aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 003 )

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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 003 )

Test Drive Meme #3

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 September 17th and that Applications will open on September 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.

Don't Go into the Light
Night has fallen, so to speak - or the appearance of night has - and with it has come a curious phenomenon. All throughout the land of Mu, the odd flickering light has started to lick at your periphery. It looks almost like someone bearing a torch or a lantern, and if you listen hard enough, if you really squint...it almost feels like it must be someone familiar, calling you to their aid. Maybe it's a loved one, or a friend. Maybe it's just someone who's liable to spark your curiosity, or for those who are particularly tender of heart, the crying of a child in need of help.

Either way, it's undeniable: someone out there needs you. And the only solution is to follow the light until you find them, because surely that must be the origin of that voice and that disturbance, right..?

The phenomenon of ghost lights, of ignis fatuus, may or may not be familiar to those falling prey to the siren call of these mysterious, hovering lights. But their end purpose is very similar. They intend to lead you gently along, calling to you with memories of those you love or remember, until you reach an inevitable, potentially fatal roadblock.

The island of Mu enjoys mimicking the dangers and pitfalls of LifeAftr, and your journey is liable to end in a variety of equally unpleasant ways if someone does not see fit to stop you and pull you free from your trance. Perils such as quicksand, drowning, walking off the edges of cliffs, or simply being led directly into the nest of some great predator, are more than abundant.

Better hope that someone finds you before they do.

No Swiping!
Enjoying your time on Mu? Succeeded in amassing some meager resources, retrieving some food or supplies?

Not for long you haven't!

Mu has done its best to mimic a creature found on the mainland, complete with all its annoying, scavenging tendencies. Slypers are almost foxlike in appearance, orange-red with a white-tipped tail and a long, triangular snout, and are notorious thieves. Anything that isn't bolted to the floor has the potential to be snatched should you turn your back for a second, thus rendering all your hard-earned work in hunting and gathering utterly pointless when your food or water ends up in a slyper's belly instead of your own.

They're not easy to trap or snare by any means, but if you're fast enough, you might be able to keep your belongings from being the crowning achievement in a dirty little thief's den.

Which might be easier said than done. On Mu, slypers work in packs.

What the Cluck!?
Someone on the island embarked on some well-advised exploration, but discovered, in the process, something decidedly less pleasant than what they were no doubt hoping to discover. And now Mu has taken the example of its more reality-based counterpart, and elected for devise a threat of its own, modeled after the threat in question.

The trees will tremble and the ground will shake. And drawing ever closer approaches...the fustercluck.

Initially, one might mistake the fustercluck as a hillock of some kind. A moving hillock. With talons and wings and fins and claws and teeth protruding out of it? Come to think of it, it's not a hillock at all.

(While the Fustercluck doesn't look anything like this, we still thought this gif was both topically relevant and too good not to include.)
It instead appears to be a vaguely gelatinous mass of appropriated limbs and body parts, tangled and gelled together. Thick with moss, grass, and accumulated body parts, this creature functions more or less like a katamari: propelling itself along, devouring and appropriating any living thing unfortunate enough to cross its path. Once ensnared by its many clawing, grabbing appendages, it will reel you into itself until you're thoroughly embedded in the mass, organs dissolved and digested, leaving nothing more than a collection of limbs that it will then use to carry itself across the island.

There is no known manner with which to destroy this creature. Only the foolish will engage; everyone else should run.

Though of course, on Mu, you could always try fighting it...

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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a. don't go into the light

[kanaya hears her friends.

there's a part of her -- the sensible, smart part -- that knows that investigating the lights and soft voices is probably not a very good idea. she's unarmed, alone, in a strange new place. nothing ever was as it seemed on the ryslig peninsula, and undoubtedly that's true here as well.

the rest of her decides Fuck It. someone out there needs her, and what if it really is one of them?

she follows the lights as they lead her deeper into the jungle, her wings useless in the dense underbrush. she couldn't fly here even if she wanted. the voices keep echoing ahead of her -- karkat's yelling, terezi's cackle, dave's mumbling, rose's soft laughter, too many voices calling for her help.

she almost doesn't hear the soft skittering sound of the centipuppies' too many legs surrounding her.

b. no swiping!

[she's had a little bit of time to acclimate to her dreamy, new island life. of course, this means something has to come along and disrupt it.

it starts with little things disappearing while her back is turned. some food here. a water cup there. just enough to make her think she's imagining it all or simply misplacing things and forgetting about it. then a whole bag disappears, along with all the supplies she had scrounged up inside, dragged off with a lot of trouble by a reddish creature much smaller than it. kanaya blinks in surprise before giving chase.]

The ambition and bare-faced audacity of that thing is simply astonishing.

[the slyper notices her following it and tries to bolt, but the size of the bag trips it up, and kanaya snatches it up easily.

victory............. but at what cost?????

while she's distracted, other slypers take the opportunity to raid her home, a fact she's only alerted to as they dash away with her stuff.

Oh. Dear. Can... someone help me retrieve my belongings? Or at the very least prevent further incursions into my hive?

c. what the cluck

[oh. oh jeez. that thing is gross. she keeps a wide berth as she watches it oozes across the island, devouring and absorbing everything that crosses its path. nothing kanaya's seen on alternia, the meteor, or ryslig even comes close to being as hideous as that blob. holy shit.]

Wow. That is truly one of the most disgusting things I've ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on.

Hey!

[There's a flash of sickly green light and a strangled yelp as an acid bolt hits the centipuppy's flank and forces it to recoil in agony. A girl with tusks and pointed ears, angled down in clear irritation, drops out of a tree a few feet away. Green mist swirls around her hands as she readies to fire another bolt.]

Snap out of it, lady! The voices aren't real!

[Gobbet is getting hella tired of these lights and their voice traps. Even if she knows not to follow them, nobody else seems to have gotten the memo, and she feels obligated to at least try and prevent the untimely deaths of innocent strangers.]

[kanaya lets out a very, very undignified yelp of surprise as the acid bolt slams home on a creature and a large figure drops down far, far too close for comfort. instinctively she goes for her pocket, reaching for her lipstick, but of course she finds nothing. she hasn't had her strife specibus for a long time.

then the momentary panic passes and she snaps back to attention. the voices are gone, no surprise there. just... where the hell is she? how far did she wander? why is surrounded by some really gross looking bug dogs?

she looks over at the stranger who probably just saved her life.] Thank you for your timely intervention. I--

[she doesn't get much further than that. one of the centipuppies lunges for her, and she bares her claws and whaps it on its snout midjump, sending it flying into the underbrush. she may not have her chainsaw with her, but she can still put up a fight. as the other creatures posture and threaten, she snaps her faerie wings open, trying to look larger and more intimidating than she feels.

this really was not how she expected her first night here to go.]

[For the first time, Gobbet notices the extra limbs. The wings - and indeed the entire woman, now that she's looking at her clearly - are beautiful in a "could be a toxic bug spirit that might melt my face" kind of way and she's careful not to touch them as she positions herself back to back with the strange woman. Crafty had told Gobbet about naturally toxic spirits that drove their shamans mad - insect totems. But she'd been under the impression that they were hideous and sinister, two things that did not apply to the strange woman at her back. Two things that did apply to the creatures surrounding them, however.]

Null sweat. [Another flash of light, another centipuppy squealing and recoiling into the jungle. The others begin to circle.] Man these things are nasty looking up close. You okay?

[the other woman's appearance barely registers to kanaya. she's seen stranger things in the dream bubbles and on the peninsula -- hell, she knows she looks weird as all hell with her extra limbs. a humanoid with tusks isn't even a blip on her radar.]

Perturbed and annoyed, but physically unharmed.

[not that the centipuppies aren't trying to rectify that. she swipes at a particularly adventurous one that's decided to take a crack at her. their attacks have been uncoordinated so far, but it seems like they're still sizing up their prey. hopefully they'll eventually decide the girls aren't worth it.

panting, she asks:] Out of curiosity, was this a fortuitous coincidence and you just happened to be in the area? Or have you been following me like a benevolent stalker?

A little of both, actually. [Gobbet pauses for a moment to focus on gathering energy for a different kind of spell. When she speaks again, her voice is strained.] I saw you kind of stumbling along and figured it was the voices again, so I followed you a little ways to make sure you didn't get in trouble. Turns out, it was a good idea.

[A rush of cool air fills the clearing and ushers in a sickly yellow-green fog in a circle around them. The minute one of the centipuppies touches it, it recoils in pain, leaving a blistering red patch where they made contact. The circling beasts loosen their formation, suddenly unsure and clearly put off by the acrid tang of sulfur.

Gobbet winces as the dull ache forming in her muscles turns to a steady throbbing pain. All this ability use is draining her significantly.]

I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up.

In any case, thank you for your help.

[kanaya watches with interest as the strange cloud coalesces into existence in the clearing. she's never seen abilities like that before, not from other monsters or god tier players. these new places and people bring more and more surprises.]

We are in agreement there. [this is starting to take its toll on her, too.] Once your cloud starts to dissipate, we should make our escape. I'll disorient them to cover us.

[she can't do anything like gobbet's magic, but she does have a trick or two up her own sleeves. her faerie dust should keep them disoriented and confused when they run. hopefully.]

Null sweat.

[Gobbet nods. She's got enough in her to pull one last trick and run - albeit slower than usual without the energy to channel her totem for a clean escape route.]

Okay, on the count of three, book it. One...two...[With a sweep of her arm, the cloud explodes outward and sends the centipuppies into a panic as they try to avoid the toxic fog.] THREE!

[And with that, she's off through the nearest opening in the pack.]

[No heroic legend worth their salt would just stand by and do nothing when they found someone in need! Unless, you know, the only thing that makes them heroic or legendary is an ability to yell really loud, and they're actually kind of a blatant opportunist.

(Which, for the record, is what this strange lizard-woman leaning up against a tree with folded arms happens to be.)

Is it possible that she was outside the whole time, watching this unfold? Yes. Could she have done something to stop at least one or two of those escaping critters if she'd really wanted to do something selfless? Also yes. Did she? A solid no.]

I could, maybe. I'm something of an expert when it comes to... reacquiring lost things, let's call it. Also, killing vermin. I've skinned my fair share of foxes. So, you know. This task you clearly need some help with is extremely up my alley.

But the thing is... I've got to survive out here too, you know. Can't really afford to lose an entire day of foraging and hunting just to chase after pests for you. Not if I'm going to walk away from it empty-handed, you know? Not to sound hard-hearted or anything, of course. I know in a place like these, we all have to watch each others' backs. Just... a girl can't live on warm fuzzy feelings alone. Those don't fill an empty stomach, last I checked.

[there's a look of mild indignation and embarrassment on kanaya's face when it finally dawns on her that severs-the-thread might been standing there the whole time, watching the entire scene. she feels like an idiot for falling for such a obvious distraction, especially in front of someone else.

she sighs as she listens to the explanation, one hand tiredly rubbing her temple, the others planted on her waist. she wasn't expecting to have to negotiate for help today (let alone get robbed blind), but it is what it is.]

That's... sensible, I suppose, but those creatures ran off with most of what I could use to barter with you, unfortunately. But if food is the issue, I wouldn't mind giving you some of what we recover as compensation for your time and effort.

I mean, it's not like doing it for money's an option. Nobody in this miserable backwater even knows what a septim is.

[A complaint that she's voiced many times before. Many, many times before. It's, like, a daily ritual at this point to complain that money no longer exists.

Ugh.]

Fine, right? Let's just bust our scales for the whole day on some thankless tiring goose chase for nothing more than a handful of potatoes and maybe an apple. This is apparently our life now. This is what we're reduced to.

...But I get to keep the pelts of any of those things we kill. You don't even know how to skin a fox, right? You'd probably just leave 'em lying there.

[kanaya politely keeps quiet on the fact that she too has no idea what a septim is and brushes off her skirt with one set of hands.] Ah. Well.

[boom, got it in one. she doesn't actually know what she'd end up doing with the bodies if left up to her, but it wouldn't have been anything even remotely adjacent to skinning. she was way more into horticulture and fashion while growing up, okay!! not much to skin out there in the zombie desert!!!]

That sounds more than fine with me. [she pauses for a moment and extends one of her hands for a shake. it's an unfamiliar human gesture, but this is what people do when they make arrangements, right?] Do we have ourselves a deal?

Edited 2017-09-22 19:16 (UTC)

[Severs just sort of stares at Kanaya's extended hand for a moment, because she has not actually shaken on anything in all the time she's spent in Skyrim. But then... everyone here is a little weird, aren't they? They dress funny, the dark elves (Kanaya's probably a dark elf, right??) have horns, skeletons walk around and talk and make jokes, everyone uses really strange and exotic terms like "teevee" or "indoor plumbing."

So what the heck, right? After a moment's awkward pausing, she plants her scaly hand in Kanaya's and kind of wiggles them around together for some reason.]

Deal.

Let's get right down to it, then, right? You got any idea where these things make their den, or do we have to track them the hard way? 'Cause I'm not usually a fan of the hard way when it comes to anything, for the record. The hard way's for chumps who don't have the cunning to figure out the easy way.

It definitely rates up there. I'd heard about them, but cripes.

[Ed is looking a little pale, ears laid back and tail curled uncharacteristically close. He remembers that flesh gas magic that the Bloody Bones released, and that...thing strikes unnervingly close to the sort of things everyone had turned into then.]

Hopefully it'll just stay over there. Dream or not, I do not wanna be made a meal.

[same game!!!!]

I sure hope so. I'd hate to be added to that abomination.

[strong words coming from someone who feeds on people, but there's really no other way to describe it. that thing is something that Should Not Be. kanaya watches with a look of utter distaste as it reaches up and casually snatches a bird out of the sky and begins to dissolve it into itself.

ewwwww.]

What would you have to do to stop something like that...? [she wonders idly. there's probably no hope of taking it out, but what if it sets its sights on their settlement? not much else to do but run in that case.] Fire, do you think?

[You've gotta draw your line in the sand somewhere, man. Ed glances over at her (she really does look like a faerie, but Muffet had turned out to be anything BUT an arachne, so...) and frowns for a moment, considering the suggestion.]

That could work...but it would probably set the forest on fire as well with how long it would take to burn something that big. Setting up some way to crush it might work, but where the hell are we gonna find a rock big enough?

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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 003 )

Kanaya Maryam | Homestuck (Ryslig CRAU)

a

no subject

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no swiping!

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c (SAME GAME??????)

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