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

[That... was... odd.

As far as he can tell, nothing was placed in his own hand. Is it malfunctioning? Is that why it's not talking, not even in beeps? Horatio looks at his palm briefly (just in case) before standing back up.

Direct approach can't hurt.]

Are you trying to show me something?

[He wishes he still had the transmitter.]

[ Oh. Apparently that didn't come out right, either. They pace in a circle for a little bit, trying to figure out a way to communicate their intentions, before sticking the torch in the ground and resorting to something more understandable.

They draw the sword and use it to scratch busily on the floor. They have to work hard to get it to stick, because this is a far cry from the easy sharpness of their nail, but they're determined.

Then, they step back, letting the flame illuminate their words. ]

sorry
cannot talk
nice to meet you though

Oh.

[Now he feels silly for forcing the issue.]

Nice to meet you too. I'm Horatio--

[And for the first time ever in his memory, he falters. After all, he can't, in truth, call himself "Nullbuilt," can he? But is he really willing to admit the truth to a complete stranger, in a situation like this, without knowing what it might mean to them?

In the end, he falls back on old habits, even if it sparks a strange feeling of guilt somewhere within his shell.]

--Horatio Nullbuilt, version five. Would you be able talk if I could find you a new voice synthesizer?

[There's something comforting in having something to fix.]

[ Nullbuilt. A word he hesitated on, and a word they don't recognise. It probably means something important, then.

The offer is...kind. It comes from a place of warmth. They appreciate it. But... ]

made without voice
cannot be fixed

[ They don't know, truly, if they could ever be given a voice, or what that would sound like. But time and time again, they have tried. Cracking the smooth mask only brings pain and, eventually, death. ]

do not worry
used to it

[How strange. Designed to receive information but not communicate it, and yet sophisticated enough to find alternate methods. A creation smarter than its creators.

He's not sure if he's ever encountered this before. Where he was before this, all he knew was entropy.

Horatio acknowledges and respects the answer he's given, even if he doesn't quite believe it. In the back of his mind, a process starts up, writing a to-do list: find or make a voice box. But that's for later.]

Do you have a name?

my name is knight

[ They adjust the sword in their hands; they grasp the hilt with both hands, one hand over another, pointing it downwards until it touches the ground. An imitation of a statue they'd seen in the past, long ago now.

It clearly means something significant to them, at least.

Introductions seem to be over, so they get down to important business. ]

are you lost here ?

[Knight... what?]

You don't have a fabrinymic? Who created you?

[Someone who was a b'sodding idiot who couldn't even give him a voice, apparently. Horatio could have done better. He--

Well, maybe not. At least Knight has arms.

His actual question can wait for the moment.]

[ They give Horatio an even blanker look, if that's at all possible considering their face has no way of moving or expressing any emotion. They manage it somehow. ]

created by pale king
father [ By the way they scratch those names into the ground, they don't seem particularly happy about it, but it is what it is. ]

do not know what that other word you said was
unfamiliar

[It's amazing what one can do with context clues!

Horatio hasn't heard of a robot by either name, though that doesn't mean much. He hadn't heard of a lot of things before Metropol, and this is far beyond that.

Fatherbuilt? Kingbuilt? He supposes it doesn't matter. It means nothing to him either way, and it seems like Knight doesn't know much himself. Maybe he simply doesn't remember. Horatio can relate, after all.]

You asked if I was lost. Do you know your way around here?

[ They turn the odd lack of response over in their head. Clearly having a creator means something in a way they don't understand. Maybe they can ask later. ]

every maze has an end
better if we stay together and travel

[ So: no. But they'd rather travel in a group, than leave a stranger to fend for himself in the darkness all alone. ]

Fine.

[Hey, it's sensible enough.]

You lead the way. I don't want to step on you.

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

i'm going to cry

THEY'RE...TRYING....

it's not their fault he's an apocalypse hermit robot

they appreciate his willingness to be friendly at least!!

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