(More of a statement than a question.)

[ She sobers, finally, and Yasha looks so serious that she takes a moment to really consider her response before answering. ]

Does it bother you?

You've been nothing but kind, from everything I"ve seen, Yasha. I think you have a good heart. If you can do this job, and sleep at night...

[ She shrugs. ]

Besides, sometimes people just need to be killed. Bad people, I mean.

No.

(Yasha kills people, she's always killed people. Ever since she was young. Lucretia is looking at her sincerely, and it only makes her lock up a little more in place, become still where she sits. Yasha's version of nervousness. She is not a good person. She does not have a good heart, either.

But she isn't about to get into that here and now, so all she'll say is:)

They do. And I'm good at it.

[ Yasha seems unnatually stiff, even for Yasha. It's a little disappointing - Lucretia would have liked to think her words might have offered her some comfort - but it's not really surprising. This isn't exactly a cheerful subject.

She nods, and reaches out to press a hand to Yasha's knee, her closest point of contact. ]

Then I'm glad your world has you.

Thank you.

(She's not sure of what else to say. She isn't so keen on the casual contact either, but she isn't going to push Lucretia's hand away from her knee because she knows it is a gesture born from kindness. Besides, Lucretia exists in the weird space between a stranger and a friend, and so she is granted the gift of Yasha's patience, as thin as it may wear sometimes.

Eventually however, she shifts, and moves her knee out of reach.)

I haven't needed to find a job here. My friends and I do a lot of exploring instead. Sometimes fighting.

[ Lucretia doesn't keep the contact up for long, pulling her hand back the moment Yasha shifts her knee. ]

Exploring?

[ When the weather is warmer, she can only assume. She returns to her stew, scooting close to the fire and snuggling comfortably into the fur around her shoulders. Storytime. ]

What have you found?

Several different islands.

(If only Lucretia had been trapped in here with Mollymauk instead of her... oh, the stories he could have told. Yasha doesn't have a lot of narrative prowess about her.)

... We fought a giant, once. It nearly killed us.

[ But if Mollymauk were here, they couldn't have Big Gay Cuddling later on. Just a thought.

Lucretia nearly drops her spoon into the stew, rescuing it just in time. She'd been prepared for stories of maybe a few tavern fights at most, not near-death encounters with monsters. ]

A giant? Here?

(Oh, well in that case.

Yasha, who had said the thing about the giant and then regretted it in case it frightened Lucretia at all hastens to explain herself.)

Not- here, it was on another island. And we nearly defeated it, before we had to run away.

[ Yasha rushes to reassure her, and Lucretia feels her cheeks burning in response. She can hardly blame her, but just how fragile must the other woman think she is? ]

I wasn't - I wasn't frightened.

[ Even if she should have been, maybe. What would they do, if a giant attacked them now? ]

Just, ah. Just surprised. I didn't realize this world was so...populated.

Neither.

(At least she has that. Even when the adversary is too much for her to handle, at least Yasha doesn't frighten. Her battle rages don't allow for much to get in her way.)

What do you mean 'populated'? (For Yasha, giants aren't... well, they aren't welcome but they certainly aren't surprising. She's seen them around before, she knows that they exist.)

Uh -

[ She hesitates, shrugging her shoulders. ]

I guess I just...Well, I haven't seen anyone else here. [ Besides Yasha herself, she means. ] I didn't know how much, uh, diversity this place had.

Oh.

(Well, that makes sense.)

There are... a lot of different people here. And animals, too. I'm always discovering new things I didn't know existed.

Animals?

[ It reminds her of being on one of the planets during the cycles. New people, new animals, a whole new environment.

She wants to hear more. She really does. But between the fire and shelter from the cold, and the hot stew filling her belly, Lucretia's starting to feel warm and relaxed and sleepy. She yawns hugely, quickly lifting a hand to cover her mouth and swallowing the yawn back. ]

Tell me...tell me about them.

Okay.

(Where to start... oh, yes. Yasha knows a good place. She leans back on her palms, and seeing Lucretia stifling a yawn makes her yawn too, her head tipping back a little.)

Hmm. I... met a dog, that isn't a dog. I think. She's a wolf, but she understands what I say when I talk to her, you know?

(Not in a 'I love my fur baby' kind of way, but in a... deep, true understanding way.) She... can draw with her tail.

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 018 )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)