TEST DRIVE MEME ( 027 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

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 )

Comments

[yakyuuman]

[ How dare that little shit growl at him, the superior dragon also known as Homerun King? He growls right back, but being a small baby makes him sound so harmless Jyushimatsu just pats his head and offers his sleeve again, to which he refuses in a huff. The sweet-sounding creature who looks so different from his dad wouldn't be happy if he resumed that behavior. ]

Eh? Well, okay, whatever floats your boat! I don't mind you misspelling it!

[ Some people are a bit weird about names, but it's fine. More importantly, she seems to be in a good mood and that's nice, especially now that they're going to stick together for a while. Not like he doesn't like being around debbie downers, but they're a bit draining after a while and they also tend not to listen to him at all. Unless it's Ichimatsu, whom he likes so much. ]

I'll tell you some things about Japan and you tell me stuff about your place too! Let's go!

[ And so he starts off in a direction he picked at random, his grumpy dragon child grumbling in irritated hunger. ]

[kindashy]

[One of Flutterhy's ears turns back toward the two growling dragons, but she doesn't make a move just yet, though her attention is definitely on them. Introducing animals isn't easy, and it's a lengthy process with some, especially the more dominant types. It's good to have them assert themselves, and set up their boundaries, but if things go south, she can separate them easily. Really, this isn't the, uh...best way to do tings, but it can't be helped. Besides, she does need to get more experience with dragons...and what better way than this?]

Oh yes, I could go on about Ponyville to a point where I wouldn't know how to stop, so please! You first. [And, because Jyushimatsu clearly knows where he's going, Fluttershy trots along beside him, a well enough distance that the two antsy dragons won't be able to get to each other without some effort.] But, um...I've never heard of such a place before...or seen a creature quite like you before... If I may--and please excuse me if I sound rude, just what sort of creature are you?

[yakyuuman]

[ Good thing that there is one responsible party in this area, because Jyushimatsu isn't one of them. He thinks the babies are just getting acquainted with each other, no big deal - he and his brothers bloodily fight each other all the time! It's definitely normal! But either way, he also doesn't protest on the distance Fluttershy is establishing, since they're still kind of strangers to each other and if there's one good thing Jyushimatsu can be is respectful towards girls and their wishes.

Well, she's a pony, but still a girl. ]

Okay, okay! That's fair! [ He properly and protectively folds his long sleeved arms around Homerun King, who huffs a bit of smoke out of his nostrils and snuggles against the man's chest. ] For starters, I'm a human! Totally surprised there's no people like me where you're from? But I think I could tell, since it's Ponyville.

[ He laughs to himself, staring right ahead. Ah, yeah, he has no idea where he's going. ]

There are horses and ponies in my world, but they don't usually talk! They're all like, "neeeeiiigh" and nothing else!

[kindashy]

[Honestly, Fluttershy is good with animals, not really...people. She just has all the experience of a naturalist and even some veterinary skills thanks to Dr. Fauna. Siblings are...well, in the natural order of things, most siblings eat the weaker members, but she, uh...w-well--...she does her best to avoid that, if she can. It helps she can speak to them without much fuss, too. Getting them to listen is another thing entirely, though.]

Hyoo...mun. Hm, I can't say I've ever encountered one, no...not yet, anyway. The most of what I've seen is Ponies like myself, though of course not all of them are pegasi like I am. There are the earth ponies and unicorns too. Oh, and the alicorn princesses.

[She chuckles, clears her throat, then gives a very soft whinny in response.] Like that? Ehehe...it's not often at all anyone does that where I'm from, but it sounds like your world is a lot like one my friends, Twilight, visited...oh, it's been a long time now, I think.

I have to say, I'm actually a little jealous...if people there are anything like you are, it much be a lovely place. [If only she knew, really.]

[yakyuuman]

Wow, uh...! You people really seem like a bunch of colorful fellows! And I also kinda like your color combination! It reminds me of me and my little brother, 'cause he wears pink!

[ Her mention of pegasi and unicorns makes Jyushimatsu kinda want to meet them, even though there's the definite unlikeliness of that ever happening. He should at least feel glad he's talking to one of them right now, he supposes. If there are also dragons eating gems over there, he can't imagine how many strange things he might encounter! But again, pony world is totally out of his reach forever.

All sad feelings are wiped out in a split second by that whinny sound. Jyushimatsu laughs. ]

That's the sound! It's super accurate, hahaha!

[ But then her last sentence comes up, and his smile freezes as he states, almost brutal in his honesty: ]

Nah, I wouldn't recommend that at all.

[kindashy]

[Uh--huh? Wait now, hold on a minute. Fluttershy blinks, stopping in her tracks for a moment before trotting to catch up again. Did she just hear right? I-I mean, it...it almost sounded like Jyushimatsu was putting his hometown down or?? M-Maybe she just misheard? I mean, sure there are things and people about Ponyville and Equestria as a whole that are, erm...more sour than others, but she loves it just the same! Home is where you rest your hooves, after all.]

Oh...um--I... [Ahem--] Whatever do you mean?

[yakyuuman]

It's not really a lovely place!

[ Jyushimatsu starts explaining, but his cheerful tone painfully clashes with the words he's about to utter. Sorry to burst your bubble, Fluttershy. ]

There are wars exploding here and there every year because humans are stubborn in their beliefs and hate it when others think differently. Capitalism is ruining society as it is because humans are greedy bastards hungry for money and fame! There's so much discrimination against those who are different because many humans are willfully ignorant and can't see past their noses! Pollution and global warming is slowly killing the planet because humans are so stupid and blindly selfish, turning away from their own responsibilities so easily it hurts everyone else!

I could say more, but I'll stop here! [ Poor little pony... ] Bottom line is, my world isn't lovely at all and you should not bother meeting more people like me!

[ For being one of the more optimistic brothers, Jyushimatsu can lay out some awful truths all the same. He's aware of his status as just a useless NEET with no secure future ahead of him, so... ]