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aftr_ooc2017-07-04 10:46 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in aftr_ooc2017-07-04 10:46 pm
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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!
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!
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.
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
no subject
The Drifter cocks their head at that, momentarily taken off guard. They were not aware they had any friends left. Their pool has never been larger than one, possibly two.
It occurs to them, then, that the child does not mean "friend" in the literal sense, and regards their sprite with new focus.]
companion sprite.
with help, it can.
no subject
[Their own understanding of charting is fairly basic; but they at least have some exposure. The castle was good for that much.
Hopefully this companion sprite knows a little more than they do.]
How may I be of assistance?
no subject
They offer it willingly? No. A hidden cost, as always. There's barely hesitation before a fresh response pings out across the projected HUD.]
$?
no subject
I do not have any.
[Baggy as their clothes are, they actually don't have pockets. Special nooks are reserved for knives.]
no subject
owe you?
no subject
They consider their options, for a moment. Were this any other scenario, they would take what was owed; hold it over them for a more opportune time, when assistance was strictly necessary.
There's no future to hold that to. And so they shake their head.]
There is nothing owed. Shall we begin?
no subject
[There is nothing...owed. No? No. They offered their assistance willingly and freely, but not freely. Nothing in the world can be free, even with civilization reduced to shreds.]
[A faint crease appears above those dark pits for eyes. Uncomprehending. How can there be nothing owed?]
you helped.
owe you.
no subject
A difficult adjustment. And a lie.]
I helped, as was my wont. There is nothing owed.
no subject
[It does not wholly process. Not easily. Particularly as the question still peppers their mind in a flurrying burst of scrabbling noise that refuses to be put to rest until the answer, in turn:]
why?
no subject
People better than I would say that good deeds are simply something deserved, not earned.
At times, I'm inclined to side with them.
[They have no doubt that the response will spawn more questions than answers- but they also have the feeling this person would be just as quick to follow suit, if Chara were to direct the subject elsewhere.]
Are you ready to proceed? I'm sure we'll run out of sunlight eventually.
no subject
[The Drifter proceeds indeed, though decidedly unsatisfied with that answer. They card away the debt in the recesses of their mind, taking stock of it in turn. The child may wish to forget its presence, but they certainly will not.]
[It is the least they can do.]
:\
[That will be their only response - for now - as they set off once more. The child switches the subject, and they allow it. Those with the skill to verbalize will always take precedence in deciding the route of conversation.]
darkness is no obstacle
no subject
For you, perhaps not. However, my eyesight is not quite so good.
[The limitations of different species. With that much decided at least, Chara continues on their way; taking the forefront, until their companion decides to catch up again.]
no subject
[Unless the child has something else to say, the Drifter will say nothing more. Mapping takes precedence.]