TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

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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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

well B.T.W. /prompto/ yoshi

[battlefront]

[The more he climbs, the more he wonders if it was better if he just stayed in the water. Dream worlds?? Islands? Between this and that random assault earlier, he had to wonder if he was just finally, truly losing it.

It all feels real enough. Part of him isn't even surprised this is happening.]

Dunno about you, but going from a desert to an island is some kinda whiplash.

[He wasn't about to drown, for one. His foot slips a little on some eroding dirt from the current, but he stays balanced. The water's rising faster than before.]

Where's it even comin' from?

[He chances a glance behind him, trying to spot any remnants of a beach or a river. Nothing but jungle and downed trees for miles.

Keep talking. Keep moving.]

...Cloud.

[want_to_belong]

Cloud?

[Weird name. Who was he to judge names, though?]

Cool.

I get you. When I ended up here, I went from a frozen tundra to suddenly being on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Nooot exactly what I was expecting.

[And it had been long enough that he seemed unusually nonchalant about it.]

This place... doesn't make sense. It doesn't have to come from anywhere. But if we make it up high enough we should be okay. There's almost always some way out.

[He hadn't seen too much that had no way to survive. Digging his fingers into the dirt, he continued crawling his way up. His pants were going to be some kind of dirty later.
Well, if this wasn't just a dream.]

If we make it to the top I can show you some pics of the islands. Ah... You okay, bud?

[battlefront]

[Huh. That's it? No snarky comment about his name? No "Cloud?? Man, your parents were weird, huh?". He'll take it, though. He's not in a mood to argue names or... well, any of this, really.

He's still processing it.]

Mm. Whatever this is, I don't think anyone's expectin' it. [A beat, as he considers.] Is it just us?

[He's not too keen on all this climbing, though. He can already start to feel his left arm shaking with pain.]

I'm fine. Water's gotta stop rising eventually, right?

[want_to_belong]

[With his name and his friends' names, he had no place to make fun. His giant mountain of a friend was named after a flower.]

Prolly?

[Such awe-inspiring confidence, no doubt.]

There's more. More in this dream world, somewhere, I'm sure. And lots more on the islands.

[He stopped. His experience here had given him some resilience when getting around the islands. After all, running around and climbing every day tended to build up those muscles. Cloud looked like he was shaking, though, even though there wasn't much of a size difference between them.

But he understood. Cloud was a man. He didn't want to show weakness.]

You hurt?

[Prompto slid back down slightly, though the water was still rising fast, and without asking grabbed onto the belt over his shoulder to help pull.]

[battlefront]

Water, or people?

[He's hoping the latter. He's wet and sore and already sick of this.]

Guess I know what kinda response I'll get iF I ask how to get home, huh?

[Because as much as things still suck back there, it was familiar. Routine, at this point. But this? Completely throws him for a loop.

He tenses up as the kid grabs him, though. At least it's not his arm, but he doesn't like it.]

S-stop. I'm fine.

[want_to_belong]

People.

And yeah. No one knows how to get home.

[Might as well get that out of the way now.

He let go, not the type to try and be forceful, but he stayed close just in case.]

C'mon, we have to hurry. [Except his voice was oddly lacking urgency, because he wasn't trying to make Cloud feel bad for holding them up. It was a simple statement of fact.]

[battlefront]

[Man. He really screwed up this time, didn't he? He'd already worried Tifa and the others by running off like he had, but now they won't even be able to find him. Which was kind of... what he'd wanted, but not in this sense. Not like this.

Don't panic, though. Panicking just makes it worse.]

Okay.

[As long as there's other people, maybe he can figure this out. They'll know more than him. He's still not convinced this is even real, so might as well just go with it.]

Sorry. Give me a sec.

[The kid lets go and he's grateful. Eases some of that anxiety. But they're still not out of danger yet. He has to keep moving, for his sake, and his companion's.]

[want_to_belong]

No problem.

[He backed off a bit, not wanting to crowd him too much.

But the water kept getting higher.]

Okay, maybe a little bit of a problem. You, uh, you don't need to feel embarrassed about asking for help or anything. It's cool if you need it, and I won't tell anyone. You can even tell them you helped me if you want.

[battlefront]

[Just wait for it to pass, like it always does. He can never predict when the big attacks come, but aside from some discomfort and lightheadedness, he's alright.]

I'm. Okay. I'm okay.

[Oh. Yeah. He can feel the water in his boots again. Gotta keep moving.]

Keep goin'. I'll catch up.

[want_to_belong]

[He hesitated. He wasn't sure if Cloud was being a big tough guy and putting on a front, and he didn't want to run off ahead only to see him get stuck behind.

So he started going ahead, but not very far ahead, pausing to look back warily.]

Did you hurt yourself or something? I have a friend who could help.

[battlefront]

[Heh. Poor kid. Is he starting to sound worried? You don't worry about a complete stranger.]

Nah. It's fine.

[See? He even manages to full himself up the rest of the way, shaking water off his boots and pants to start climbing ahead of the other.

It's a little uncomfortable with his sword knocking against his back like this, but he thinks they might be starting to climb high enough where the water is actually slowing down.]

[want_to_belong]

[Prompto worried about strangers often.

When Cloud sped up and started to pass him he took it as a challenge. After taking a short time to rest while Cloud recovered, he had a fresh burst of energy and dug in. He was no climbing expert, but he was at least spry.]

Dude, your sword is as big as my friend's. How do you even use that?

[battlefront]

[He still wasn't feeling 100% (and doubted he would anytime soon), but he did go at a pace slow enough where he didn't want up leaving the other guy behind. There was still a risk of the sheer force of the waves eroding the ledge they were climbing on, and he wasn't sure if he was up for swimming against a current to make sure someone else didn't drown.

Everything about this just sucked.]

It takes some practicin'. [Unless he means how heavy it is, because he doesn't want to get into that.] You just gotta remember what part connects where.

[want_to_belong]

Pointy end towards the bad guys. Got it.

Not sure I could even swing that, though.

[Thankfully, Prompto was built well enough for climbing. Just enough muscle without a lot of weight to pull up. He enthusiastically dug in and pushed his way up.

Until some of the dirt he dug his foot into suddenly gave way.]

Whoa!

[His foot slipped. His fingers gripped down on some brush he was holding, but it wasn't strong enough to hold the sudden change in weight. He clawed at the side of the mountain for something else to grab as he slid down.]