TEST DRIVE MEME ( 022 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #22

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 April 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.

To Dungeons Deep And Caverns Old
Caves are usually natural structures, though the one you find yourself within shows signs of manual influence. Brackets set into stones hold odd, glowing plants that illuminate the darkness with almost neon tones. Slightly sunken ceilings appear less threatening with the addition of great, wood beams to brace them upright, and traversing the more heavily inclined passages becomes far easier with the addition of roughly carved stairwells, worn smooth by the passage of many feet that have passed this way before you.

If it weren't for the way the ground tremors and rumbles underfoot, it would be a strange but otherwise pleasant scene. As it stands, that clamorous shaking only worsens the longer you stand here, rumbles like thunder vibrating through the stone in dense waves. An earthquake? A volcanic eruption?

...a cave-in? Regardless of the cause, that final option is becoming more likely to occur in your general vicinity, the longer these tremors continue. It's time to go - and quickly, before that option is lost to you entirely. To the left, or right? Up, or down? If you look up, if you really squint, a few shimmering rays of sunlight glimmer far, far above your head from a natural skylight, if you think you can survive whatever's happening on the surface. Or you can keep forging your way downward, deeper, and hope that there's a stable little alcove set somewhere in the stone where you can wait this whole thing out. There really are innumerable options in this labyrinthian underground - and what awaits you around the next corner could be your salvation or your downfall.

Your very long downfall. So watch your step.

What's My Age Again?
Last month, adventurers found themselves dealing with the aftermath of a volcanic eruption... and the odd, transformative effects the volcanic ash seemed to have upon them. Ever curious of what occurs in the waking world, Mu has once again sought to emulate this oddity, reshaping its visitors to fit the images of their past - or even their potential future. Waking up in your preteen body is the nightmare of many, but hardly the greatest oddity one might come across in a dream. Fifteen years younger, thirty years older - either way, you seem to be a tad displaced from who you are in the now. Those aware of this may find it something of a challenge, with vocal chords cracking for the first time in years, or creaking bones that don't move quite as fast as they used to. For others, however, nothing appears to be amiss at all; mentally or physically. Your memories may have leapt up to follow suit with these radical changes...or maybe you're an adult mind trying to cope with a toddler's body.

Perhaps this dream is precisely the chance you've been looking for. It's time to relive your childhood, or experience your golden years in peace. The calm, resort-like beachfront you find yourself upon will hinder neither. You could always go looking for answers - where you are, why this is happening to you - but there's no guarantee you'll be successful in locating any.

Maybe you'll get lucky, though, and find someone who believes you.

Worth A Thousand Words
The Chamber of Glyphs is a unique feature to LifeAftr, resting on the border between the waking world and Mu itself. An immense room of seemingly infinite length and height, every space, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, is occupied by images scratched into stone with chalk and charcoal.

The drawings themselves also appear to be- unique. Beams of light from a chalked-in sun mingle with illustrations raindrops to create a shimmering rainbow. Roughly drawn animals leap away from those who approach, startled out of stillness, and ancient battles play out in never-ending loops upon the floor. Everywhere one looks, drawings seem to shift upon the walls, disappearing and reappearing elsewhere, or mingling with images that had not been there prior. A basin of endless chalk sits next to a firepit in the center of the room, ripe for the inspired artist to take to whatever blank canvas is available in the architecture - and there is always space available. If you're bored of watching the charcoal rabbits leap away to hide in green, chalky grass, perhaps there's a drawing of your own that's ready to come to life, a permanent fixture to the walls about you.

Or not. Take care with just what you decide to draw, as some images may not be content staying glued to flat surfaces. Outliners are perhaps exactly what one would expect them to be, and exactly what they sound like: something that's both out of bounds and out of line. Rogue outlines of chalk, charcoal, and paint, they break away from the surface upon which they were initially spawned to shamble after the living with often awkward shambling. Very few have been given the gift of depth, a fact that leaves most paper thin and prone to crumpling into scribbled heaps.

Though not the greatest of threats, it's best not to let them touch you. Those without depth or dimension may be quite eager to steal yours - and once you find yourself drawn into the two-dimensional spaces across the walls and floor, returning to normal will prove near impossible.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

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[evergonnahaunt]

[Being addressed by an unfamiliar voice is startling. Nobody's actually talked to Ben except for Klaus in so long that he doesn't actually remember how new people work.]

Are. You can see me? [Wildly, Ben looks around. Klaus is still missing.] Why can you see me? Are you a medium too?

[sandsister]

[It's a bizarre reaction. Unexpected and the questions that follow are equally strange. There are very few people who don't know who she is at this point, but that's fine! It gives her a fun chance to explain it and she's always game for that.]

Of course I can see you-I'm an intoner. I'm not as good as One, but I can see pretty much anything.

[She steps away from another crumbling rock, heading towards him since he seems to be having a crisis. It'll be easier to protect him if he's beside her.]

Soooo why wouldn't I be able to see you? Oh! Are you a ghost?

[evergonnahaunt]

[Is he a ghost? What's the word for when you're a startlingly real manifestation of a person who can interact with objects and eat like a real person primarily due to your brother's powers?

. . . Knowing Klaus, the word is probably "ghost" so.]

Probably. [He doesn't know if being Literally Summoned by your brother changes the supernatural classification one falls into.] Usually only my brother can see me.

[sandsister]

[That sounds pretty lonely to her-something she wouldn't wish on another person. An ethereal spirit who can only be seen by one other, but-

It's better than being completely unheard. He has someone out there.]

Let's go look for your brother and my sisters too. Oh, and Cent! Bet they could all see you. Cent definitely will be able to and we'll get out of this place together. How's that sound?

[evergonnahaunt]

[Other people would probably comment on the name Cent, but the name One has already been thrown around and clearly there's powers involved so Cent must just be short for centum. At least that's what Ben assumes, because sometimes it's hard to remember other people don't just have numbers for names.]

Yeah. I'm - [Ben hesitates for a moment.] Six. They call me Ben.

[It's not his name, exactly, but it is a name people call him. Their father only ever called them by their numbers, but their mom - their mom was a robot, so Ben guesses that doesn't matter. Mom probably only called them by other names because their father thought it would make her seem more nuturing or something.

He's never asked why Five didn't have any other names. He's not sure he'd like the answer.]

[sandsister]

[That's a surprise. A numbered naming system is reserved for Intoners and this guy definitely doesn't look the part. Guess that's why they gave him a second name, once they realized their mistake and all.

The alternative-that they knew he was human prior-is almost too sad to think about. Definitely is, so-

She leans forward, holding up two figures in a mock peace sign.]

I'm Two. Just Two. Guess that makes me older than you, huh? I always wanted another sibling, but Five is the youngest one. Don't think there's Six running around. We're probably not related, but-

[It probably makes him the next runner up for it, though she doesn't say it aloud. All she does is tap a finger against the blade of her large sword's hilt and add-]

You can call me Aunt Two-how about that?

[evergonnahaunt]

[He doesn't remember what aunt means for a second, because the Hargreeves don't have, well, anybody but each other and sometimes they don't even have that. Sometimes, you die and your entire family falls apart because you were the only thing holding them together. Pogo is the closest thing they have to extended family and Pogo is a chimpanzee born of dubiously ethical at best genetic experimentation who can talk.

It's entirely possible that Reginald Hargreeves? Not qualified to be raising one child, let alone seven of them.]

Aunt Two. [He repeats it mostly to test out and it's . . . nice? Sometimes it's hard to tell emotions apart now that he's dead.] One of my brothers is - he's also Two.

[He doesn't know if Diego would frame it that way, being named Two, so Ben doesn't say it like that.]

There's seven of us total, five brothers and two sisters.

[Vanya counted, after all. Even if they'd kind of caused the apocalypse by pretending that she didn't.]

[sandsister]

[Aunt Two rolls off his tongue and it reminds her of all the children waiting for her at home. Some utter Aunt Two, Aunt Two over and over until they get her attention. Others are bit more withdrawn, but sometimes she hears them quietly whisper it throughout the ruins.

He reminds her a bit of both. Even if he's not as young as the little kids that wander throughout the homes-Aunt Two can belong to him as well.]

Big families are the best. You can never be lonely when you have so many siblings around and, hey-

[Because even as she says it, she remembers only one brother can sense his presence. Out of so many-]

Why don't you tell me more about them while we escape? Do you have a Zero too? You should totally start there.

[evergonnahaunt]

Dad started with One. [He named us in order of usefulness, Ben doesn't say.] Luther has super-strength and he used to live on the moon, protecting Earth.

[Because dad sent him there to shut him up, Ben doesn't say. He grew up in the media's eyes, he knows what is and isn't too personal to say to a relative stranger. At some point, he might actually tell the full story about their fucked up family, but it's better to stick to the official story for now.]

Two, or Diego, can change the trajectory of objects. Mostly knives, but I think that's just because he likes looking cool. Three goes by Allison now, because she's a movie star. She can -

[Ben pauses, because he knows what Allison's powers are but he doesn't know how to explain it. He can't just say "she makes rumors" because that makes sense to him but it's not very coherent to an outsider.]

- Allison makes suggestions reality, I guess. If she says "I heard a rumor," then whatever she says next comes true.

[sandsister]

[As much as these wild attacks pique her curiosity, she's surprised by how clinical the descriptions are. When she describes her own sisters, the intimate details pour out of her mouth without much thought, even if she gets a scolding for it. The last thought on her mind is powers, but maybe that's because they all share a general set of skills. Clearly that isn't true for this batch of siblings.]

Whhhat? Two would teach me to do that, right? That has to be something Cent and I can do too.

[Consider: Boomerang Sword.]

So what's your power then?

[evergonnahaunt]

Probably? It's just specialized telekinesis.

[Ben's never been sure if that's because Reginald thought that would be the most useful thing that Diego could do when he was younger or if Diego's powers really were that specialized. It seemed weirdly specific in comparison to the rest of their powers.

When Two asks about his powers, Ben seems visibly reluctant to say anything about it. It's not even that he doesn't know how to explain it, it's that where the rest of his siblings can do good with their powers, his have always been for one thing: destruction.]

. . . I summon monsters from another plane of existence because I'm a conduit between worlds.

[Any of his other siblings aside from Vanya would probably demonstrate their abilities. Ben doesn't - he's most effective in enclosed spaces and he doesn't really have control over what he summons or how many.]

[sandsister]

How amazing! You're just like Cent. Maybe you're related to him, huh? I'll have to ask. Let me guess which one it is-maybe a golem? But oh, you said monsters-

[If he was expecting her to react poorly, that doesn't happen. The blue in her eyes seems to get a little brighter and a smile extends across her whole face as she thinks about her companions. The ones her family can summon. They do come from somewhere else. Probably another world. She doesn't think much about it. Heck, maybe they just appear outta the sand in her home.

Come to think of it-

Well, she doesn't need to know how it works. It just does! Because of Cent! And herself, but it's mostly him.]

So what's your song sound like? Do you need to sing or do they come on their own? What do they look like?

[evergonnahaunt]

[Her enthusiasm is a little bit bewildering. Nobody likes Ben's powers, and most interviewers just glossed over Ben entirely when they asked about powers. It was gross, which meant nobody wanted to talk about it.]

Like Cthulhu, I guess? [He belatedly realizes that's a specific reference Two might not understand.] There's long tentacles but I don't know what the rest looks like because -

[You know, he probably should have explained what he meant by "conduit" beforehand. That was literal. He is literally summoning monsters through a portal in his body.]

- they don't fit through. But I can summon them whenever I want, I don't have to do anything special.

[sandsister]

Hey, you'll find out one day. You're still pretty young, you know? You'll get bigger and stronger and and before you know it, poof-Cthulu!

[Although she realizes somewhat halfway through that pep talk that he's dead and the growing he does is likely to be spiritual at best. But he's like a dragon or a faerie or something now-it's fine. The point is, he isn't completely gone from this world.]

Maybe not bigger, but you'll get strong enough to pull the whole thing through. Oh, then your tentacles can meet Egregori.

[Wouldn't that be fun?? She's never really summoned them without the express purpose of fighting shit-they might enjoy having a playmate.]

You must be a pretty tough kid to summon them without a song. Your Auntie is so impressed.

[evergonnahaunt]

[That's an interesting thought. If he's a ghost and Klaus does the thing to make him solid then would the same limitations apply to his ghostly form as his living form? How is he summoning things as a ghost anyway? Are they living, or is he summoning dead monsters now?

Maybe he'd ask Five, once they found Five or Five found him. Ben wasn't sure about the rest if his siblings, but he felt confident that Five at least would either already be here or smartly figure out where "here" was and find him.]

People aren't usually impressed by me. [It's not upset, just factual.] Actually, people usually think it's gross that tentacles come out of my stomach.