aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

Test Drive Meme #19

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 January 17th, and Applications on January 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.

Let's Be Heroes
Back in December on the recent island of Maati, the Trial of the Brave was intended to challenge those who approached life with hesitation; the timid, the uncertain, and those who trend too easily toward inaction. Mu, of course, has a habit of neglecting the finer details. And thus...here you are, whether you need the intended lesson or not.

Armed with nothing more than a torch, a short sword, and the clothes on your back, you're sure to enjoy the scenic view of labyrinthine stone walls, low-hanging ceilings, sharp corners hiding all sorts of secrets, and a thick, foreboding darkness. Your light, and the torches of others making their way through the dark, are the only breaks in the seemingly uniform dark.

Those and the lights of the eyes of the other things down here with you, of course.

Hidden throughout the maze are scattered innumerable creatures, all of them happy to take advantage of those wandering about on their own. Nighthooks are fiendish, shadowy monsters that appear in the shape of a long-fingered hand. While they cannot physically hurt anything, they specialize in slinking out of the darkness to snuff out any light source they can find...like your torch, for example. Also abundand are the grimlings, hulking, dog-like creatures composed of a seaweed-like blackness and glowing coals for eyes. Should you come across one, several more are bound to be nearby, as they travel in packs. And they are always hungry.

For those lucky enough not to stumble across these creatures? Enjoy your stumble through the dark. There's an exit around here somewhere, if you look hard enough. Probably.

The Waiting Game
The second trial Mu has appropriated is the Trial of the Patient. This test was named for those who exhibit the very antithesis of patience, initially intended to draw in the brash, the reckless, those easily incited into action, and so on. Instead of a dark and lengthy maze, Mu has instead concocted a brightly lit room to test your patience, and lack thereof.

So you should have no trouble at all seeing the entirety of the expansive, gaping void that stretches between you and the only way out.

Stranded on a singular ledge, the space in which you wake is white and seemingly infinite. No ceilings or walls are visible, and peering over the edge of the small platform reveals no flooring below to catch you. The only distinct characteristics to this room are the door opposite you, positioned some couple hundred feet away. There's nothing for you to grab or cling to in order to make your way over there faster. In fact, nothing else seems to help, either. Flight, teleportation, gadgets, you name it - each attempt will inevitably fail, and give you just enough time to contemplate all the ways you went wrong as you go plummeting down (or is it up?) into that endless void. What a shame.

Luckily for you, this dream is happy to give you a second chance! And a third, and a fourth...and however many it takes, really. Those who fall will, just as the initial adrenaline shock starts to run out, abruptly find themselves standing right back on the platform where they started. Once again, they'll find themselves staring at that infuriating, impossible-to-reach door. Seems like you may be stuck where you are, for the time being.

We say "for the time being," because the other distinct attribute of this loosely defined room is a second platform, drifting steadily from the doorway to your position. Once it reaches you, you'll be able to climb aboard, and be safely ferried across the room to the exit you so greatly desire. Once it reaches you. Once it...well, it seems to be taking some time. A few minutes. An hour. Something in that ballpark, maybe. Got a good book on you? No? Guess you'll have to find some other way to wile away the time.

You, and whoever else you happen to be stuck with.

Water Rising
The island of Ensō is a relatively flat island, aside from a lone, steep mountain to the north. Mu is less so. It tends to mold itself to whatever shape best suits it, and in this case? It has chosen Ensō. And so that is where you find yourself - positioned at the base of its mountain, no less, only several feet up the beginnings of its slope. Unfortunately, there's not much time to take in the new scenery. Stretched out along the island's coast is a beach of glittering white sand. Further inland, the green sprawl of a jungle blots the horizon. But there's also plenty of ocean. And therein lies the problem.

Creeping through the treelines and rapidly pooling about the mountain's base, said ocean levels are rising quickly. Very quickly. Those who wish to stay and enjoy the view of an island underwater are welcome to it. For everyone else, the only other option is the obvious one: to climb.

To climb very, very quickly.

As luck would have it, the rising waters aren't the only danger present. Those too slow to escape its wrath will surely drown, but the higher up you go, the thinner the air becomes, and the more searing the heat. To the west, a crop of dangerous creatures known as lungblossoms claim the wooded thickets that offer reprieve from the intense and unrelenting rays of dream-sun. A confrontation with these living plants may expose you to hallucinogenic spores fit to fill your senses with horrific, nightmarish visions, so tread lightly...but not slowly.

At the mountain's very peak, an empty temple awaits those who can make it to the end of this terrible and impromptu gauntlet. It will provide shade and a space for the exhausted survivors to congregate. Tend to yourself and others, if you like- or head back out to locate those who haven't had such luck in reaching this haven.

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I do. To want to help your fellow...Tortle? Tortle, for no other purpose than generosity, is and always has been a noble endeavour..."

...even though the good doctor has met quite a few people in his lifetime either apathetic to, or actively motivated by, the suffering of others. He's very much uncomfortable discussing this, however, and so he is opting to point at the expansive ocean around them instead.

"Pardon my digression, but you wouldn't happen to know why we're being flooded, would you?"

[Exclaimed brightly and with enthusiasm:] Nope! No idea!

[Thanks for the insight, Eska.]

I don't even know where I am! For all I can tell, it's normal for most of this place to be underwater. Not that that's a bad thing! If I couldn't find anyone to help out here, I was kinda considering if it'd be safe to cool off with some swimming, you know?

He expected as much. The silver lining of this situation is that he can't see anything else floating in the depths nor climbing the mountain, be they humanoid-shaped blobs or actual creatures...
... wait, that's not a silver lining at all. Either it's just him and young Eska or their fellow climbers are...

"Forgive me, but have you seen anybody else since you started climbing, at all?"

Maybe there's someone else right across the corner. Or maybe they're the only two people who didn't drown. Faust likes the former possibility a lot more than the latter.

[Also exclaimed brightly and with enthusiasm:] Nope! Not a soul!

But that's a good thing, right? The less people there are around here, the less people are caught up in this big flood. I wasn't exactly, um, subtle or hard to spot on the way up. The shell tends to kinda clonk a bit when you're rock climbing, you know? So I'm positive if someone needed help, we woulda spotted each other.

They do make a very good point, but the good doctor is not entirely convinced. The last time he had a dream like these, there were...many, many more 'living' creatures than just him and, in this case, a giant anthropomorphic bipedal tortoise.

"As reassuring as it is, I'm afraid I am still sceptical. We must search for other survivors post-haste, or I fear we truly will be the only people standing at the top of the mountain."

Faust makes to move, but once more his exhausted form betrays him, staggering despite himself. It takes a firm grip on his weapon to keep himself upright.
Damn it. Damn it all. Why did it have to be an entire mountain climb?

And if you try to go scrabbling around slippery wet rocks when you can hardly stand, then I'm very quickly going to be the only person standing at the top of the mountain, singular.

[Pointed out gently but firmly, as they nod toward the temple.]

I'm a monk. I'm used to the whole physical endurance training dealie. I've also got these!

[They hold up one of their hands, fingers splayed out to display both the long, powerful claws and the webs that stretch between them. Perfect tools, surely, for both climbing and swimming.]

If you want, I don't mind searching while you rest up. You don't have to put yourself in danger!

It takes a moment, but he is able to steady himself and steel his resolve. Now is not the time to be catching his breath, that'll have to wait until later.

"Right as you may be, I'm afraid I cannot abide by that, young Eska. I will not rest whilst there are lives potentially at stake. If you are willing, I'd like to propose we do this together, instead."

He's gotten a good enough first impression from the alleged monk to trust them with this endeavour. That, and it'd be mighty hypocritical of him to not trust them after so easily trusting the other anthropomorphic creatures he's met beforehand.

I don't mind company one bit, as long as you're sure you're up to it. I don't wanna see anyone get hurt, but that includes doctors too!

[They offer their arm for Faust to lean on, if he should need it, though they might be a little bit too short to really make a useful crutch.]

Don't be afraid to ask for a break if you need one. You have to help yourself in order to help others sometimes, you know?

Kind, gentle AND wise. Youth these days really are something else, ignoring the fact Faust still hasn't a clue what Eska, or those he's met before them, are. Perhaps he should ask when a potential emergency isn't looming over him?

"Words of wisdom, young Eska. I'll keep your offer in mind. But no more dilly-dallying now; We march!"

Applying some force to Eska's shell, he pushes himself off of them and begins trying to march like a soldier. A very wobbly, visibly tired soldier, but a soldier nevertheless. He mentally promises to try to fall on Eska's harder parts if his legs decide to be uncooperative.

Alright! Let me know if I'm going too fast. Wandering is rooted into a tortle's soul, so I'm real used to walking all day.

[Eska, chipper and sunny despite the dire circumstances, playfully assumes a soldierly marching posture as well. Despite the long, difficult climb, they still seem ready to keep going.]

So, um, how come you keep calling me "young" Eska? Do I look super young? Or are you maybe one of those super-ancient monk masters who's ten times older than they look? Or, wait, do you know an old Eska?

[Not that they can even tell how much younger they might be than their companion. Hard to gauge that when he's got a bag on his head, y'know?]

Now they're just showing off. He takes back all his praise of youth these days, especially if they're just going to show off their natural fitness like this. The climb, evidently, has made the good doctor's internal monologue extremely grouchy.

"I've had many patients over the decades - it's become a type of sixth sense of mine to get a rough idea of someones age from their appearance, personality and general aura.
...that, and I'm about sixty years of age, so everyone else is 'young' to me anyway!"

The grouchiness doesn't prevent him from making an attempt at levity, especially at a time like this. It's almost instinctive, at this point.

Guilty as charged, then! I'm... hm. Seventeen season-turns? Yeah, I think seventeen.

[Eska looks downright impressed, honestly.]

I can't even imagine surviving to sixty! Tortles don't even live that long! Um, not that that's old, just. You know. Lifespans are relative and stuff!

Hold on, what? Their species, so similar to the many species of tortoise from 'his' world, barely lives past sixty? That...wouldn't make any sense, if young Eska was from 'his' world. Seeing as they clearly aren't, though...

"Peculiar - We have reptiles similar in appearance to you where I am from, and they tend to live several centuries before expiring. I'm getting the sneaking suspicion we may be from different worlds entirely..."

He hesitates, having a small internal debate over whether telling them about tortoises would be wise or not. It's hard to make such a call when you're also actively searching the horizon for potential survivors of a flash flood.

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

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