TEST DRIVE MEME ( 021 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #21

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.

In conjunction with our monthly Test Drive Meme, Reserves are now open! Applications will open on March 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.

Come to Ink Of It
Mu is a strange land, and one that seems to take a conscious interest in the activities conducted upon the waking world. This month, its fixation takes an almost childish delight in emulating the ink-spattered wars and hazing that have occured on Ensō's shores - which is to say, Mu would absolutely enjoy a charming little game of Splatoon.

When you wake, it's in a labyrinth of soft, stonelike material that manages to be the rough consistency of foam. If you take the time to inspect it, you'll discover that it's as good at cushioning blows as it is serving as adequate cover...and it appears to have been shaped into plenty of buildings and barricades, threaded throughout the cavernous room in which you've found yourself. In fact, the whole place looks very much like a battlefield of some kind. In case you didn't get the picture, the paint gun in your hands should give you an inkling. Colors may be up to personal preference, but the rules are simple - solo, in a team, or as a double agent, your goal is to paint the town red, or blue, or purple, until victory is tasted in the form of aesthetic domination.

Do keep in mind, however, that battle cries may be a double-edged sword in this scenario. Unless you wanted green teeth.

I AM THE SHADOW, THE TRUE

-looks at smudged writing on hand-

...SHELF

What's more trouble than the true manifestation of all your darkest fears, desires, and secrets? The manifestation of all of the above that's just - not very well-made. In order for a shadow, a true self, to appear, one really should know themself somewhat consciously. Of course, this also applies true to the world in which they're standing; an effort Mu is willing to make, but not quite hitting the mark.

And by "not quite hitting the mark," we mean egregiously. "Shadows" are an off-brand simulation of what one might expect during a typical shadow event, though their attempts at acting like the character they should be are closer to emulating the opposite. Whether based upon a looser definition of canon, a fanon-style iteration of what your character might have been in worse hands, or simply going in a direction that veers into the territory of edgy Harry Potter OCs, your "Shadow" is here, and ready to be a nuisance.

Unlike ordinary Shadows, a "Shadow" cannot be accepted and dissipate as one would hope. Respite from these garish versions of who you really are will come only upon waking. So until then, enjoy attempting to explain just what, precisely, is dogging your every step, and probably refusing to shut up all the while. Though granted, if they share any of your powers - grossly magnified or otherwise - you might be grappling with them in far more ways than one.

A Bug's Eye View
The lush, verdant shores and the peaceful population of newly-arrived island of Cahypdo have been noticeably present on the minds of the islanders lately. Mu has shifted to reflect those thoughts, but as with many things Mu reflects, things have become a little...skewed. For, you see, the native inhabitants of Cahypdo are the Roaka, and as tree-people, they tower over much of the current inhabitants. They range from six to twelve feet in height, generally, but it seems that their heights have left a....very marked impression. The Roaka certainly tower over you now, even more than before - but so does everything else. Wherever you find yourself in the verdant, fertile valley that houses much of Cahypdo's plantlife - whether it's rich jungles or well-tended farmland - you'll be met with the same undeniable height difference.

Trees are dizzying heights to be scaled the same way a mountain might. Blades of grass and colourful flowers you might once have trodden on without a second thought are like a forest unto themselves. And the fields of crops you might have known from the waking world, like sweetcorn, peas, and tomatoes? Even a single ear of corn or a solitary tomato is now a much, much larger obstacle.

Just pray you don't run into any of the native creatures here, as even ordinary beasts can become potential dangers when they're all the size of giants relative to you, and can stamp you to jelly without so much as a second glance. Snaplings might regard you as a tasty little snack, tigerlilies might think you make for a fun little toy, and worst of all, the native Cahypdo entities known as hydrac, warped hybrids of sharks and dragons, might very well decide that you'd be a fine addition to their hoards.

There's a lot to look out for, when you're this small and the world is this big.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[sealedsibling]

[Not a spot on her, whipping away far too fast on a thread of silk and hopping to a ledge to get a good look, or try to get one anyway, of the being that just tried to blast her with purple.

Good luck with that, looks like they were just as fast on their feet as she was. Clumsy, to fling themselves into a wall, but considering how quickly they'd gotten to their feet, it didn't look like it hampered them much at all.

Definitely worth not underestimating.

Globs of purple fly past her face and she's off and away again, taking the high ground as she tries to pepper her nameless opponent with red.

Shoot at her, will they?]

[hyperlit]

[Red sprays pepper at their cloak - but their cloak is already red check and mate. Still, the Drifter is always one to appreciate a challenge. Their shots miss, which means they'll just have to try harder. They try to match her route, even if they're stuck on the ground, firing into the air with relative accuracy.]

[But their shots aren't perfect; they're unaccustomed to firing upon someone who is as fast as they, and perhaps even more agile.]

[They're not about to just give up, though. Not for anything.]

[sealedsibling]

[Well she can't tolerate a single spot on her, everyone's going to know she got hit. White, red and black? Purple's going to show up like a neon sign.

She'll clash.

But also definitely will be obviously the loser and that's just unacceptable.

They may not have perfect accuracy, but they're certainly accurate enough; she's getting quite the workout up there, diving under, dodging over, purple spattering the wall mere seconds behind her as she paints the street below her. No good trying to aim right at them, was what she was quickly learning. No, no, they're far too fast for that, it was honestly quite impressive.

Try then, a few steps before.

That hail of red's getting budged up a few feet or so, look out.]

[hyperlit]

[Again, the Drifter goes sliding, this time skidding through a film of red ink that sends them skidding into another wall with an almost comical thud. But again, the blow hardly seems to register. They get up, shake their hand, slip slightly on the film of ink that still greases the floor, and then start trying to track her again. Aiming where she's going to be might be difficult...]

[But there's no reason that, if she's going to use their weapon, they shouldn't too.]

[The Drifter's hard light blade springs to life with a bright cyan hum in one hand, their gun still held at the ready in the other.]

[sealedsibling]

[The needle was excellent for getting around, using the weapon to simply hookshot from roof to far flung roof.

The introduction of the strangers weapon was an interesting turn of events.

Hanging from her weapon, braced against a wall, she took a moment to take aim, squeezing off a volley of shots from her perch.

No need to make this a close quarters affair.]

[hyperlit]

[Wielding two weapons simultaneously makes dodging a bit of a difficult game. They're spattered a fair amount with reddish ink but squint through the pink-misted haze of it regardless, bolting forward, forward, and then - jumping high enough to mimic Hornet's current position.]

[Namely: they slam their blade into the soft wall and use it to hold themself in place while they fire upon her in turn.]

[sealedsibling]

[Now, that was very impressive. Fast paced as this little battle was, she could still take a moment, if only internally, to appreciate that level of skill.

Nice jump.

Compliments for later though, the purple blast would fire into very recently vacated space, the very barest edges of her cloak now misted purple. At this rate she might start developing a sheen of paint similar to theirs.

Onwards and away, trying to gain more space between herself and them in order to actually turn and fire, way too close right now. She can't afford to waste precious seconds when it was clear, they weren't about to spare her any time here.

Frankly, she'd be insulted if it was anything less.]

[hyperlit]

[They can't maintain this forever, naturally. They're not like Hornet; they are unaccustomed to being as aerodynamic, scaling walls, using their weapon as a lever to launch themself into the air.]

[But they can try to be inventive, and use the setting to their advantage. If she will take to the air as often as she does, then so will they. And so they employ their limited upper body strength, hook one arm around the upper boundary of the short wall, and rips their blade from the stonelike surface in the same moment that they scramble up to try and balance precariously on the thin strip of wall. Given that most of the walls of this battlefield are only about two thirds the height of the room, it means that there's room to balance at the tops, if needed.]

[There isn't much space for maneuverability, but it means that they're level with her, in a manner of speaking.]

[They start moving swiftly along the top of the wall, in search of their speedy quarry.]

[sealedsibling]

[Very, very interesting. Hey, work with what you had, there was a lot to be said for someone who could put their imagination to constructive use.

Up on her level now, the battle had officially entered a sort of entirely new arena. The way she flitted and darted about would certainly give a decent illusion of flight, though currently perched upon a nearby wall to rapidly open fire upon her target.

Red superiority, oh worthy foe! She'd be a goddamn liar if she were to claim this wasn't actually, now, very fun.]

[hyperlit]

[The next step is limiting her movement. The Drifter stops aiming for Hornet directly altogether; instead, they start shooting for her needle and thread. Even if they miss, if they can manage to highlight the thread in bright purple, they'll be able to track where it's going to end up the next time she throws it, surely.]

[The entirety of this competition is innately ridiculous, but that's never stopped the Drifter from taking it seriously regardless. They put their all into everything they do. It is their nature.]

[sealedsibling]

[Initially, this choice made no sense to her. Only once did she try to dodge a hit that would never land, jerking back only to clue in on the fact that she'd not been the target to begin with.

Her needle and thread...? What gain was there to be had in highlighting that?

It was only when she hurled her needle again, and leapt into the air once more, that the line of purple from her needle to her hand started to hint at what the idea might be.

Oh. Well yes, if they couldn't track her potential motions before...

They sure could now.

Yes this competition was quite silly, and she had been (and still was) taking it quite seriously. Winning was still the ultimate goal.

But short of the Knight, no one else had ever actually been able to keep up with her this well, not even The Hunter in Greenpath. The challenge was invigorating. She'd have to find a method of keeping her movements unpredictable now.

Into a building then! Right through the window, if they wanted to limit her movement, then surely you couldn't get any more limited than inside a building, right?]

[hyperlit]

[They can track her movements, but she seems wise to their methods - or at least, she thinks quickly. They can value this in an opponent. When she goes streaking through the window of a building, that only stops them for an instant before they spring from their perch on top of the wall and try to make the leap to the sill of their own accord.]

[They overshoot, slam into the floor in the building's center instead, but they're up again just as fast. A showdown in a confined space is seldom ever a good thing, particularly for a creature such as they: fragile and fast, but unable to take too many hits.]

[But as they play, always, to win, one can never win without risk.]

[Sword in one hand and gun in the other, the Drifter starts scouring the vicinity for their target. Come out, then!]

[sealedsibling]

[They obviously had a bit of an issue with precision. She'd noted well the habit of overshooting the target. Fast, agile, quick thinking...

But imprecise. A good thing to keep in mind.

She'd no intention of utilizing her needle in more deadly combat, as seriously as she'd chosen to take this. It was clear this was intended to be a game.

That might yet change, if her opponent thought it necessary to use theirs. Again, it'd been quite a while since she'd engaged in combat with an equal, a decent bit of fencing sounded entertaining to her.

For now though...

A scuffle to the left, and a flash of red, red vanishing into the next room... And red in the form of a very sneaky double barreled blast right at her opponent. Think fast!]

[hyperlit]

[They fall for it. They're too intent on pursuing their quarry to abandon ship now, and get a faceful of red for their efforts. They shut their eyes in time to keep from being blinded by the scarlet spray, but the visible strip of their blue skin is now highlighted in vibrant crimson.]

[They fire off wildly in retaliation, letting loose a long stream of purple ink in the hopes that they might drive off whoever might attempt to take advantage of their disorientation.]

[The Drifter's sword, at least, fizzles off. This combat is to be undergone in good fun - not to the death.]

[sealedsibling]

[They certainly seem more scarlet than anything else now, don't they?

The long stream of purple paint does it's job; she quickly retreats into another room, the paint having spattered against the upper edges of her cloak now, a drop or two now staining her face.

As was to be expected... it's impossible to hide, purple's quite brilliant against white but at this point, it's something she's quite capable of ignoring.

Much too caught up in the moment.

At every moment she can manage to get a shot in though, she will be, peppering the area in short blasts before ducking back behind the doorway again, pumping the gun rapidly and listening for movement.]

[hyperlit]

[Stay still.]

[The Drifter isn't capable of vocalizing frustration or excitement. They're not capable of vocalizing anything, save the short, breathy coughs that punctuate a savage bout of their symptoms. Still, their aggravation is probably beyond evident. They've stopped caring about dodging and evading the worst of what she has to offer, instead simply charging forward to pick her out in purple, if it's the last thing they do.]

[It might be. Their consideration for their own well-being, in regards to inking and otherwise, is rapidly devolving the longer this ridiculous contest continues.]