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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[Try not to be surprised, Chara, because what peeks over the cliff edge is probably not what you expected: an elongated snout patterned all over with green stripes, a pair of gold eyes bisected by a thick slash of black, a startlingly long wrinkly neck. Your saviour, apparently, is some kind of swamp muppet.

It starts waving.]

Oh! Hello!! I'm sorry, but I can't find any of my stuff - I have no idea where my rope went! But don't worry, I won't leave you behind! I can go look for some vines, or... gosh, I could just climb down there to you, if you'd like! If you're scared, don't worry, I can get you to safety!

[The waving stops, and Eska lowers an outstretched hand. It's a bit too stubby to actually reach down there, and it might not actually be that reassuring to be holding out a big ol' webby mitt that's roughly the size of Chara's head, if you include the monstrous claws.

But they know that a kid would probably be super exhausted by a climb of this size, and the water must be pretty scary to boot! It's worth it to go the extra mile to try and project an aura of safety. Is there anything worse than knowing you need help deep down, but being scared that asking for it could be dangerous?]

[Suprised? Psh. Who do you think they are? Chara Dreemurr has never been remotely phased by anything in their entire life. They take this like a champ, they don't even blink. They

Are a little surprised. Visibly, at least, it only lasts a moment. So Gerson has relatives out in the multiverse- okay. Whatever. They clearly haven't been recognized, so Chara can focus on bigger problems.]

I am hardly afraid. [Is the first, most important retort to give, obviously. They shift, fingers white-knuckled as they clutch at the rockface for ~~dear~~ life. The lip their feet have found purchase on is the true savior, however- the muscles in their arms are red-hot jelly by this point, telling enough as to how well trying to move is going to go.]

...But I am stuck.

[Boy it sucks to be a gremlin with like, zero body strength.]

Not for long!

[Okay, vines would probably take too long. They're pretty gifted at navigating the wilderness, as all tortles are, but this is deeply unfamiliar territory, and they don't see any reason to force this kid to keep clinging on any longer than is strictly necessary.]

Please don't be alarmed, but I'm about to make some very sudden moves. Don't sweat it, I'm used to falling!

[And with that chipper announcement, Eska leaps off the cliff.]

[It's cool, they've done this before. Mostly with wizard towers. Those enormous claws slam into the rock, and dust and shale fly as they carve furrows into the stone, arms tight with exertion as 500 pounds of momentum are dragged from free-fall to a controlled descent. They clamber down with more agility than a turtle really should be capable of, stopping with their shell positioned just to the left of Chara's precarious foothold.]

Do you feel secure hitching a ride? You can just grab on to the rim of my shell and make yourself comfy, and I'll get you onto solid ground in no time! Or, if you'd prefer, I could try to carry you with one of these big ol' flippers. You've been really courageous to get this far, so I think you deserve to sit back and put your feet up!

[Grudgingly, Chara has to admit-- that was pretty cool. To themself. Internally. The turtle never needs to know, especially when their claws are making a sound akin to nails dragging across a chalkboard as they gouge out chunks of rock on their way down- only five times louder, with little flecks of broken shrapnel raining down on the child's head.

Aside from that? Very impressive. Chara blinks down at them, torn on whether or not they should be incredibly offended by all of-- whatever the hell this is. It probably isn't wise to piss off the person saving your life, even if foregoing the reward of calling them out for babying you.]

I will manage, thank you. [That doesn't mean they won't sound as haughty as possible whilst edging closer, trying to gauge the safest way to go about this. One foot on, then the other, then...crouch? Let go? Rely on themself to have some balance and not immediately fall to their death?

They have no idea. Chara's got neither monkhood nor experience with wizard towers behind them, so they'll just-- wing it. Taking a deep breath, they start with one foot, arms shaking from the strain as they lift it up, place it on Eska's shell, put their weight back on it...lift... their other foot-

Add immediately beef it, shoe skidding off the surface of Eska's shell as Chara goes cartwheeling down to the churning waters below. Bye Eska. Bye Felicia. This dream was stupid anyway.]

Edited 2019-01-28 13:56 (UTC)

[That's not quite what happens. They do slip, hower, scrambling to catch themself as they collide with Eska's shell much more quickly than intended. Their chin hits the upper lip with a hard thunk-- at which point, Eska may notice their new cargo kind of- smells? Not like B.O, but

Like ozone. As soon as Chara's actually got a grip on their new purchase, they also start to laugh

so that's nice!]

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 019 )

A BLESSED MIRACLE: THE CHANCE TO THREAD WITH BIRD AGAIN

A BLESSED MIRACLE: MY SNAP, THEY RETURNETH

A BLESSED MIRACLE: BIRD'S EXISTENCE IN GENERAL

MEET ME AT DENNYS FOR BREAKFAST ON ME SCRUB

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