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

[ninjatortle]

[To be fair, this tortle is a long way from stacking up to the likes of Orly Skiffback.

They recognize a tiefling easily enough, even from their upside-down perspective, and it's definitely a welcome encounter. Can't be too far from home if they can at least identify the species of its inhabitants, right? Life is full of silver linings!]

It's not easy being round, friend. Don't worry, though, I'll have this sorted out soon enough! Just gotta... kick a little...

[Another fresh round of futile wobbling and rocking, limbs desperately trying and failing to make contact with the ground.]

Well... more than a little. But still, could be worse! Last time this happened, it was in a sewer gutter. Really don't recommend falling in one of those.

[devilstongue]

[ Thank you, Critters, for creating Orly Skiffback.

The tiefling in question makes a bit of a face at the sewer comment and shakes his head. ]

Eugh. Last time I was in a sewer, there were exploding rats and a teleporting spider. I can't imagine being stuck on my back too.

[ ...not that he didn't spend like every other fight unconscious.

Molly carefully steps around Eska and watches as they try to wiggle again. They didn't seem to get any purchase, which was understandable thanks to the shell. Glancing over at the wall, he then nods towards it. ]

Think you can push your legs against the wall and flip over? I could try to slide you towards it.

[ 'Try' being the word here. ]

[ninjatortle]

Good idea, friend. All I need is a point to brace myself against; don't hurt yourself trying, but I think if I get at the wall, I can definitely get upright again.

[They lift their head, squinting in the darkness, and flash a thumbs-up over Molly's way. At least he's taking this in stride. Most people wouldn't dare get close to a giant clawed thing that was flailing around in a dark spooky dungeon corridor. Come to think of it... huh. Wandering a mysterious labyrinth, covered in scars, willing to try to budge a massive turtle on his own... this ain't the average tiefling, is he?]

Are you... the adventuring type, maybe? Can't imagine what else would bring someone to a place like this, let alone a damp cave full of exploding rats. I haven't been in many sewers, but it kind of seems like they're magnets for things that want to eat people, aren't they?

[devilstongue]

Alright, let's give it a try.

[ It's as an good idea as any, and Molly pushes his shoulder against the shell and starts pushing with all his not-so impressive might.

As a tiefling, he's quite aware of people not quite understanding (read: fearing) the different-looking, and considering he spent the first years of his life with a demon toad in his weird circus family, a sapient turtle is small potatoes.

Eska's question makes him chuckle slightly between the grunts of pushing. ]

You could say that. Not that I had much choice in coming down here, but at least it isn't full of shit.

[ninjatortle]

Don't jinx it. We haven't explored the whole thing yet.

[It was the slight downward slope of the floor here that got Eska stuck in this position in the first place, but the silver lining of the situation is that there's enough incline to help Molly's pushes out. He may not be the buffest adventurer in town, but it's still juuuust enough to get Eska the momentum they need.

Their shell scrapes against the stone as they move, just a bit, and there's a triumphant click as those big blunt footclaws hit the wall. Eska lets out a triumphant whoop and kicks out as hard as those stout, bulky limbs will let them. Their head vanishes briefly into their shell as it hits the ground. For a precarious second, it stays upright, legs and tail sticking out in the air like the world's weirdest abstract sculpture. Then, with a thunderous "clonk," their plastron hits the floor. A bit of dust and gravel falls from the ceiling as a half-ton of turt impacting the dungeon reverberates and rumbles through the halls.

Then, like nothing absurd has just happened, Eska pops back up onto their feet, beak open in a bright, sunny smile and one of those peculiar webbed hands held out.]

Whew, that's loads better! I really owe you one, buddy. Name's Eska, what's yours?

[devilstongue]

Ugh, you're right.

[ Foot-in-mouth was more Beau's thing, but that was definitely a jinx.

Molly is pleased to see that his straining and huffing actually got something done, and when they reach the wall he gets out of dodge from the tortle so he's not accidentally squished.

Not the way he wanted to go. Again.

Still, when they finally manage to stand after some dangerous balancing and right themselves, the sound is loud enough to echo through the corridor. If nobody had heard them yet, they sure would have now.

They'll have to be on their guard. ]

Mollymauk Tealeaf, Molly to my friends. It's very nice to meet you, Eska.

[ He takes their hand, curious to see what it felt like. ]

[ninjatortle]

[A tortle mitt is definitely very different from the average humanoid hand, that's for sure. It makes for a strange contrast of hard and soft; the massive, pointed claws that curl carefully over his hand are rock-solid, but the soft webs between their fingers and the leathery palm itself are surprisingly smooth and yielding. Above all, their grip, though maybe not as warm as a mammalian hand might have been, is exceedingly gentle; they cradle his hand in both of theirs like he's handing them a gift.]

Pleasure's all mine. I really needed to see a friendly face right about now. Life's tough when you're far, far away from the Eyes of Night and Day, you know? I've been down here a while, and I think I'm getting even farther underground than I was before.

[They've been saved from the very worst of it - the prospect of just being stuck immobile on their back forever - but the two of them aren't out of the woods just yet, right? Getting on their feet took a lot of noise and effort, and not everything down here is as friendly as Mollymauk. If they can't find a way out... well, let's just not think about that. Let's focus on literally anything but how stale the air is and how close the walls are and how far away the sun is!!]