aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 027 )

Entry tags:

*test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 027 )

Test Drive Meme #27

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 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.

Eye of the Storm
Unlike the calmer waters of other dreams, this particular one is in a frenzy of activity. The sea thrashes and roars and crawls hungrily up the shores of the unassuming island upon which you've found yourself; it assumes the shapes of tridents, swords and, most notably, the snapping heads of serpents.

The sea isn't acting rough for no reason, it turns out. Right now, it's seething in conflict with torrents of fire that seem to have, however improbably, assumed the shape of a three-headed dragon. Whether the serpent is simply coated in fire or it is fire isn't clear. You don't really need to know the specifics. All you need to know is that, at present, there are two dragons furiously crashing against one another in a dichotomy of fire and water. They issue rushing plumes of steam whenever they connect, scourging deep furrows into the earth.

Adventurers will find themselves thrust into a veritable maelstrom of conflict upon waking. Unlike the case in the waking world, everything is simply too indistinct to grasp or engage with in all but the most oblique manner. All you can do is hold on and try not to get lost - or separated - in these new, wild conditions, and seek shelter as these two behemoths ruthlessly duke it out.

The clash of the elements isn't the only thing you have to worry about, either. Little tails of fire and water will occasionally unspool from the giant wyrms and decide they want a taste of something with a little more body. Though their shapes are indistinct due to their elemental makeup, it will still be evident that these are smaller dragons with a taste for destruction. You can dispel them easily enough, and largely through application of common sense - flame-dragons can be reduced to steam by water or blasts of cold air, and water-dragons can be vaporized by heat and fire - but there happens to be a lot of them, and not very many of you.

There is shelter, however, as a respite from all this. Ruined buildings dot the landscape, impervious to both the water and fire and surrounded by a sense of eerie calm. Though they're long abandoned, as long as you hide in such ruins, nothing can touch you there. Not even the smaller, scuttling dragons can breach those walls, held back by whatever unique arcane constraint lives in the smooth, cool stone.

All you have to do is reach one.

Echoes of the Past
Don't be alarmed if you find yourself waking on the floor of a ruined house in a ruined city on a deserted island. Don't be alarmed, either, if it looks like the edges and corners of most of these buildings, built of simple stone and clay and mortar, look as though they have sustained an awful lot of fire damage in the past. That doesn't have to mean anything, you see.

The houses and buildings here are of an unknown purpose, but the signs of civilization are writ large in stone and on the landscape. And yet, no matter how much you might search, there doesn't seem to be anyone else around.. Abandoned and broken, exposed to the elements without proper care, it's clear that the inhabitants of these places are long, long gone.

Wandering between the buildings will certainly help avoid the heat of the day, and as the day winds on, some thought might be put into gathering the necessities to make it through the night - water from barely recognizable wells, or vegetables scavenged from overgrown gardens that have long since abandoned any semblance of order or restriction.

Still, even devoid of their original owners, the contents of those broken structures might well be interesting in their displays of lives left behind. The blocky, square buildings show a sense of efficiency over articulation, with ornate mosaics carved into the walls as a sense of decor. You might even find piles of strange, smooth stones with speckled patterns decorating their exterior, hard as rock and curiously similar in size. Their function can only be guessed at, but they're quite heavy.

...at least, until they shudder and start to crack beneath the pressure of something moving around...inside of them?

Give it five minutes to an hour, and those stones will prove to not really be stones at all, but eggs. To be specific...?

They contain these little guys. Tiny, baby dragons, newly hatched and eager to imprint upon the first venturing hand to give them the time of day. They can vary in size from barely nine inches in length to just over two feet, and their coloration can be just as diverse. However, it will become clear within mere minutes of meeting your new, scaly charge that they're just the same as any other baby animal: they're needy, demanding, curious, and hungry.

It's advised you go looking around for something to feed them. These dragons are omnivorous creatures, and will eat anything from berries to meat, but either way, they're going to be looking to you to care for them.

A warm congratulations to an unsuspecting parent may very well be in order.

The Sound of Sirens
The idyllic setting of a tropical island might seem perfect for a vacation getaway...or it would be, if this place weren't populated. You aren't here for very long before you hear it - a loud, shrieking siren, shrilling out over the trees. And then another. And another. And another...

Followed by the sound of gunshots.

It turns out you're not in a happy little island getaway at all, but in the middle of a turf war. Stay in one place too long, and you'll realize that you can start to make out blurred, shadowy silhouettes crouched in the underbrush and huddled behind boulders, issuing indistinct shouts as they charge one another with spears and harpoons, or shoot explosive bursts of scattered buckshot with rudimentary firearms.

At first, these shapes merely pass through you. You are but a spectral spectator, lingering on proceedings far removed from you. But as the conflict escalates, you'll find that you're not as immune to this as you might have first thought. The shapes start to sharpen, and before you know it, you'll start to feel those weapons piercing you for real - and they will hurt just the same, too.

But getting caught in the crossfire isn't the worst thing that could happen to you - oh, no. See, if you're not careful, you might find yourself wanting to join them. It might start as a small ember in the pit of your gut - this feeling of displaced upset, that one side of this shadowy war has truly and personally wronged you. Or it might be out of self-preservation, because someone shot you or stabbed you and it hurt, and before you know it, one of the dark, featureless shapes is handing you a weapon for you to pay them back in kind.

There are ways to break out of this, of course. A good shock is all it takes to jolt you back to your senses, though it won't render you immune to the effects of this battle. You'll still have to figure out how to get out of this mess without getting shot or blasted or bled out onto the floor.

Or maybe you can embrace the chaos instead, and decide to wreak a little havoc on the other side. Who are they? Doesn't matter! They're not one of you, so you can make them suffer to the fullest extent, right? Besides, who knows how they might take it if you try to disengage entirely?

One thing is for certain - you won't be getting away from this conflict and out of the battlefield without a fight.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ohh, well, that makes two brainless idiots in the storm now.

Jyushimatsu somehow manages to hear someone's voice among the raging wind and seas, but he doesn't really want to tear his gaze off this spectacular battle. Instead he yells back, flailing one sleeve while with the other he's still trying not to fly away. ]

HELLO, voice I also don't recognize! What's up?

I found a house!

[They sound excited to comment on the proceedings, bouncing on their heels. There's some solid ground here, just...you know, not a lot. A particularly vicious wave manages to rip them off their feet, sending them tumbling forward, but they take it in stride, scrabbling to try and right themself.]

WOAH - like, a real one!

[As opposed to a fake one???? Vamos what]

[ It's hard to pay attention to the person and watch a whole different thing at the same time. He eventually turns around, smiling wide but also tilting his head in confusion, the wind and water completely messing his bowlcut hair and clothes. His antenna cowlick expressively curls into a question mark as well. ]

Really? Aren't houses, like, real by default?

[Yeah, wow, don't recognize this guy even a little. But he's definitely not BLI, sooo...yeah, he's probably good people. That's a reasonable assumption to make.]

Not if they're blown up or crawling with dracs. What're you still doing out here?

[ He happily waves his sleeve towards the big fire and water dragons still going at it. ]

I'm watching! Looks so much better than most animes I saw on TV!

[It's kinda cool, they guess, but they'd rather be somewhere a little less volatile, you know? A little less likely to get them killed?]

I don't wanna be here when one of 'em blows up! You coming, or not?

[ Eh, right, it would be a bummer if he died so early. He should have a more important purpose if he was thrown in this dreamlike space, right? Right?

It doesn't mean he has to like it, either, a pout crossing his round features as he starts advancing towards the stranger. ]

Hope wherever we go I can still get a nice visual!

We can, uh, we can cut a window into the place, or somethin'.

[They're not really fussed about what, 'long as they get outta this mess.]

Hey, hey, you seen someone else like me? Y'know - highly fashionable, but with blue hair instead'a pink?

[ That would be nice. He nods eagerly at the idea.

Then he shakes his head one fraction of time later. ]

Nah, you're like the first creature with arms and legs I've seen since I got in here!

[Vamos's shoulders sag, briefly, but they don't get much time to question it. One of those smaller spitfires is winding its way through the storm to say hello with a bright puff of flame.]

Hey! Bad!

[They grope for the raygun at their hip.]

What're you - shoo!

[ Uh, that's bad indeed! He didn't notice them while watching the battle, but now that he's been made aware of their presence he can't possibly let those mini dragon thingies burn his clothes! Or eat him, but what he cares most is not to lose his yellow hoodie so soon. ]

I think we should totally leave, like, now!

[ He sprints in a record time against the elements, grabbing the buddy by their arm as he goes. ]

This is the worst party ever!

[In spite of their apparent terror, Vamos manages a high, nervous titter as they let their new pal more or less jostle them along.]

All flash, no substance! If I wanted a clap, I'd've stayed in Bat City!

More like we weren't really invited to the party!

[ He runs without really a destination in mind, until he's reminded of what constitured their very first lines of dialogue. ]

Where's the REAL!!! house you mentioned before?

Uhhhhh - there!

[They're pointing, wildly, but manage to pick out the corner of what's definitely a shelter of some kind.]

There, there, there, there!

[ Yay, a shelter that's somehow still standing in spite of the elements. It may crumble as soon as they get it, but who cares now?

Jyushimatsu reaches the door, almost tosses his new friend inside, and then locks the both of them in by grabbing a rotting table and slamming it over the entrance. Neat, right? ]

Huff... [ He dusts his wet sleeves off, panting. ] That should do, I hope...?

[Vamos hits the ground, rolls, manages to sit up with a loud, bright stutter of laughter - the kind of stressed out sound that someone makes when they are truly and utterly at the end of their rope.]

Ha ha ha ha ha! I hope so, ha! Hope I didn't break a nail!

Broken nails would be better than any other thing that would've happened to you if we stuck it out there-

[ He realizes what he's just said and relents his tone, chuckling awkwardly. ]

Haha, well, I was the more careless one.

Ugh! Can you imagine dying with your hair all messed up? No one would even fix it. They'd just toss you in a body-bag, like it was nothing!

[Vamos seems, bizarrely, more offended by the idea that someone wouldn't fix their hair, hypothetically, than they would with dying in the first place.]

Where's Vaya. Usually around... [Immediately, Vamos starts casing the place in search of anyone else, but...nope, it's just them.]

[ They've got their priorities straight at least? He's not that worried about his hair, which has become a horrible nest after all that wind messing it up. ]

If I was a corpse I wouldn't be able to play baseball anymore, so I kind of feel you?

[ His sleeves curled against his chest, Jyushimatsu watches them. ]

Who's Vaya?

Uh, only my partner in crime.

[Twin, BFF, intrinsic buddy in all things killjoy? It's a difficult concept to explain. Especially when you've never been to school a day in your life.]

If you were a corpse you'd at least be having a better time in the next life. Your soul, partying it up without a care in the world, right?

If there was an afterlife and I was allowed to play baseball, then sure! But problem is, I went to Hell once, and I know things aren't fun in there! So I'm not getting myself killed and risk another trip down below!

[ Flawless logic. Either way, he's stuck here till the storm ends. If it ends at all. ]

Sorry you can't look for your Vaya while we're here!

Was Hell a desert? Full'a dracs trying to shoot ya?

[That's the only real version of "hell" that they can imagine being worse than living. As it goes right now, this place right here is pretty sweet, minus the noticeable lack of any Vaya. There's already way more water than there is in the Zones. That's a definite plus.]

We'll...uh, they'll find us, probably. Or we'll find them. They're never that far away.

[ He nods, in naive faith that their companion will eventually find them both alive or consumed into skeletons because of starvation.

And well, his Hell... there are Ways to describe it, and he'll pick one. ]

It was a wasteland where everything was red and many onis put us through a load of torture everyday!

[ That's it, that was his experience. ]

Uh, that just sounds like life.

[Oni - that's like a demon, right? The word's familiar, but almost everyone in the Zones has a vague bleedthrough of some Japanese terminology, since Better Living took over.]

Crap, maybe I was in hell.

Have you died then? My condolences!

[ He knows there are loads of terminologies surrounding the world "hell" but he chose the most obvious one. Life is hell, after all. Unfair, full of annoying problems, worthless.

He and his brothers know that best.

With a chuckle, he claims a spot against the wall and sits down on the filthy floor. ]

I don't think I know your name - I'm Jyushimatsu!

[ Funny how he learned of their now infamous companion's name before their own. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject