aftr_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

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*test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

Test Drive Meme #1

Hello, and welcome to our very first test drive! 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 July 17th and that Applications will open on July 24th, in preparation for the game’s official opening on August 3rd!

But first, two important notes!

1. The island of Mu 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.

Shipwrecked
The white sand of the beach ridges the island’s edge, even if the clear water soon becomes murky the further out you look across the horizon until the turquoise gleam of the tide disappears in a coil of surrounding fog. Indeed, your best prospects may very well be to strike out among the trees or the crags looming out over the foam-capped waves. There’s lumber to be found and made from the palm-like trees, potentially fruit or edible tubers of some kind if you forage about some. The further you travel, however, the more of your surroundings will reveal themselves in a steady unspooling of curiosities.

One corner of Mu’s current construct drops away into a sheer cliff, initially too dangerous to brave for all but the more daredevilish, but if one starts to scan the sharp rocks below, you might catch sight of what appears to be sodden planks of wood - a wreckage tossed up against the rocks. And a little further...a bobbing, shattered wreck of a lifeboat’s remains, potentially bearing supplies that might yet be salvageable.

Fashion what you can from the wood and stone around you or scavenge from the ruin of the land, if you like. But you can’t simply stand around and wait forever. It’s going to get dark sometime - and if a creature of unknown terror doesn’t catch you, the elements surely will.

Storytime

There’s a sense of camaraderie in this cove, you think. As the sun hangs low over the horizon, the world cast into orange hues, long shadows dispersed by roaring fires that dot across the beach.

That’s right, folks: it’s storytime.

There’s no one to preside over this meeting of the minds in Mu. Call it a vague recreation of things to come, if you like, some vaguely fatidic dreamlike state where you may find yourself drawn to the heat and company that awaits you by the fire. And from there, compelled to default to that old instinct that most of intelligent civilization has revered since they were advanced enough to paint geometric shapes on cave walls.

You tell a story.

Perhaps it’s a tragedy, a tale of woe and of personal loss. Perhaps it’s the sort of thing you’d break out after a few rounds of your alcoholic beverage of choice, clapping hands to your knees as you try to bite back your mirth long enough to spill the punchline. Perhaps it’s an adventure of some sort, some unbelievable rendition of your past exploits. The only common thread to be had, as those gathered around the fire share their tales, is the fundamental rule of a ritualistic sharing of stories such as this: its truth.

But how one chooses to define "truth" is, in its own way, another story entirely...

Dance, Sucker, Dance!
The beat of your heart in your chest is difficult to ignore. It judders with a pulsing, rhythmic quality. If you’re one of those that lacks a heart, the beat is still omnipresent and all-encompassing, until your entire body is unwittingly bobbing in time to a metronomic tune that seems ingrained into your very soul. It’s inescapable. You can’t seem to move unless it’s in time to the rhythm that’s now singing in every atom of your being.

But rest assured, you’re not alone in this musical curse. Everything, from the swaying trees to the waves against the beach, jumps in time to the music. And so do the monsters approaching you, that - wait a minute.

Monsters?

Oh, yes. Did we mention those?

It seems you’ve encountered the wrath of the Boogieman, who curses you to only dance to his infernal beat. If you wish to best him, you’ll have to either evade or destroy the blobs of greenish slime that serve as his minions, all in time to the hard beat of the tune in your head. Clear the radius of his curse or risk an open confrontation, if you dare. Don’t worry if you look foolish; chances are anyone else caught in the Boogieman’s thrall feels just the same.

Mu isn’t pulling any punches to start with. It is a flighty creation, after all, and seems to revel in displacing people into new and uncomfortable situations.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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[Knives, huh.... nice find. A smile curls Ichimatsu's mouth for the first time since they've met, and he mirrors her action by selecting one and running his finger along the blade. It's not sharp enough enough for that action alone to cut him without adding any pressure, but it doesn't look dull beyond functionality, either.]

[Setting his current prize aside on the sand, Ichimatsu carefully sifts through the remaining pile in hopes of finding something a bit more versatile -- and portable -- like a switchblade.]

If that's all you want, you can smash coconuts against a rock. These have plenty of better uses.

[...Welp, that's creepy. Muffet cheerfully ignores this, on the grounds that if he tries to stab her to death it's not going to help if she panics, and if he doesn't then there's no sense wasting time worrying. She's just going to burn that bridge when she comes to it.]

Right, there's always cooking. I wonder if any of these broken bits are shiny enough to be reflective? I've never had much of a talent for fire magic, but I've heard you can burn wood by reflecting sunlight to get it hot enough...

[Ichimatsu gives up and pockets his first knife. No luck with a switchblade, but it's hard to be disappointed with a find like this. In fact, it may seem like he isn't even paying attention to Muffet as she talks -- but he answers her fairly quickly.]

Cutting vines and stuff, too.

[Totally straight-faced. What, did he give off a weird impression or something?]

[Getting to his feet, Ichimatsu nods towards the second, slightly larger box.]

Ready for that one?

Right. Fairly useful for this, too.

[Muffet selects one of the broken knives that still has a couple inches of solidly intact blade near the hilt, reasoning that it's better not to risk damaging one of the usable ones, and carefully uses it to pry the lid off of the other crate.]

[Look at that non-human ingenuity at work. Ichimatsu was just gonna kick it in with his other foot. He moves to join her, jamming his fingers into the opening and tugging hard once she's gotten some torque into it. The lid breaks free with a snap, allowing them to slide it off cleanly, and Ichimatsu peers inside. He's curious -- of the two, this crate was definitely the one he struggled to carry all the way to shore.]

[The reason why is immediately apparent, as Ichimatsu reaches in and picks out a glass jar filled with... flour? Sugar? Co...caine...?]

[No, it's probably flour, judging by its consistency. He holds it out towards Muffet in an offer with one hand and uses the other to sort through the rest of the haul, glassware and tin cans plinking softly under his ministrations. Flour, sugar, canned fruits, pickled vegetables, even a few packs of jerky... it only fills out the bottom layer of the crate, but there are enough basic food supplies to feed a person for a week. Or his family for like, one meal.]

[All of the packaging was clearly done to prevent water damage, too. Looks like someone had foresight.]

[Definitely flour, judging by Muffet's smile of absolute delight as she takes the jar. It's very cheerful, despite the worryingly sharp fangs.]

[Flour, fruit, knives- she's well on her way to being back in business here.]

Ah, wonderful- I can certainly do some cooking with these. Do you have a favorite flavor?

Me...?

[He looks up from his examination of a can, dubiously eying Muffet. That dangerous-looking smile... shit, it's right up his alley. She's too cute for a spider. More than that, he's taken aback by the question -- is she seriously asking Ichimatsu what flavor he likes as if she'd ever make something for him? He's a NEET, he's never had a girl cook for him in his life other than his mother. That's how the world works.]

[She must be making fun of him. Or just being nice. Yeah, she looks genuinely happy about their find, so probably the latter.]

[His ears and a good portion of his face are dusted red again by the time he answers, eyes hyperfocused back on his can of olives.]

... p-pears.

Well, yes- you did help me pull this in, after all. And I can't really just go off what I like- the whole point of baking is that I like everything I make, otherwise I wouldn't be using that recipe.

[Muffet rummages thoughtfully through the crate, and manages to come up with a can of fruit cocktail- which includes, among a mixture of cherries and oranges, pears.]

I can work with this... What do you think- cider, or cake? There's not enough for much, but I should be able to manage a little.

[Come to think of it, this is the second time now she's mentioned cooking. If she's not an idol, then maybe she's some kind of chef...? That's a pretty useful skill to have in a place like this, he guesses. Even for spider people.]

[He's still finding it hard to believe she'd waste the effort, but she isn't one of his brothers, so he won't call her out on it. The best thing to do in this scenario would be to play along until they go their separate ways. He makes a low, thoughtful noise in his throat.]

Either one is fine. [....] I've never had non-alcoholic cider, though.

It's not too difficult- it's actually a shorter process than making the alcoholic kind, because you don't have to wait for the fruit to ferment.

It'll be a little harder than with fresh fruit, because there's not as much juice in them, but still pretty workable.

[To be truthful, he's sure he'd probably like non-alcoholic cider better. He's not much of a drinker; hard cider is just a bit more palatable than beer. He shrugs again, picks up some jerky and gives it a cautious sniff.]

Do whatever you want. You can take everything, for all I care. I'm fine with just the knife.

[Of course, he then proceeds to rip into the jerky and shove two entire strips into his mouth.]

[Muffet just smiles.]

I think we can probably split it half and half- after all, I'm going to want one of the knives for cooking things anyway.

... fine by me.

[Spoken a bit rudely around his mouthful. Far be it from Ichimatsu to express his gratitude and slight relief at a display of generosity.]

[Cramming another piece of jerky between his teeth, Ichimatsu selects a jar of what looks like orange preserves. He retrieves his own knife from his pocket and wedges the tip beneath the lip of lid, prying it open with a soft pop of air.]

Are you satisfied with just that one, though? Look at all your arms. It would make more sense to have a knife for each one.

[You'd be super badass.]

[Muffet just looks amused, and continues looking carefully through the crate to see everything they've got.]

I'm not actually sure how many of them are in good condition- I'm going to have to take another look at that later to see if any of the others might be worth taking with me.

Besides, aren't you supposed to leave at least one hand free for grappling, in case someone manages to take the fight to close quarters?

[Admittedly, the sum total of her martial arts knowledge is 'I sold Captain Undyne a donut once', but she's pretty sure she heard that somewhere.]

[Ichimatsu sniffs at the preserves, too, before plunging his knife into the mix and stirring it around a bit with the blade. Ichimatsu no you don't know where that's been... oh well.]

You could recycle the metal or something. [Somehow, probably. As for her other comment...]

Dunno. Never had to try. Anyway, five knives is still pretty dangerous.

[Ichimatsu, for one, wouldn't tussle with Muffet if she had five knives. He likely wouldn't tussle with her if she had no knives, but that's hardly the point.]

Hm... A shame I've never had much of a talent for fire magic- I could try reforging them into something else, if I did.

[All this talk of fire magic... Ichimatsu does know how to produce fire, his own way, but he doesn't think it's magic. Besides, getting that riled up for no reason just isn't possible.]

So learn how to make one the normal way. [He sets his jar down and starts rummaging again.] You've got plenty of glass here.

A cooking fire, I could see- and would certainly find useful- but would it even be possible to get something hot enough to melt metal going?

I admit I'm not an expert on the topic, but I think there's a difference between a forge fire and a regular flame.

[Exasperated, Ichimatsu manages to bite his tongue on a more snappish response.]

You can figure it out yourself if it matters that much. I was just thinking out loud.

[Anyway, isn't he starting to overstay his welcome?]

Hey, go ahead and pick what you want. I'll take whatever's left over.

[She doesn't really feel like arguing this one, especially given that they've been having a decent time up until now, so she just lets it go with a gentle:]

I do appreciate the thought, all practicalities aside.

You might want to take more of the already prepared foods, like dried fruit and jerky, and I can stick to the raw ingredients- I can use magic to turn just about anything edible into food relatively easily, one way or another, but human cooking needs a lot of things you're not likely to find on a deserted island, so it'd make sense for you to keep mostly things that don't need to be cooked.

[Crap, that's kinda like the tone his mother used to take with him when he was on the verge of a tantrum. It makes him feel guilty, especially since that was Ichimatsu's version of holding back. At least she changes the subject pretty quick -- he probably would've embarrassed himself a lot worse otherwise.]

[He eyes their supplies carefully, considering her words. That's... pretty generous of her. Ichimatsu is usually the kind of guy who's happy to take advantage of others, but she's been so nice to him that it would feel totally wrong in this instance. Yeah, he'll play fair.]

If you're sure it's fine...

[Slowly, as if he thinks she'll change her mind, Ichimatsu selects a few more bundles of jerky and two smaller jars of fruits. In retrospect, he can only really take what he can fit in his pockets, so it's not like he has much of a reason to be overly greedy anyway.]

Really, what I'm happiest about is the flour.

[She gives the lid of the jar a little satisfied pat.]

I could have managed something without it, but having it is going to make baking things so much easier. And...

[Her tone here turns a bit rueful.]

I have a feeling that things on this island are going to wind up being difficult in strange and unexpected ways, so I'm happy to take at least one thing going easily.

[Yeah, only a real chef would be that happy with a dumb jar of flour. Good for her, though... it's nice to see that there are some people around here with useful skills. Especially if, as she seems to be implying, they're going to be stranded on this island for a long haul.]

[Ichimatsu doesn't really want to think about that. He grunts noncommittally, rearranging his cut of the supplies around in his pockets until they stop bulging like a lumpy mess. Getting to his feet, Ichimatsu glances down the beachline with a soft, contemplative noise that might be agreement.]

Yeah. Good luck never lasts. You can count on that.

[... still, meeting her was pretty lucky, he supposes. He got a knife and some food out of it. And she seems like a reliable person to know. Ichimatsu turns on his heel with a slight wave.]

Anyway, I'm done here, so I'm gonna leave. See you around.

Ah, and thanks.

[Well, if nothing else, things are clearly going to be very interesting.]

Good luck to you too, dearie.

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TEST DRIVE MEME ( 001 )

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You can decide this one if you want, so it'll be even. :D

gotcha c:

<3

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I think we might be coming up on wrapping?

agreed <3

Wrapped.