TEST DRIVE MEME ( 003 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

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 )

Comments

[esper_magic]

[ It's tempting, so very tempting to turn away again when the cries become more intense, but Amaterasu didn't seem the least bit swayed. And after the act is dropped, Terra sees why, shuddering a little at the noises and moving her hand to rest automatically by her sword, just in case the ..whatever was out there decided they wanted to try going after girl or wolf instead of just trying to lure them.

Her steps quicken, trotting hastily after Amaterasu when she sees the break in the trees, relief running through her - safety ahead, and she exhales a gentle breath when the pair can no longer hear the gurgles and snarls from the darkness. ]

.. I don't know what those were. But I'm glad I followed you instead. [ Terra leaned over to pat Amaterasu gently and give her a little scratch. ]

Thank you.

[mamaterasu]

[With a soft, contented noise of sheer delight, Ammy leans into those pets gladly, a pleased smile appearing on her face as her eyes squint shut and her tail sways slowly. She hadn't expected any great thanks or praise, really - the wolf is just happy she was able to get this kind and lovely woman away to safety. As for what those things were...she really can't say for sure, but the likeness to onibi - the demonic, resentful soul fire of deceased humans and beasts - is first to come to mind. She probably could have expelled them with an exorcism slip, but they're simply not worth wasting such precious resources.

Still, they're not entirely safe. Safer, yes, now that they're out of the forest, but the sea breeze is cool, and the darkness of night may very well hide more dangers. They really need to find shelter of some sort, so this poor woman can rest until daybreak. Even a fire would suffice, just to keep her warm. Mm, what a bad time to lose her powers - Ammy could easily light a fire from the holy flames of her reflector, Solar Flare, if a few bits of driftwood were gathered. At the very least, Ammy's fure is soft and warm, and she can provide some much needed body heat if the worst happens and they need to sleep on the sand.]

[esper_magic]

[ Ammy wasn't the only one who could call a fire, so there was that too. In the meanwhile, she found it very distracting petting Amaterasu. That soft, glowy fur - she wouldn't mind dozing against the pupper's warm body, if Amaterasu allowed her. ]

I'm not sure where we are right now, but.. it's going to get a little chilly before long, isn't it...? We should try to find some wood to burn. [ If she can stop petting the wolf for two seconds. ]

[mamaterasu]

[To be fair? Amaterasu would let a beautiful woman do whatever they wanted to her...a-ahem! Ammy tries to sniff around, trying to discern a scent to follow - that of humans - but there are too many mingled scents around, she can't get a real read on anything... And this atmosphere is so hazy and ethereal it almost seems like the world itself exists with a different plane of reality entirely, akin to the realm of gods or spirits that she transcends to speak with the Brush Gods.

But firewood she can handle! Snuffling around, Ammy finds a nice , dry stick, grabbing it into her mouth and...a-and promptly starting to chew on it a little. The allure was too great, and she is but a simple dog...wolf. u_u]

[esper_magic]

[ Oh my! So shocking, Ammy. Terra does stop petting the pupper since Ammy gets up to find a stick. ]

Oh! Yes, just like that..o-oh...

[ Well then. Terra giggled, giving Amaterasu a little pat on the head. You enjoy that stick, wolfie, you earned it. She gets up though, heading over to where Ammy found the stick originally, to see if there were more to gather. ]

[mamaterasu]

[There's quite a bit around, in various shapes and sizes. Ammy goes to collect a few herself for Terra, dropping them in a heap closer to her one by one. There's also a bit of sea glass mingled in with the sticks, and she yelps slightly as she steps on a sharp piece, licking her paw. No blood, but it was rather shocking... Ammy barks back at Terra to try and advise in her own way, pointing to the piece she found. Watch where you put your hands, pretty lady, Ammy may be a goddess, but healing isn't in her skillset, sadly.

Thankfully a great deal of the driftwood is dry as a bone, and should provide good tinder material, where the larger, thicker ones will be good fuel to burn longer. Now, they just need a flame... Again, Ammy is out of power, and can't produce it herself anymore, but hey - she's seen humans think of creative ways to stoke a fire themselves, and this woman seems to be able to produce flame as well, so! They're doing pretty alright, by all accounts!! Ish.]

[esper_magic]

[ What a GOOD girl, Ammy! Terra does look up in alarm when she hears that yelp, frowning a bit. Lucky for you Ammy, fire and healing were both things Terra was equipped with. That if it still hurt. Once they had both gathered enough driftwood, Terra padded over over to where they had stopped before, setting the wood down and adding Ammy's heap over in a pilw as well. Stacking the wood neatly until they had a little campfire - without the fire yet. ]

Thank you~! [ She reached over to give Ammy a pat on the head, glancing at their gathered bounty. ]

I think this should work out right? [ It should be fine. So she flicks a hand at the campfire, the sticks of wood suddenly lighting on fire with the spell cast. She sat down a short distance from the fire, close enough to feel the warmth but not close enough to get burned, turning to Ammy again. ]

I heard you yelp. Can I see your paw? [ Yep, totally normal to talk to a wild animal like this. ]