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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 020 )
Test Drive Meme #20
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.
Due to the shortness of the month, both Reserves AND Applications will open on February 17th!
Two important notes:

Due to the shortness of the month, both Reserves AND Applications will open on February 17th!
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.

Hell's Fury Burns the Heart
Back in December, the island of Maati treated travelers to unique Trials, tailored to their own unique sins and vices. Of the seven possible trials for adventurers to undergo, the Trial of the Forgiving, the trial laser-focused to exploit those most predisposed to be wrathful and violent, was among the simplest. Unlike the other trials, there were very few puzzles and mazes. The Trial of the Forgiving was largely, in essence, a trial of temptation.
This Trial takes the shape of a stone-walled spiral, with trial-goers starting at the outermost point and working their way steadily to the exit at the center. The torches lining the hall as it stretches infinitely onward paints the walls with a warm amber tint, giving the entire place a much more welcoming ambiance than will eventually become evident.
Your task is simple: make it to the end in one piece. All you have to do is withstand the constant harassment from the very, very familiar faces that will stalk you throughout the entirety of this gauntlet. Each specter that appears will be one with which you hold a significant grievance - be it a personal antagonist, a long-standing nemesis, a foe you once faced, or even yourself, if your self-hatred runs that deep.

They want you to attack them. They want you to lash out. In part because all damage you attempt to deal to them will be rebounded back onto you - and whoever might be accompanying you - instead. A poorly-timed attack or well-placed insult might very well be enough to one-shot you, or your companions, into oblivion.
It's a good thing you have, potentially, innumerable chances. Every time you're struck down, you'll simply reappear at the very start of the Trial...and have to start making your way to the end all over again.
The Weakest Link
Once again, Mu has reformatted one of Maati's Trials for its own purposes. This one is based off of the Trial of the Trusting, which focused on building bonds and connections between its victi - er, between its trial-goers. For those prone to paranoia, distrust, or simply being emotionally closed off, this would be the challenge laid out to them: a sequence of puzzles and traps requiring teamwork and faith in one another, at least in the situational sense.
Fortunately - or, perhaps, unfortunately - things here are going to be a little simpler, though you'll still be waking in a tunnel lined with dark green stone, intermittently lit by the odd, irregularly spaced torch. This Trial will make its intentions quite clear from the beginning, for, you see, you're going to be waking up with a friend.
One that happens to be chained, that is. To you.

The path that is open to the pair of you is fairly linear. Its difficulty largely stems from the back that you'll be traversing it as a permanently linked pair. Obstacles present will always be surmountable as a team - switches and levers that might involve two people to reach, doors that require dual switches or buttons to be held down, puzzles that require passing of information between the both of you to expedite progress, and so on. There's also the matter of the Rarriers - ogre-like creatures of large stature and a territorial nature. Those under the keen gaze of a Rarrier will find them impossible to attack; their front hide is as tough as steel, and attacks tend to simply glance off. Their backs and sides are of a much more vulnerable nature, however. If only you could reach...or get someone else to do it for you.
Assuming you're not both sick of each other by the time you reach the exit, you'll be rewarded with the breaking of the cuffs that connect you, symbolizing that a friendship forged is stronger than any iron! Though, by the end...maybe "friendship" isn't the word we'd use.
Well Met
This place is hot, dry, and arid - but at least it's brightly lit! The peach-colored swell of dunes seems to be limitless, in nearly every direction, with the stretch of sand fading seemingly infinitely into the dark, purple line of the horizon. The sun overhead is relentless and sweltering; if you're the sort of person who needs to self-regulate, temperature wise, you might be in for a bit of a problem the longer you're stuck out here. Could be a rough time.
Fortunately for you, there's water. Very nearby, in fact. It's the only deviation from the sea of sand: a dark, circular blot that looks very, very much like a water well. As the only landmark in the vicinity, it seems at the very least worth checking out, right? The closer you get, the less it seems like it might be a mirage, or some other elaborate ruse. It looks like a perfectly normal, unassuming well.

Well mimics are native to the island of Monsun, and they're...well, they're exactly what they sound like. They favor dry, desert-like environments, and hunt by luring travelers and animals alike to the temptingly fresh waters they hold. Mu has been helpful enough to recreate one in vivid detail, just for you.
These creatures are largely tube-shaped animals, buried deep in the sandy earth. They suction fresh water from deep within the earth and hold it in the lowermost parts of themselves. The simple construct that travelers see - the circular, stone shape with the rope and bucket for hauling water - is, in fact, their mouth, carefully adapted to camouflage itself into something that seems perfectly serviceable. Once travelers attempt to grab hold of the rope or bucket, or even the rim of the well itself, they'll discover that the surfaces have all been slicked with a sticky substance that may very well take off a layer of your skin if you attempt to tear away without taking great care.
Once the well mimic has entrapped its prey, the "well" sprouts teeth around its stone rim, lining its rocky gullet all the way to the bottom, as well as a fat red tongue. Rope-like tentacles whip out to seize whatever poor soul has found themselves ensnared. If you don't manage to get free in time, you'll learn just how it feels to be digested over a period of twenty-four hours while your body is broken down into a squishy, delicious mulch for the mimic's consumption.
The best way to kill these creatures is by tricking it into swallowing something lethal - fire, poison, sharp weapons, whatever you have on hand. Well mimics are quite blind and hunt purely by touch, and will seize whatever touches them without any knowledge of what it is. And once it has one victim in hand, it's quite incapable of grabbing hold of another.
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya | My Hero Academia
[Izuku isn't exactly the kind of person who has trouble trusting others. Really, unless someone does or says something suspicious, he's likely to assume trustworthiness until proven otherwise.
Situations, on the other hand? Those he'll distrust like innocent lives depend on it. Even dreams - especially lucid ones that involve feeling like he blinked and went from class to some kind of strange, overly-theatrical villain plot. The whole thing is just weird enough that he'd almost be willing to buy this as the mysterious joint training lesson if the person he was chained to wasn't a total stranger.
But since this is a stranger, he has more important concerns than the exact details of what's happening, at least for the moment. He can worry about "actual dream vs remote-kidnapping-via-teleportation Quirk" later.]
Hey. [He turns to give his full attention to his partner-in-chains.] Are you alright?
[Dream or not, he's got a job to do.]
no subject
The Knight observes the much smaller cuff around their much smaller hand with mild interest. It's not the chains they've seen before, and they're in a dream, so it's probably fine.
At the sound of Izuku's voice, they tilt their head and look up at him, and then give him a tiny wave.
..Wait, wait, no, they know this one. This doesn't require sign language.
After a moment's pause, they give him as enthusiastic a thumbs up as they can manage. Yes, they're fine. ]
no subject
[Thumps up is good! And even more of a relief than normal, a dream about having to provide first aid is never a good dream and he really doesn't want to be having a failed rescue nightmare right now.
Having a clearly nonhuman partner doesn't really throw Izuku off. It's just someone with an particularly extreme heteromorphic Quirk, or at least a dream about someone who looks that way. Dreams are funny like that. So he just crouches down to get closer to their level, giving them his best heroic smile.]
I'm Deku. I'm gonna make sure we get out of here and stay alright, okay?
[He holds out his hand, more as an offer of reassurance than anything. He's not sure how much they need it, or if this sort of thing even makes them feel better, but it can't hurt to try, right? Right.]
no subject
He holds out his hand, and they put their much smaller hand into it. After a moment's thought, they clasp his hand in both of theirs and pat gently.
An inquisitive little head tilt as they point to him. Is he all right, too? ]
no subject
He's not sure what to make of the pointing, though. He tilts his head right back, pointing to himself without thinking. At least he can tell they're trying to ask something. Probably?]
You, um...want to know something about me?
[He can't imagine what, though. He doesn't think they're asking for a name, at least, since he did just introduce himself...]
no subject
Um, yes, I'm fine. Except for, you know, this.
[He lifted his arm to show of the chain linking them, the movement causing the metal links to rattle.]
Do you know how we get out of here?
no subject
Still, Izuku's glad he's okay. He's ready to really get into Hero Mode when the question drops, and it throws him off his game a little bit. He...probably should have looked around more, shouldn't he? Oh god how badly has he messed up.]
Uh... [He can't quite stop his uncertainty from showing on his face, but he squashes it down as fast as he can. He can salvage this! Remember the provisional exam!] Not yet, but I'll figure it out! I'll make sure we both get out of here okay.
[Izuku stands up straighter and tries for a proper heroic smile, doing his best to exude all the confidence he...doesn't really have all that much of, at the moment. Man, even in his dreams being a hero is hard.]
no subject
Starflight nodded slowly. He wasn't surprised that his small companion didn't know the way out, but it would have been nice. He took a deep, steadying breath.]
Well, I guess the only way to go is deeper into the cave. And hopefully there's nothing really dangerous in there. Hopefully. If we're really lucky.
[He did not sound convinced of that last part. Starflight had never been lucky in his entire life. The dragon went to take a step forward , but the chain was taut before he finished the step. He looked down at it puzzling, then at Izuku, whose arms were definitely too short. He sighd again, holding his arm up awkwardly., his silver speckled wings flared slightly for balance.]
Why don't you go first. That will probably be easier.
no subject
Sure. [He was planning to try being in front anyway, to give him a better chance of getting in the way of any traps or villains lurking about. But as he's moving into what he hopes is a position that will make it less awkward for Starflight to walk, he pauses, eyeing the chain. He doubts it will work, but...] Actually, wait. Let me try something first.
[He takes the chain in both hands, wrapping sections of it around his fingers for a better grip, and that's the only warning Starflight gets before his body lights up with green lightning and he yanks-
-and immdiately yelps and drops both the chain and One for All, shaking his right hand with a soft hiss. Internal Notes, chain is too strong for 8% Full Cowl and also oh god his right fingers do not bend that way anymore.]
no subject
WHAT WAS THAT?! Was that you?! Since when can scavengers use magic? Because I have a read a lot of scrolls on scavengers and none of them mentioned scavengers being able to shoot lightening and I feel that is a PRETTY SIGNIFICANT OMISSION!!
[Starflight took a shaky breath to try and calm his racing heart, finally noticing Izuku's apparent pain.]
Is your paw alright? That wasn't from the lightening, was it?
no subject
He raises his hands placatingly. Time for damage control.]
Oh- I'm fine! The chain hurt my hand a bit when I tried to break it, that's all. I promise!
[Deep breaths. Get that smile back on. He's got this.]
The, uh, lighting is harmless. It's not real electricity, or...or magic. It's just the energy from my Quirk. I think.
no subject
I don't know if trying to break the chain is a good idea, especially if it just hurt you to try. It would be even riskier if I tried melting it, which I probably can't even do by myself, anyway. Last time it took me and Sunny working together to melt an iron chain and she's... not here.
[He tilted his head to one side, giving Izuku a curious look.]
And what's a "quirk"? Why would it shoot lightening like that? It's not something all scavengers can do, is it?
Re: Izuku "Deku" Midoriya | My Hero Academia
Tsunami isn't thrilled that she's chained to a scavenger. A small scavenger who looks like the scrawniest scavenger to ever scavenge. At least she can understand what he's saying, though. That's weird, but it's a dream so she'll roll with it. ]
I'm fine.
[ A pause. ]
Where are we?
no subject
Hopefully she's not as bad as Kacchan.
...oh god he imagined that happening and now he can't stop ABORT THOUGHT PROCESS--]
I-I don't know. Some kind of underground tunnel network?
[Dark tunnels and rooms big enough to fit a dragon would be kind of hard to hide in a building, after all.]
no subject
[ Grumble. This must be a dream or something if she's talking to a scavenger. She jerks at her chain and starts moving down the tunnel, heedless of Izuku's comfort. ]
Try and keep up, okay?