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.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He moves his torch to show how the flame casts off an orange light, how it flickers off of the wall.]

Don't you see the beauty? A single light, one hope, in overwhelming helplessness...it's breathtaking!

Huh? Look, I'm flattered, but...

[... wait a sec, that ain't it. She laughs sheepishly.]

Oh, you meant the fire! I mean - of course you did. Silly me...

[Hey how does changing the subject sound? Cause Lyse is really liking the sound of that right now!]

Say, uh. You wouldn't happen to know a way out of here, maybe?

[He just looks at her with a bizarre look. What else could he have been talking about? What else is more beautiful than what he just described?!

Whatever she was talking about, he's happy to change the subject from it. Trying to explain his artistic vision sometimes isn't easy.]

No, I'm afraid I am as lost as you are. But there is a saying that there is safety in numbers.

[Lyse nods. And conversely, it's dangerous to go alone! Wise words for the aspiring adventurer.]

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[So they're party members now, right? That's probably how that works.]

I'm Lyse. What's your name?

Yusuke. Yusuke Kitagawa.

[He turns back to the flame and putting it near the wall, watching the light play off of the surface. Yeah, you became party members but he doesn't want to leave right now. This is inspiring.

Danger schmanger.]

Yusuke? Good to meet you.

[All right! The party is formed, now it's time to roll out! Only as Lyse resumes walking, she gets about two steps before she realizes he's not following. He's just... standing there, staring at the fire.

Ooooooookay. Dude, it's time to get a move on. She comes up a little closer, more interested in keeping an eye on the darkness than in the interplay of light between their torches.]

So, uh, have you got that image now? Great! Listen, we really ought to get going.

[They might not have a choice in a second. She's looking the other way, but the shadows on the wall are starting to act very strangely. Almost like long-fingered hands, reaching slowly for the light... to the point where they suddenly peel away from the wall, trying to snuff out Yusuke's torch.]

[Yusuke doesn't like being interrupted when he's in the middle of his Artistic Vision. He is ready to tell her to give him a moment when he sees what she does. But that just irritates him more. What is it with everything here and not letting him be an artist in peace?]

You stay back! [He takes the short sword out and he holds it easily, ready to strike down anything that's ready to try to take his flame or attack them both. Which is good because another creature, this one more dangerous, is ready to attack.] Can you take care of the hand? I'll take care of the larger foe.

[He doesn't wait for an answer before he's dodging the hand and running to attack the large creature. It's better to attack first after all!]

[So now the monsters come into the open! Part of Lyse is pleased, to be honest - she prefers a straight fight.

Her reaction is swift, too, pivoting into her opening stance. At a glance, Yusuke seems to know how to handle a sword, so she nods. It's as good a plan as any. For her own part, she ditched her weapon quite a while ago; it's not like she needs it.

Like a flash, she strikes at the shadowy hands, blow after stinging blow. She doesn't miss, but even so, her fist only hits thin air - or, a couple of times, the wall, where she leaves cracks in the stonework. When it's clear that's not working, she tries to hit them with her burning torch, but their only reaction is to extinguish it.

Frustrated, she disengages, dropping the useless torch on the floor, and leaps backward to Yusuke's position.]

It's not working! They've got nothing to hit. [Hopefully he's faring a little better.]

[If he wasn't so distracted then he would have complimented her on her fighting style. She's very strong.

As he keeps trying to get the upper hand, he scowls. He wishes he could have a longer sword. That's what he's used to.]

Take this. [He hands her the torch he had been holding since it'll be easier to fight this creature if he can have both hands on the sword. Do you think we would be able to double team this? With your amazing skills, I think we would be able to defeat this foe of ours.

[As the creature tries to strike, Yusuke uses the sword as a guard.]

Right!

[She takes the torch. This creature looks a little more substantial, at least. As it lunges at Yusuke, she ducks past it and moves to flank, launching a forceful kick at its side that sends it skidding back a few yards. But in that direction, the flickering light outlines the hint of further beastly shapes in the shadows.]

More of them! Watch your back!

This is really quite the nuisance! Goemon!

[Yusuke wasn't sure if it would work but he thought he had felt Goemon's presence in the back of his mind. Once he calls for his persona, a large humanoid looking figure in stylized samurai gear appears. That was a surprise but he has no time.]

Mabufudyne!

[An ice attack goes towards the creatures coming towards Yusuke.]

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject