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

[gathersnomoss]

On three? Also cover your nose and mouth -- I might kick up some dust.

[Better wait until that happens before his plan. If the monsters will let him.]

[shineinside]

All right. On three.

[This plan is starting to sound kind of iffy, but she doesn't have a better one that involves getting both of them out safely. So, she'll trust him.]

High Tide

[mamaterasu]

[Now this is quite the sight. I mean, it's probably only a bit more bizarre than the appearance of a white wolf floating along downstream on a massive lily pad, but... Ammy blinks, looking up at the peculiar-looking ram and tilts her head to one side when she's hailed. Oh dear, this doesn't look good at all. Usually her Lily Pad brush skill ca hold the weight of an adult and herself, no problem, but this big guy here looks to be made up of perhaps three adults. She's, uh...she's not certain it'll be enough.

Gods, but she really should have asked the Storyteller for the Water Tablet. Sigh, but such a feat would require an about of foresight this wolf doesn't readily have (not in the sense that she can call up it at will, anyway), alas. Ammy looks at the huge creature with folded ears, making a low groaning noise as she tries to think. Maybe...maybe she could fell a tree? I mean, a big log should be able to float and hold his weight, right? A Power Slash to chop it down, then she can use her glaive to take care of the branches. Yes, that seems fitting.

Now...where can she find a tree that's not entirely sunk and occupied by the big mangoat thing? Hm...]

IS NOT GOLD

[achievementhunter]

[Being back here is a nightmare.

A literal nightmare, in this instance. They've felt this sensation enough to understand that the line between reality and dream has once again blurred, but that does not stop them from moving through the caverns with hurried purpose, seeking out those a little less used to the rules of this game before they get themselves (if only temporarily) killed. Like Edward was. Like the Batter was. Like Taako was.

Like Frisk.

Their urgency in this matter is rewarded-- though they really have to wonder if rewarded is the right word. Is this not punishment, instead? A horrifying about turn into a confrontation they had never once dreamed they would have to experience, seizing up at the sight of white fur and a crown accompanied by large, curved horns.

He's trying to be friendly. He's trying to help. It's all they can do to make a choked noise, frozen entirely in inaction. Don't. Stop. Get away.

Do something, Chara. For once in your life, don't break everything you touch.

They don't know how.]

Da-




Mis-


Asgore.

All that glitters

[gathersnomoss]

[Meanwhile, Zelgadis is prone to thinking anything is a threat unless proven otherwise, especially if it's not responding to speech.]

Careful! We don't know what these creatures even are or what their motivations are.

[But, yes, he's used to working with people who do try to make friends with things instead of acting sensibly. And a beastman (or someone who looked like one) is hardly weird to work with.]

[gathersnomoss]

One, two... three. Dam Brass!

[And Zelgadis slapped his gloved palm down on the floor, and the ground by the monsters slammed upward. With luck, that would stay contained; Zelgadis had tried to judge the energy, but this crystal was weird stuff.]

[Now it was time to run]

[journalname]

I suppose not. [The same could be said of you, guy he's just met, but.] But speaking to them is a good way to find out, is it not?

[gathersnomoss]

From a safe distance. Talk to them before they get into grabbing range.

[Because surely the creatures should respond to this. Unless they are must magical constructs, like really fancy golems.]

[journalname]

[Asgore, meanwhile, figures that his instincts about whether people are just dogs or dog monsters are usually pretty spot-on. Even if they don't seem to speak and he's never met them before? Yeah, probably.]

Oh...do not worry! I will be just fine! [probably? he's lived this long, right?]

SHARKNADO (high tide) - 1/2

[yallstupid]

[Bro, if you think he's going to ride on one of those shoddy excuses for a pool toy, you got something coming. No, Guzma here has taken to the back of his own water pokemon, Golisopod, who is casually floating along the water with the man on his back. It's not common or smiled upon to surf on pokemon like this in Alola - that's what the Ride Pager is for - but, well...they're not in Alola, are they? Besides that, Golisopod seems happy to be able to swim around and get some exercise - he doesn't have any sort of problem toting Guzma around.]

Nah, homie, I'm goo--

2/2

[yallstupid]

[HOLD UP. Guzma double takes so hard he may have snapped his neck right there, looking at the shark with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. Holy shit, he actually knows that creature. It's a pokemon!! Another pokemon! Is this person a trainer from his world? Or maybe someone like that red Hoenn Ranger with the Cubone? Let's test--]

Bro, where's your Ride Pager? Could use a Charizard instead'a Sharpedo!

[journalname]

[That's literally what he was doing]

I am not certain they understand. But that does not mean they wish us ill. They seem to be having some difficulty walking...

[gathersnomoss]

Stone isn't the most flexible of materials. Not without a lot of magic.

[says the man who has it all over his skin]

[journalname]

I have known monsters to be made of stone before. But yes, their magic does tend to help move matters alo -

[The crystal thing is starting to get closer, close enough that it takes a swipe at Asgore. Though he's distracted by the conversation, he does pull his hand away in time.]

- goodness, we do not need to do that.

[gathersnomoss]

[Good, the other man can fight, or at least dodge.]

I don't think they're here for preschool etiquette.

[Zelgadis is already considering which spells would not blow up in his face, and would at least discourage pursuit.]

Or to make friends.

[Read: as soon as the banter is out of the way, I'm going to start the fight or retreat.]

[shineinside]

[She ran.]

[Whatever that power was, it was crazy on a scope she wasn't used to seeing. For now, nothing for it but to drop the enhancement spell as soon as he was in the clear and get the hell out of there herself. Whatever those monsters are made of, hopefully that would at least knock them out for a while.]

[journalname]

I suppose we have intruded upon their cavern. Perhaps it would be best for us to try to find a way out.

[Asgore certainly has no desire to get in a fight with these creatures! He doesn't understand them in the least.]

[journalname]

[Asgore's focus was entirely on the apparent plight of the crystalline creature before him, so he didn't quite pick up on the choked-off noise behind him. The voice, though, is unmistakable. He turns, suddenly entirely heedless of the entity's continued approach.]







......Chara.

[They are just as he remembers them, just what he tried with his fumbling attempts to show the others through the paintings.

They are not at all real, are they?

Asgore has seen the dead return to life now, more than once. He himself is proof that it can happen. But he does not remember how he came to be here, or where his companions might be. He hadn't even thought about finding them again until this moment. None of this is real at all. His face crumples from shock to a quiet sort of pain, but he steps towards them anyway. It's far from the first time he's had a dream go in this direction.]

Chara, my child.

[covertizer]

[ Slander! He might need them a little...

They work better together, as a group, anyway. They cover each other's weaknesses, and that's really all you can ask for from a group. ]

Oh. Are we in Madagascar then? Or was it Gardiner's Island...?

It's warm enough.

[ ... ]

Don't they say that you need to dump water-logged phones in rice to drain the water out? Maybe we can substitute it for sand.

[gathersnomoss]

[Thankfully, Zel is fast on his own]

You all right?

[gathersnomoss]

First we get some space away from them.

[Zelgadis turned to start moving quickly, if not running.]

[daydreamy]

Guh... so instead of a dream, it's a nightmare...

[ she says this so dramatically that it's hard to take her seriously. and maybe that's the intent -- maybe she's playing the clown a bit to try and ease Yuka's mind in the midst of such a scary situation. or maybe it's just Kyouko Being Kyouko. it's honestly hard to tell.

She rolls over, flops onto her back and lets her feet dangle off the side of the swanmobile, kicking them idly in the water. ]

You still have your Shard with you, right?

[shineinside]

[ Both possibilities do play through Yuka's mind, but she ultimately decides that either way, the thing to do is to put on a brave face. She nods, clutching her Shard. ]

I transformed as soon as I got here. If I hadn't been able to, then... ah.

[ She freezes, as if she just realized something a bit too late. ]

[shineinside]

I'm fine, thank you. [Exhale. That was cutting it a bit close, though.]

How about you? I've never seen a power like that before...

[journalname]

[Asgore's strides are long, and he doesn't really need to run to keep pace. Honestly he doesn't seem as alarmed by this as you'd think.]

Can you see well enough?