aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 021 )

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yeah, Asriel's not convinced.]

Um, yeah. You could have.

[Asriel's still confused by something, although he's sure the answer will just be another weird story.] Why do you keep talking like you're not a human?

I'm a demon.

[So it's not a weird story so much as three weird words, but they imply some things!]

[Oh. He was used to people calling themselves demons. So he says, automatically, with no emotion to it whatsoever:] You're not a demon. You're a good person.

[Meanwhile, the crab decides it's getting bored with this and scuttles off, away from these weirdos.]

I like thinking they're not mutually exclusive.

[Michael sits up on his heels, watching the crab scuttle off. He can't change what he is, after all. He's talked to Chidi about things like that before - is he inherently evil? What would that mean? But Chidi doesn't remember those conversations now, so Michael doesn't have them with anyone anymore.

Being called a good person would probably mean a lot to him. If it came from someone who actually like, even knew his name or anything.]

Anyway, you've only just met me.

I know that. It's what I'm supposed to say when people tell me they're demons. I had a friend who said the same thing - they were a human too, like you, but they called themself a demon. And, just like them, you're not literally a demon.

[He feels awkward now. He used to be better at this. Maybe his past self would have been like "There's no way you're a demon! You've been so nice to me! Let's be friends!" even though this human really hasn't been enough for him to say any of that.]

So, uh, yeah.

[Michael turns to frown quizzically at the goat boy. Seems like there's a lot of weird baggage there.]

I'm speaking very literally. I don't know how to be any more direct about this.

[Asriel blinks.] You're literally a demon?

I thought that was just a metaphor. So you're like... a monster, but the bad kind? An evil creature that only destroys things? You don't seem that evil to me...

[He thinks he knows very well what it means to be truly evil, after all. And this ~~human~~ demon isn't anything like him.

But he'd be lying if he wasn't a little nervous now.]

Wish I could say that was racist, but you have a point...

[Michael's not fond of any other demons. And maybe that's wrong of him - he was one of them, after all, so surely they're not incapable of being better?

But he knows them. They won't try.]

I - I'm a human advocate. I guess I'm the human advocate. [boy he hates that!] The angels weren't getting anything done, so.

["Racist." That was a word Chara used sometimes, sarcastically - like when he told them humans looked weird and they replied "That's racist, Asriel." He still wasn't sure entirely what it meant - some kind of prejudice against somebody?]

So you... advocate for humans?

[Something clicks.] Oh! Like an ambassador?

...sure.

[He likes that word a little better than the truth, which is somewhere between "lawyer with zero experience" and "researcher with no idea what he's doing".]

Yeah. I'm working with my human friends to try making the human afterlife a little less...evil.

I have a friend who's an ambassador, but for humans and monsters. I mentioned them earlier... but I guess you could say they're trying to make the human world a little less evil for us.

[He smiles.] So I was right. When you said you were literally a demon, I thought you meant you were evil and hurt people... but you seem like a good person. And, if you're anything like my friend, then you are a good person.

...Wait. The human afterlife? [Chara didn't really seem to believe in that stuff.] That's real?

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 021 )

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