TEST DRIVE MEME ( 005 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #5

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 November 17th and that Applications will open on November 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.

All That Glitters
The caves deep beneath the island's surface are not dimly lit; in fact, they practically sparkle with a strange, unearthly greenish light. Blame it on the crystalline growths that protrude plentifully from every nook and cranny, stalactites and stalagmites alike.

Their glow might be soothing to some, and viscerally terrifying to others, but one thing remains absolutely certain: based on the creaking, groaning noises of shifting rock and the high-pitched tinkle of breaking shards of crystal...

You aren't alone down here. The deeper in you venture, the more the thicker clusters of the things begin to move. And eventually, it will become plain to you that it isn't the crystal at all that's moving, but rather the thing inside of it - something vaguely humanoid shaped, bipedal, with arms and legs and the dull, pale glimmers in the region of what might almost pass for a face.

Formed entirely from crystal.

Upon spotting a living creature, each of them will begin to lurch closer and closer, arms outstretched. Every one is slow and cumbersome and even fragile enough to be smashed, if you dare venture close enough. But once they've trapped you, there is no escaping whatever fate they have in store for you.

And rest assured, it is not a pleasant one.

[The above prompt is a version of our Crystal Clear event from October! Feel free to give the event write-up a read for more information.]

It's High Tide
When you initially wake on the beaches of this strange island with its bleeding, dreamlike edges, you might notice that something seems deeply amiss...something like the fact that you're lying in a whole mess of seawater. Assuming you're not thoroughly soaked already, you'd better figure out a way to get to high ground, because the water level is rising very rapidly. Pretty soon, there might not be anywhere safe to go besides the trees, and even those might not be safe the longer this goes on.

Fortunately for you, if you can find them quickly enough, the island of Mu has helpfully provided some assistance for those who don't feel like doggy-paddling for the duration of the dream. Better hurry and hang onto them before you drown! Unless you'd rather doggy-paddle the whole way out, that is. In which case, we're sure the water feels great.

A Crappy Endeavor
In your travels on this strange new land, you might start to notice something following you. Something...oddly shaped, like a lot of dirt and clay that's consolidated into one great awkward moving lump of a creature. What lies beneath is far more like the common beetle...just much, much larger. And unfortunately for everyone involved, they have a very specific appetite:

Your poop.

Mu has produced a very close approximation of the creatures known as f'rshaymes, animals that go beyond merely being useful for disposing of all that nasty waste. Doiing so comes with significant benefits, as the combined process of mud and excrement as it goes through a F'rshayme's digestive system leaves behind pure clay for the...brave.

Often found in small herds of six to eight individuals, f'rshaymes are extremely docile and would be very easy to turn into a herd of your very own. How nice!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[shineinside]

[ Whoa, he's got powers too. Never seen anything quite like that before.

His voice snaps her back into the reality of the moment, though, and she scrambles frantically to her feet. The opening Akira made doesn't last long, but it's enough, and they're off again, with the monsters in slow pursuit.

The sounds of giant footsteps gradually fade into the distance behind them. ]

[lapapesse]

[Well, she would have had to not notice, either, and that would definitely be weird circumstances. Something slipping past Makoto. Unheard of.]

But if your phone's broken, or waterlogged, then we wouldn't know...

[No, it's a fruitless endeavor. She's just clinging to it because she's confused and off-balance, and it's a familiar concept. It's obvious she's caught herself with the sigh she gives.]

Right. Not like either of us are much of a threat right now. [Not when they're a couple of drowned rats on a life-...

uh.

floaty

thing.]

... Do we have to wait for the tide to go out, then?

[covertizer]

[ He waits until Yuka has run past him, and gives himself just enough time for a exaggerated two-finger salute at the slow-turning, slow moving monsters as they right themselves and start to turn to come after them.

And then he's gone, down the corridor before they have a hope in hell of so much as considering touching him. Running until he can no longer hear footsteps in the background, following after them. ]

[covertizer]

[ ... ... ... ugh, right. His phone is water damaged, or something. But... surely if they'd accessed it somehow, they would've had some indication this was a palace. Shadows milling around, anyone milling around.

Akira sighs as well. It's like a sigh brigade. ]

You never know. What if we stay here long enough we count as pollution? We'd be a threat then.

[ He sloshes his arms through the water, idly. ]

Probably. There could be a strong current under there, and that'd be trouble.

[lapapesse]

... There'll probably be a strong current when the tide goes back out anyway, and I don't particularly want to find out how far away from a mainland we are.

[You know, when they get pulled out to sea.

On one of these ridiculous flotation devices.]

I think by the time we have stayed here long enough to be considered 'pollution', the tide will have gone out... and if we're lucky, it won't be so long that something else happens...

[Well, that's a dark thought. Except...] Hopefully this is just some weird dream. It feels enough to be one... and that's saying something considering some of the Palaces we've been in. [She leans forward, pushing the... swan? Thing?'s head down toward the water a little, and then letting it spring back up.]

... Where did these things even come from? Maybe there's dry land wherever they came from.

[covertizer]

[ Please don't push the head of the shaft-raft like that Makoto, it's a bit distracting.

Because that

does not look like a swan, yo. ]

If it is, it's weird that we're sharing the same dream. [ That speaks of something more deliberate to him. If this isn't the Metaverse, then how are they sharing the same experiences? There must be something, or someone, forcing the issue. ] Maybe if someone brought us here, they left us a gift. So we didn't drown horribly before we can get round to whatever it is they want us to do?

[lapapesse]

[Well it's the closest approximation. It's a swan float thing without an actual swan head.

Look, she doesn't have a dirty mind, she's not a teenage boy.]

Yes, it is strange. [She looks around again.]

Well this isn't exactly going to help us for food or water... though I suppose if it's just a dream that's not a concern. But what are we supposed to do? We really can't do anything if we're stuck on these things in the middle of the ocean.

[yourattention]

No, I just have the crazy. Unfortunately, it's not the wacky, eccentric kind that's cute when you're rich.

[He doesn't remember what he was diagnosed with, back when he was in therapy for a year and didn't immediately get better so his dad deemed it a waste of money. They said something else at the rehab program disguised as summer camp, so he doesn't put a lot of stock into the words anymore. They're all fancy ways to say he's broken.]

There's perfect little Zoe, who can do no wrong, and then there's Connor, who might go away if we just ignore him enough. Joke's on them, I did go away.

[shineinside]

[ Eventually, there's no sign of anything living within earshot other than the two of them. Then, Yuka finally stops, leaning against a (non-crystalized) wall to catch her breath. ]

You're pretty good at this... you aren't hurt, are you?

High Tide

[daydreamy]

Heeeeeeelp...

[ Now, see, someone calling for help in a situation like this would usually imply a fair amount of urgency required. But whatever hapless idiot is calling out like that doesn't really sound all that concerned? Just kind of put out, in an "ah, so this is my life" sort of way. Not exactly what you'd expect from someone at the risk of drowning.

And as it turns out, said hapless idiot is not actually currently at risk of drowning. There's Kyouko, having only managed to get half onto her Weird Swan Thing and is currently faceplanted into it with everything below her waist still hanging in the water. Every now and then she gives an ineffectual little kick to try and climb back onto it, but she's too worried about capsizing herself to really struggle too much.

This is your heroine, Imaginaerium. ]

[shineinside]

Kyouko!

[ This whole experience up until now had been a strange and surreal one. Crystal zombies in endless cave labyrinths, merciless rising water levels, but what really made it distressing was that she was facing it alone. Everything was either eerie isolation or encounters with total strangers. But now, just hearing Kyouko's voice - even if she was in a bit of a ridiculous state - she feels like she'll be able to handle whatever this place throws their way.

That's only if she doesn't drown, though. Yuka jumps from her swan and swims over to Kyouko to try and help her get properly floating. Her voice is a mix of relief and bewilderment. ]

I thought I was alone out here! Do you know what this place is? Have you seen Orihime anywhere? Did you have any trouble with the monsters underground? [ It's rare for Yuka to be the one who's talking too much, but the circumstances are a bit out there. ]

[ungrieved]

You had a perfect little sister. This is too great. You too. I can't believe it.

[And an elder son who might go away if everyone ignores him enough. And wonder of all wonders, isn't that exactly what happened anyway? Are they parallel world alternate selves? This is frankly a little too on point.]

[Well, kinda. Mostly he finds it...refreshing. Here we are. Finally. Someone who gets it.]

Here's to us, then. The no-good, unwanted sons that fucked off and left everyone to their perfect little lives!

Zelgadis Graywords | Slayers

[gathersnomoss]

All that Glitters
The sound of an explosion and Zelgadis is making a planned retreat from a group of the crystal golems. Earth shamanism seems to work fine on both them and the walls, and Zelgadis's cloak and scarf are blocking skin contact between him and the crystals.

he spots another person, and motions towards them. "Come on. I don't intend on hanging around to see if that was all of them. There is a clear place ahead."

Not much of Zelgadis is visible, but some might find it concerning that glimpses of his fingers or the skin around his eyes are showing stony growths.

High Tide
Zelgadis can't swim. Not that he doesn't know how, but he is physically too heavy to support himself in water without using a spell to levitate. And at the moment, his magic reserves are low, so he's improvised a half-dozen floats in an awkward attempt to not drown.

I hope no one else needed those.

If he notices you looking at him, he's just going to stare back. "What?"

All that Glitters

[gathersnomoss]

[Zelgadis was already stronger and faster than most normal humans, and sticking to getting out of the way (or the occasional spell) -- swords and crystal don't mix. The boost lets him pull a rather flashy vault over the shoulders of the monsters surrounding him.]

[Well, all right, he has some breathing room.]

I can bring the ceiling down on their heads. How fast can you run?

It's High Tide

[gathersnomoss]

[All Zelgadis has is a flight spell; sooner or later he's going to need to land, and find a way to not stink like the proverbial stone]

I saw some floats around here.

[maybe not enough for him, but worth a try for someone else]

[thermalwind]

[He keeps watching him. More and more he's convinced there's something off. Keith shifts his knife, ready to strike as he offers the knife sheathe. If he's attacked there will be no doubt that he was taught to fight. The only people he has to prove anything to is himself and team Voltron.]

Keep the knife sheathed or you'll wear out the edge. Can't exactly resharpen it out here.

[ungrieved]

[Gabe accepts the sheath with a roll of his eyes, as if to say sure, no big deal, he GUESSES he'll do Keith the honor of taking this stupid thing into account if it means it'll humor him or whatever. But he sheathes the blade in acquiescence. What? He can listen, on occasion. At least it's not an adult ordering him around.]

What is it you think we'll be fighting, exactly? Sandpaper beasts?

[yourattention]

Hurrah. [Jazz hands. Or hand, as it were, because he's kinda busy steering with the other.] You gonna tell me your name or should I just call you "Disappointment"?

[. . . He might do that anyway, honestly. It's funny, in dark way his humor has settled into lately, and that's enough for him.]

[shineinside]

Fast enough, but I can't leave this spot while I'm enhancing you. Let me know when you want me to move.

[ungrieved]

[Gabe snickers. You know what? Yeah. Why the fuck not? Why shouldn't that be his name? He could be called anything. No one here knows him. No one here knows what he is and what he's done and how little he's lived, and that means it's high time he had some fun with it.]

Yeah. Disappointment. That's me. What about you, Connor, ol' buddy? [He did let his name slip when he was bitching about his sister, after all.] Psychopath? Basket Case?

thank you so much for that, phone, also cw: suicide while we're here

[yourattention]

I prefer "Problematic," but Psychopath works too. [That's pretty much his name anyway, according to Zoe.] You could probably also just call me "Attention Seeker," I'm pretty sure my dad called me that the last time I told him I was going to kill myself.

same hat whoops

[ungrieved]

Oh, sure. When we do it, it's "attention seeking." When Mom does it, she can get fixed right up with a little electric shock therapy.

[Gabe, you are the one who urged your mom to find that blissful world where we can be free. You didn't even die on purpose.]

[yourattention]

Nah, my dad would never pay for that. He doesn't believe in therapy. Or the existence of mental illness, for that matter. [Connor pitches his voice lower, in an imitation of his father.] "If your attitude's not improving, you're obviously not trying hard enough."

[You know. Because all that it takes is a little reinvention - it's easy to change when you give it your attention. :)]

[ungrieved]

Well, it's not like therapy really helped my mom, either. She was kind of a mess. On about fifty different types of meds, and all that really did was make Dad happy enough to pretend things were normal.

[He sure is not helping with this boat rowing business either, huh? Nah, he's content to watch Connor labor at it and bitch about their families in soulful unison. That's when he adds, offhand:]

So I gave 'em all to my sister. She had more fun with 'em anyway.

[yourattention]

Your perfect sister was using? That's priceless, Zoe would never. [He laughs, because holy shit is that so different from Zoe.] She fucking flushed my stash down the toilet over the summer because I stole her nail polish. It looked better on me anyway.

[He misses having more than one color for his nails. Maybe he'll have to ask the Storyteller how many bottles of nail polish he can get for a story - he's going to run out of black eventually.]